Wahiba Sands

Wednesday was declared a holiday, we therefore had a long weekend. The Talabis troupe invited us and the Velarde cast to stay overnight at the Al Areesh Camp, Wahiba Sands. We left Muscat around noon that wednesday bringing along our 4WDs (our Sportage and their Fortuners) and arrived about 2.5 hours after at the camp.
Our first test was the steep uphill climb right after the camp entrance. It took me three tries before I got up and over the climb. Disheartening as that was, I still had fun with the afternoon adventure...a ride around Wahiba Sands until sunset. The sand dunes were amazing and then Thess and Vivian were literally rolling around the sand...the fine orange sand. Our 4WD however got stuck (along with 2 other vehicles) and we weren't able to complete our trip. The other vehicle (where the wives and the kids were) finished the entire desert route. We had to content ourselves with the serenity of the desert, the fresh air and amazing sunset.
After getting pulled out by another vehicle, we drove back to the camp for a heavy buffet meal and an evening of non-stop kwentuhan. The morning after... we had breakfast (it wasn't as great as dinner but filling nonetheless). We spent some minutes at the traditional shops before leaving the camp. The girls

had some intricate henna tattoos done on their hands. After that, a quick visit with local (not so) wild-life camel...he was tranquil enough for some pictures.
Before driving back to Muscat, we allowed ourselves one last run through the desert sand. Might not have been a good decision as it definitely left me wanting more of the offroading treat.