Travel Stories | Expat Life
Through the mist.
On our first and only full day in Salalah, we headed back up into the hills to catch the incredible views from Job’s Tomb. The mist blocked out most of the scenery, but the area around the tomb was worth the drive. The tomb sits in a garden full of flowers and fruit trees. It felt pretty special.
After visiting the tomb we stopped at an overlook park on the way down.
photo by Sarah
Can you believe that in August it will look even greener?
xo, jill
North of the border.
Freshly damp from the blowholes at Mughsayl, we continued down the road toward Yemen*. We didn’t want to invite danger, but we did want to check out the engineering marvel that is Sarfayt Road. The road is full of zigzags and u-turns… and just happens to be a mere hour from the Oman-Yemen border. This is when we were glad our mommas didn’t know what we were up to (hehe)!
It takes some close observation, but can you see the road zigzagging through the mountains?
We were all pretty proud of the Yaris for making it around those curves and up the steep incline.
After our little almost-but-not-quite-to-Yemem sojourn, we picked out a traditional restaurant for dinner. Despite the giant sign declaring it “Omani Food”… it was pretty much the Arabic same-ol’.
Still, it’s always fun to eat on the ground in a private room. Shailas optional unnecessary.
xo, jill
*I really really really want to visit Yemen. But… since it’s for sure on the embassy’s list of countries to avoid, I suppose it will have to wait.
Not the Oregon Coast.
We knew we had arrived in Salalah when the sky turned misty, mountains arose, and the brown became green.
Our first point of interest was finding the blowholes in Mughsayl (sorry, no wiki). Imagine my delight when I looked out over the rocks and saw a scene akin to the Oregon Coast. The weather wasn’t too far off either: overcast, misty, and windy. Sounds like home.
photo by Sarah
The blowholes held our attention for quite some time. You never know just when the water will go blasting. Their unpredictable nature made it tricky to get photos at their full height. (The grown men playing in the water made it difficult as well.)
Seeing the giant waves crash on the rocks made me love Oman even more. This country has so many surprises. I had no idea.
xo, jill
[Note: Oregon does have lovely beach weather too, you just never know when you’ll find it.]
Long and flat.The drive to Salalah began with an overnight stop in Nizwa. Nizwa is about a 4 hour drive from Abu Dhabi. A slow border crossing made it quite a bit longer for us.
photo by Sarah
We stayed in a nice local hotel for the night before gearing up for the 8 hour drive to Salalah. The drive itself is memorable for being unmemorable.
photo by Sarah
Check out this video Sarah made and see for yourself:
Hard to believe it’s green at the end, isn’t it?
xo, jill
This past long weekend Sarah, Skylar, and I headed out on a road trip to southern Oman. We wanted to check out the much talked about areas surrounding Salalah. Salalah sits on the water near (but not too near) the Yemen border.
The special thing about Salalah is that it experiences a monsoon season. The influx of water changes the landscape to…green! A beautiful color that we don’t see too much of around here. During the summer months the Khareef Festival (Khareef = monsoon in Arabic) is on and visitors arrive from all over.
The promise of green made the lengthy drive there (14 hours) completely worth it.
Here are a few shots from my instax camera:
More green to come!
xo, jill
