Mughsayl, Oman

Just a quick update on a trip we took Friday.  We went west (toward Yemen) and went to Mughsayl, Oman.  It is one of the most visited places in all of Oman, you can see why in just a bit.  After that we went up (& down & around) the jebal (mountains) to a secluded set of beaches.  Brian & I got to practice our rally driving on the road up from the beaches--it was sandy & curvy and fun. Well I'm not sure it was fun for Deanna who, when I'd look at her face in the rear view mirror, might have been something close to terror--so they don't have guard rails on these roads… we were fine. ;-)

Mughsayl is famous for the naturally made blowholes that have formed by the ocean cutting into the cliffs.  It looks like you are on another planet, it is amazing what water does to rock.  It is also a nice beach where people come for vacation during the high seasons.  Right now they are gearing up for Ramadan & Kheeref (monsoon) festivities so tents are set up & there was a carnival (but it wasn't open while we were there--bummer!)

There is also a little cafe, which is pictured here.

Krista & I got to visit this site several years ago (we won't say how many) when we were first in Oman.  I have some amazing pictures of HUGE manta ray's swimming around but I don't have the picture with me.  When we were there it was all open and you could wander as you please.  Now, for safety, and to help preserve the area they have put up fences and trash cans & signage.  It had to be done since they get so many tourists.

That's Devin taking the same picture I was.

Again the rocks here are amazing--like something from another world.

The above two photos were taken on the same day about the same time--the first is looking west, the second is looking east.

If you follow any of us on Facebook you have probably seen some of these photos but they are just too good to pass up showing again. 

So, there are these blow holes, they are actually covered up with metal grating now so that no one tries to climb around in or on them but they are still open enough for water to come splashing through.

Sue & Devin standing on the grate of the largest blowhole--looking confident.

Not looking so confident now.

Now they just look wet.

Brian & I wandered over to the west side of the area to a smallish cove where the water was calmer...

And we were rewarded by seeing two sea turtles swimming around.  One was larger but she was elusive, this little guy kept popping up.

After a bit more exploring around this area we headed through the mountains looking for a secluded beach that Krista remembered from a previous visit.

This is a seriously twisty, sharp-curved road but it was 2 or 3 lanes across in most places so it really wasn't too bad.  There were a lot of almost 90 degree angles and what looked like U-turns up and down.  About halfway through we saw people flashing their lights at us, which was weird… then we turn the corner & someone was waving us down… and then we saw this:

Apparently these guys (more likely girls) had to get to market and to do that they had to walk down the "highway".  They were being herded by some guys walking and at least the Land Curser pickups--ah the modern world.

There are camel wandering everywhere here, there are watch for camel signs just like watch for elk or deer in the states and they really are everywhere.  You have to stop on the highway all the time for them but it is flat and you can see them coming down there--here, turn the corner and bam 100 camel!

These camels took their sweet time we were probably waiting for a good 15-20 min while they sorted themselves out and made the corner.

See the babies!

We finally made it to a lovely, secluded beach.  We hung out long enough to almost see the sunset & play in the surf.

I stole this photo from Deanna--an awesome shot of the path, I mean road, to the secluded beach.

All in all it was about 2-2.5 hours from the time we had to stop for the camels until we headed back up the mountain for home.  Guess what we ran into on the way down… in the dark… on the curvy mountain road.  Yep, those same camels.  We had to squeeze our way through and pass them.  They were still just meandering down the mountain.