Oh blissful sleep in a real bed. How we had missed you (and showers)! Not that we had any lack of sleep on the road. Going with the sun gives you plenty of that. But there is something to be said about having more than 50x180cm piece of inflated foam the thickness of my thumb for a resting place. Best of it all, we did not even have to pack anything until tomorrow!

Looking along the coast further west

Under such good starting conditions, it was not even too hard to get motivated to go on an excursion to explore west of Salalah. We thought of going about 75km towards the Yemeni border, where the mountains meet the sea once more. It was still relatively early but already sweltering hot. After some initial confusion that landed us near the harbour, we were on our way along the coastal plain baring west.

The first spot were some active blowholes at Mughsail, right where the first limestone cliffs meet the sea. In the end, the blowholes were nice but not overwhelming. What really got us squealing like school kids were the sea turtles feeding off the rocks right below one of the viewing platforms. The spectacular view westwards helped as well.

Continuing towards the Yemeni border, the road leads straight through the mountains

Next up, we took the road up the plateau once more. This instance was relatively new as well and just as well engineered as the road in the east. For the first time in a long while, we got to ride proper switchbacks. Down into a wadi filled with frankincense trees and up the other side again. Once all the way on top of the limestone, 800 m above the seas foamy embrace, we had to decide where to go from here. The road would eventually lead to Yemen, with not much more to see along it. There was another route, though. A graded gravel track leading back down the steep cliff to some grazing areas and eventually some pretty beaches.

We chose the gravel, at least for a while. The ride was ok, but definitively not enjoyable (except for the views). We did about two out of the six km of the track before deciding that we had enough shenanigans for the day and would rather find something to eat.

We had lunch at a recommended Indian restaurant near our hotel. The food was good but way too much. It might have something to do with the waiter slightly understating the portion size. When I asked how big the bread was, he indicated something roughly plate sized, so we ordered two. What we got were triple folded sheets of bread, the size of tea towels. At least that also sorted out dinner for the day.

We thought about going out once more in the afternoon, to see the Museum of Frankincense Land, but the heat and the allure of an AC’ed two room hotel suite were too much to overcome.