Salalah – Day 4

Our final full day in Salalah we spent driving west to a place called Mughsayl in search of an awesome blowhole. It was a nearly two-hour drive through fairly ordinary mountainous desert scenery. As we emerged from the mountains, we once again found the Indian Ocean. We had to stop and capture the beauty. Down the road we met the cousin of the desert camel…the beach camel!
We think they chose the better lifestyle. We decided to get back on the road when we saw the approaching entourage (road hogs!) Actually there are many fatalities in Saudi each year due to hitting camels on the roads. Having now spent time deep in the desert on the unlit roads at night, it can be a little unnerving. They are large like elk, but unlike deer or elk they are slow in movement.

Mughsayl is known for its great blowhole but also has some great rock formations in its mountainside.We walked down and waited to see the water erupt through the rock floor, but the pressure of the water never was substantial enough.
A local couple also visiting the site told us it was too late in the year, that we needed to come during the monsoons. I guess everything great happens during the monsoon season. The kids enjoyed running around the area nonetheless and looking at the interesting rock features, including this one we thought looked like a cougar.
We drove back to play on the beach for a little bit. This was one of the most placid beaches we have found since moving over here. It was beautiful. We regrettably had left our swimsuits at the hotel.
As we walked the beach and waded in the surf, we came across a spot where there was a plethora of tiny crabs in seashells.
The tide would come in and expose them. Then the tide would roll out and if they hadn’t quickly buried themselves, they’d be taken out with the tide only to be washed back in with the next tide for a second chance to dig. Ethan tried a few times to catch one and eventually succeeded. As we are ‘catch and release’ fishermen, he put it back with the rest of the crabs.After some more playing around it was time to make the drive back toward Salalah.
As we were getting back in the car, it was funny to think that we were a mere one hundred and fifty kilometers (ninety miles) from the Yemen border.

We stopped by the Al Hafah souqs to buy some frankincense. Oman is known for their very fine frankincense. Harvesting the resin from the frankincense is an interesting process. It can be burned as incense, used as perfumes and oils, or consumed for health purposes. Frankincense has been traded all over Arabian Peninsula for thousands of years. One cannot read any history of Arabia without reading about the two thousand miles of Frankincense trails from Oman up to the Holy Lands. At one point in history frankincense was considered more valuable than gold. There is evidence of it being traded and taken to the pharaohs of Egypt. The good quality frankincense has a very pleasing aroma. We visited several little shops until we found one we really liked. This woman’s name was Layla. We bought various types of frankincense from her as well as some myrrh.
She also gave us some sandalwood to burn. Kennedy really liked the scent of it. She showed us how some people burn it and let the smoke permeate their clothing to give them a pleasant smell.
I've decided I really like frankincense. Hopefully we bought an ample supply of it. If not, I guess we’ll just have to come back!

With that, we watched our final sunset and sunrise on our Omani vacation. It had been a wonderful vacation with many wonderful memories.