Day Three
Turtles, Boats and Boys
The next morning we woke at 5am, and were up by 5.30 to meet Tahani by the car. The sun was not yet up, and we were off to the same beach again.
The beach was streaked with the tracks of turtles that had laid eggs that night and crawled back into the ocean.
Before long we saw turtles crawling back into the sea. They came over the edge of the dunes, crossed the wet sand and disappeared into the surf.
The turtles here are Green Turtles.
We saw another turtle digging away in the sand. She would dig a bit, and then seem to sigh, before digging some more.
As the sun came up, the turtles were still leaving the beach.
We headed back to the campsite. The huts were basic but comfortable, with an attached shower and toilet.
After breakfast it was back into the car to head back to civilisation, past the wild camels, and to the second best little juice bar in Oman. We decided that when we were millionaires we would have fruit smoothies helicoptered out of here to wherever we were in the world.
Refreshed, we drove on to Sur. The lighthouse looks out over the harbour, and across to numerous forts and castles on the hills.
Not far from the lighthouse is a small display of various dhows. They are still built in the traditional way here. Taeko tries one for size and considers sailing back to Muscat in it.
Just across from there was a dhow graveyard - full of rotten and rusting boats from years gone by.
From Sur, we drove to Wadi Bani Khalid. The geology started to get spectacular very quickly. Here, a multi-coloured folded rock emerges from the desert. We jumped out of the car to take pictures.
At Wadi Bani Khalid we drove up the side for a view of the lush green valley and the barren mountains above.
Palm trees and other plants grow well in the cool waters of the wadi.
We drove back down to the start of the wadi and parked the car. The place was full of children, and lots of them were friends of Tahani. They clustered round and were happy to walk with us to the pools at the top of the wadi. They happily posed for pictures with us, wearing their best traditional clothes or modern football shirts.
Taeko has been to this wadi before, a few years ago. Since then it had got a lot more commercialised, and someone had even started building a restaurant - although this was stopped due to planning restrictions. It was a very popular place for people to picnic or swim. The waters were a deep, dark green.
This lad balanced on a floating palm tree, while his friends tried to bounce him off! Other kids were happy to pick fresh dates for us.
After our walk up the wadi it was time to off-road. By now we had picked up about 7 of the local boys, and we headed up a rough track in the hills above the village next to the wadi.
From here we had a spectacular view of the geology - canyons, folded layered rocks, escarpments, caves.
The boys were now telling us where to go. Mostly they said 'keep going'! Of course it was impossible to turn round in most places, the track being thin, steep, and strewn with boulders! At one point we stopped to get some fruit from a tree - they were like small, powdery apples with a sweet flavour.
Eventually we got to a spot where we could turn round. It was getting late. The boys had a big football match at 5pm. Tahani turned the Toyota around and we headed back. At one tricky spot I suggested she use the 'L' gearbox setting. It was very steep. At another point I jumped out to clear a large boulder, and instead of getting back in I waved the car on. Tahani gunned it up the slope, strewing stones everywhere. When she got to a flatter spot she stopped and I ran up and jumped in. Taeko gave me grief for the rest of the week for not being in the car on the most dangerous bit. But then she also gave me grief for putting my seatbelt on while the kid sitting next to me on the front seat had none!
We took all the kids back to the village and they scuttled off to their football match. We then went to visit some more friends of Tahani with their three-month old baby. Then we deflated the tyres at a local garage and headed onto the sands to visit a Bedouin tent. Past the goats, and into the tent in the half-light, we drank coffee and ate dates, smiled at the children, and Taeko bought some gifts from the crafts made by our host in the tent.
It was getting late now, so we drove back to Muscat in the dark, telling stories. Tahani told us of some of her nightmare tours, and we swapped ghost stories into the night. Arriving home, Taeko got her email address and maybe she'll read this - in which case I want to say how much I really enjoyed the tour! Thank you Tahani! Shokran! If you're in Oman, get a tour with Mark Tours!