Oman Part 3

After a lazy lunch under a tree we set off for the other end of the Sayq Plateau to Ar Rus where we were greated by a flock of young boys welcoming us in brilliant English. They were keen to be photograghed and to show us the beauty of their village. They were upset when we set off to the explore further as the sun would soon be setting and we didin't want to drive around in the dark!

After Ar Rus we stopped in two villages whose names I can't remember but by the time we reached the last one which was hung onto the edge of cliff the light was gone and the moon was rising over the mountains.

When we made the trip to Venice back in June I became obcessed by the laundry lines well in the mountains it was the trees with the tortured knarly trucks that kept drawing my camera......
The following morning we were feeling a little jaded after celebrating our glorious day out with a bit too much wine but nothing the less we opted to take the route through the mountains towards Rustaq that would be beyond what we could have imagined.

We left the main road a Tanuf and took the steep switchbacks up the mountains and cut across to the route we wanted. The road was tarmaced which deflated us as we steadily climbed to about 2600 metres. We stopped on the top to enjoy the view before heading of our way. The tarmaced road ended and we found ourselves of gravel path hugging the side of the mountain as we wound our way down. Not only we DH's hand sweaty mine were as I tried not to look at the 1000 plus metre drop just a few feet away! Unfortunately I didn't take any photos at the top as my hand shake would have ruined it.

The first photo here is one of DS1's.

So we slowly wound our way down to work back up and over again before coming into the wadi proper. Another one of DS1's photos shows a pool in an oasis.

The road flattened out through the wadi with small villages scatted along the edges. Dates palms relieved the hardness of the rock and the vidid colours of the grasses brought the wadi to life.

Soon it was all behind us and we drove back across from Rustaq toward Ibri and then on to Al Ain and back to Dubai. As we skirted the Empty Quarter a Shamal began and the road was covered in sand that swirled like steam rising from a lake. First it would dash from the left in sinuous curves then come from the right sometimes obscuring the tarmac completely. It was so mesmurizing that I fell asleep - thankfully I wasn't driving at that point!