The next morning we get to look round camp in daylight. Here's our tent, outside and in.

our tent
taeko at bedouin tent camp
tent, inside
taeko pole-dancing
tent decor
tent decor
tent decor

The tent doors and windows fasten with velcro - probably not very Bedouin original, but useful. The noise of the door and windows flapping in the night, as well as the tree tapping the roof, kept us awake quite a bit.

taeko opens the tent
taeko by the tent
our tent
baz outside the tent
baz at the door

The camp had maybe a dozen tents, but most of them were empty - we didn't see any other guests, we pretty much had the place to ourselves and the local dog. The camp was set amongst the dunes.

tents at the camp
tents at the camp
pet the camp dog
nice doggie

Now it was time to decide what to do. We both felt another eight hours on the camels back to the town would be too much, so we went for a compromise. A short three-hour ride on the camels, and then the Jeep would pick us up and take us back to the camp for lunch. Then we'd take the Jeep back to the town and get the 2.30 bus back to Muscat.

So after a breakfast of scrambled eggs and beans it was back on the camels again! I was well covered with factor 50 this time, and I kept slapping it on whilst perching on the camel. I put my 30-minute rationing system back into operation, knowing I could last the 3 hours this way.

baz on camel

Just outside camp I saw dung beetles rolling dung around, frantically pushing it up the sand with their back legs. They were flying around as well. I also saw a few small lizards and assorted birds while on our trek across the sands. The three hours passed, and it was time to get off.

taeko with camels
loading up camels
finally!

Here's a gallery of camel portraits.

camel head
camel face
camel face
camel face

Then we heard the Jeep in the distance, and it pulled up so we knew that was as far as we'd go on the camels. Our guide eventually got back on and headed off into the desert again.

taeko and camels
camels
camels head off
camels leave

We posed for a few pictures in the wilderness, and then jumped into the jeep for a quick tour up the dunes.

taeko in the desert
barrence of arabia
jeep to the rescue
view from the jeep

High up on the dunes, where all was sand, was a Bedouin camp where many goats and sheep were kept, sheltering from the midday sun.

sheep on the high dune
dunes

After some sliding on the sand and bombing along the tracks we were back at camp. It had taken about 30 minutes, and that was on quite a roundabout route. It had taken 3 hours on the camels.

desert

After lunch we packed up and prepared to leave our oasis and go home. The jeep took us back to civilisation. Even after one night in the desert the town looked strange. We were to go from desert to capital city in four hours. The Jeep left us back at the Shell station.

We walked over to the bus stop. Not long after, a taxi pulled up and offered to take us to Muscat for 2R - cheaper than the bus. Taeko was unsure about it and tried to find out why it was so cheap. The driver's english wasn't so good, but I figured we'd go for it. We got in. So did someone else. Then we dropped him off and picked up a man with his baby daughter. Then he got off and someone with a large box got in. This taxi was clearly not just ours. It was more like a small bus, running up and down the main highway between Al Mintrib and Muscat picking people up.

We tried to figure out where exactly he was going to take us. Eventually he dropped us at a roundabout somewhere near the airport, but Taeko wasn't sure exactly where. We were then persuaded to jump into an old minibus taxi, full of men. This took us a bit further in towards Muscat until Taeko started to recognise landmarks. A quick thump on the ceiling was the signal to request a stop, and for a few hundred baisa we were close enough for Taeko to call the Tomie Taxi! She picked us up a short while later, and we got home to tell tales of the desert adventure.