Oman: a bit of a trek

After breakfasting with goats we drove to the start of trekking path W6 close to the Jabal Shams hotel. We were immediately besieged by a group of local ladies selling book marks and key rings while we applied last minute sun cream and took on as much water as possible.

The path is an ancient donkey path etched into the sides of the canyon, allegedly taking about three hours to complete. The humidity was thankfully very low as we made our way to the start of the narrow track. Mrs M's walking sticks were brought into action as she tootled along with big happy cheeks. The view into the gorge was stunning. There can not be many unexplored places like this left.

Numerous water stops, pee stops and photo moments later, we reached the abandoned village of As Sab, former home to about 15 families. We deserved our picnic. Mrs M was having Inca Trail flashbacks as she began to wilt on the return journey.

Five hours after starting out, we made it back to the car. Goats called their owners out of their huts to take one last opportunity to sell bits of coloured string. We cowardly jumped into the car and headed away from their village before changing into dry clothes and consuming the most welcome remnants of our picnic.

At this point I have to announce that Mrs M was actually right. She has been nagging me to drink more water out here and I headed her advice on this trek. I felt like as fit as a race horse on the walk and more importantly stayed awake on the long drive back to Muscat.

A couple of hours later, we stopped at Lulus for takeaway and returned home to be scolded by our grumpy puss. The men freshened (the ladies did not, eew) and we ate like pit ponies before crashing into bed.