Exhaustion and a lack of sleep paid off last night. Slept almost 7 hours without interruption. Got up, got the bikes ready, and had a great buffet breakfast at the hotel ... you never know when the next meal will be.
Right after leaving the hotel, we realized that camels were everywhere ... crossing the roads, in the fields, on the hills, everywhere.
We headed west from Salalah on the coastal road towards Fadzayah Beach. We found great mountains, blue skies, tight twisties, great pavement, animals crossing the roads everywhere, and the beautiful Arabian Sea on our left.
To get down from the cliff road to Fadzayah Beach, we took a steep switchback-riddled dirt road with great views. The beach was beautiful and deserted. We parked our bikes and went for a nice long swim. It had been a while since I had been in the ocean for this long ... just playing with the waves ... feeling the rhythms of the world ... lots of memories.
Again, how strange it is for our minds to store all these amazing memories that cannot be recalled ... at least not until some random event, image, or experience triggers something so these long lost moments can be relived again.
The road to the Yemen border was spectacular and challenging ... lots of switchbacks up and down the mountains. A visa is required to cross so we stayed on the Oman side wondering what is like on the other side, so far away from the troubles in Sana'a.
On the way back, we stopped at the Oasis Club, a well known hangout close to Salalah with a nice terrace, for a drink and something to eat. We sat down with Ahmad to talk about Oman and its culture. He was an electrical engineer and grew up in a a village in the mountains of only 20. Apparently, now I know, camels are not indigenous to Oman and some now consider them a plague and an environmental disaster.
Chuck had an encounter with a car this afternoon on the way back to Salalah ... fuel injector on the left cylinder head broke ... and the bike is not operational. Chuck is a bit banged up but OK.
The plan now is for our friend in Dubai to fly down his mechanic tomorrow with the parts (taken from another one of his motorcycles in the shop) and for Chuck to catch up with the group in a day or two. Hopefully all the moving parts to fix this problem will fall into place and Chuck is able to rejoin the group soon.
Tomorrow, we are heading to Duqm following the coastal road again for another dose of magnificent views of the Arabian Sea.
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