After another spectacular buffet breakfast at the hotel, we said goodbye to Chuck and left the hotel for what proved to be the longest day ride of the trip ... 700km on the beautiful coastal road all the way to Duqm.
Riding on roads with camels all around has become normal ... except that today, I almost got run over by one that was crossing the road and decided to change directions and jump across in front of me ... deers have nothing on these 10ft+ tall beasts when they are coming at you : )
It is also an interesting experience to ride in the middle of a herd of camels that decide to walk in your direction in the middle of the road. Very cool.
This morning was one of the most scenic rides I have ever done ... tall cliffs and tall mountains dropping to meet the deep blue ocean ... a road that was carved on the side of cliffs next to the ocean ... with flawless pavement and lots of twisties up and down ... like Big Sur and Utah and Baja and Morocco's Atlas Mountains all rolled into one amazing ride.
I am also wondering why houses in towns everywhere are usually built far apart from each other (never in a cluster) with a wall all around them ... like mini independent compounds.
We did not realize that today was Friday, a special day in the muslim world, until we tried to get gas and something to eat in the middle of the day ... everything was closed, prayers going on everywhere, roads and streets empty everywhere.
The second half of the day was a straight road across the inland desert plains with nothing around but flatlands of sand and brush ... interesting in its own right but hard.
We made it to Duqm as the sun was setting ... just in time before dark. Our hotel is a great resort by the beach in an area that has been designated by the Oman government as the next tourist development zone for the country.
Amazing infrastructure being put in place in the middle of nowhere with nothing around it ... like an 8 lane highway across the whole area. After a very nice dinner, went to bed exhausted.
Tomorrow, we head to our first camping site ... in the dunes!
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