After our turtle-viewing, our goal is the city of Salalah, Oman’s third-biggest city. It’s two days drive through the desert to get there.
We pass through a few fishing villages. The harbour is busy with dhows and other fishing boats.
![](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/1-dhows-1024x536.jpg)
It’s good to get out of the car and stretch our legs every hour or so.
![](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2-coast-1024x753.jpg)
On the shore, some locals sit around and shoot the breeze. Maria asks if she can take their picture. They’re happy to oblige.
![](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/5-fisherman-1024x662.jpg)
Some industrious types are at work mending their nets.
![](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/4-fisherman-1024x753.jpg)
Like young people everywhere…
![](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/3-kids-1024x933.jpg)
At some point, inhabited places are few and far between.
![](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/10-desert-1024x683.jpg)
Bedouin encampments dot the land. Like elsewhere in the Middle East, they don’t seem to get much of the oil wealth that’s floating around.
![](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/7-bedouin-1024x564.jpg)
At a gas station, we are greeted by the first friendly dog we’ve seen here. (The first dog, really.) We think he belongs to the owner.
![](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/11-doggie-1024x791.jpg)
We stop for the night in Duqm, a strange place in the middle of nowhere.
![](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/12-mosque-1024x546.jpg)
We pass through some stunning, Grand Canyon-esque scenery as we get to the coast again.
![](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/14-canyon-1024x627.jpg)
We listen to the radio from time to time. Sometimes we pick up what sounds like a non-stop prayer channel. (I’m sure they have those in the USA.) Other times, there’s Omani music with an interesting, drum-backed droning melody, sort of like the oriental-style chorus on Kate Bush’s The Sensual World.
![](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/15-coast-1024x678.jpg)
We spend a couple of days in Mirbat in search of places to snorkel.
![](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/18-mirbat-1024x675.jpg)
Salalah – and the south of Oman in general – enjoys monsoon rains in the summer that make it much greener than the rest of the country.
![](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/19-salalah-1024x683.jpg)
Salalah has no shortage of mosques. At prayer times, it gets pretty loud. It’s like a titanic Battle of the Muezzins five times a day.
![](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/20-salalah-1024x683.jpg)
In a local supermarket, the variety of dates and date products is mind-boggling.
![](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/21-dates-1024x755.jpg)
At Al Haffa Beach, Maria models her do-it-yourself birkini.
![](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/22-birkini-1024x684.jpg)
Meanwhile, I hold down the fort with Lawrence.
![](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/23-beach-1024x686.jpg)
Ad Dahariz is another beach we visit. Many families arrive around sundown.
![](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/24-beach-830x1024.jpg)
One day, we drive further down the coast towards the Yemeni border. One beach, Al Mughsail, is nearly deserted.
![](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/27-beach-1024x526.jpg)
The beach has several pergolas to keep out of the sun.
![](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/28-beach-1024x575.jpg)
One has the following graffiti on it. This is pretty commonly how visitors perceive Omanis.
![](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/26-graffitti-1024x463.jpg)
We carry on to the even-more-secluded Al Fazayah Beach. Maria gets her swimming fix.
![](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/32-beach-1024x707.jpg)
I huddle into what little shade there is.
![](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/31-beach-1024x620.jpg)
Sight or Insight of the Day
Hamlet: ‘Do you see yonder cloud that’s almost in shape of a camel?’
Polonius: ‘By th’mass, and ‘tis like a camel indeed.’
Let’s hear it for camels!
![](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/13-sign-751x1024.jpg)
You really do have to watch out for them on the road. We’ve seen hundreds since we’ve been here.
![](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/28-camels-1024x722.jpg)
Seeing some always makes us feel good. Their faces are so endearing.
![](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/30-camel-1024x683.jpg)
Sometimes seen alone in an otherwise vast emptiness. Sometimes in large groups.
![](https://randomrambles.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/29-camels-1024x543.jpg)
Camels make the world a better place.