|
As we learned, besides cycling, Oman is a country to be discovered in 4 x 4’s. Everyone seems to be driving one (a white one, too), and they are sometimes the only means one has to easily traverse big rocks, dips, hills, and even the desert. Tracks of 4 x 4’s can be seen everywhere and once we drove one, I completely understood why. We did not plan to rent a car, though. Our plan was to take a bus from where we stopped cycling in the south to Nizwa, in order to explore that area on a bike. However, when the bus was approaching our destination, we realized the stop was on a highway with no shoulder, lots of traffic, and on a steep uphill. It just did not feel right. So on a whim, we decided not to get off and instead go all the way to Muscat and re-think our plans. We paid the difference in fare to the driver. After asking us about our change of plans, he offered to take us to our destination the following day, in his truck, for free (kindness in Oman just blew my mind over and over). In the end, we decided to rest for a few days in Muscat, take a shower, do laundry, and then rent a car to explore the Nizwa area. We booked our hotel online right there on the bus–we were so dirty and smelly that we thought if we showed up at a hotel in such a state no one in their right minds would let us stay there. But once booked, no one could say no! Our "Pajero" We packed our Mitsubishi Pajero to the brim and felt super cool going to where the bikes could not. We had a very easy time finding and reaching remote wild camping spots, under the stars, between the mountains, on the rocks, in the desert. There was no need to push our overloaded bikes for 1 km of sand, sweating profusely. We just pulled up to the spot. If we ever felt scared (and we did, once), we could all jump into the car and feel protected. Like the time we heard a loud and unrecognizable animal noise when in total darkness and in the middle of nowhere. In 2 seconds the kids and I were inside the car. Horacio stayed put, with a headlamp, waiting to see if he would hear it again. And he did, just closer and louder. That time he also jumped into the car, probably faster than we had. We tried to figure out whether it was safe to camp or not and were searching the internet to see what wild animals lived in the area. Could it be a striped hyena? An oryx perhaps? A wild cat? A leopard? Or just a goat or a camel? It didn’t matter, we were safe in our Pajero. Should we just sleep inside with the windows slightly open? At some point we heard a lot of honking not far from us. Eventually, we thought it didn’t make sense to sleep in the car and ventured out. By next morning, we agreed that the noise was probably a camel and it might have wandered close to the road, which could have been what caused the crazy honking. We will never know for sure. I did find a scorpion happily sleeping under our tent, though. Poor thing, it ran away when we lifted the tent, probably as scared as we had been the night before. In the end, we were all good to go. Below some pics of our time on the car: Towards the end of our week in our Pajero, we visited our friend Mohammed and his family, this time in their beautiful hometown, Samail. As time would tell, we would remain friends and they followed us through our journey, keeping track of our whereabouts, letting us know we were in safe locations, and assuring us that if need be, they or their friends would easily be able to help. I hope we will be able to see each other again in the future–here, there, or somewhere else. For our last nights of traveling in Oman, we decided to go to the desert again (a different one). We drove the Pajero into the dunes, beyond all settlements and lights, until we thought we couldn't get any further (and until our wheels scared us by getting temporarily stuck in the sand). As we were setting up camp, we had our only guest–a man driving about 10 young kids in his truck, all smiling. They stopped to say hi and chat and we wished each other well. We couldn't have asked for a better last night in Oman–the colors of the sky and the sand, the warmth, the stars, the wind, and the absolute silence. Thank you, Oman. Oman will always hold a special place in my heart. I found it a country of immense beauty, and most importantly, of mind-blowing kindness and generosity. We split our time in two phases. We first cycled for almost 4 weeks down the eastern coast and through the desert, and then rented a 4-wheel drive for 1 week, to travel to the places we could not reach by bicycle given our circumstances (a.k.a. our kind of bicycles, the weight we carried, and the overwhelming steep mountains). Both phases were incredibly beautiful, but our time on the bicycle was where I felt that we really got to know Oman. But first–our arrival in Muscat, where we got ready to start cycling. This included finding a bike shop to keep 4 empty bicycle boxes while we traveled so that we did not have to find and adapt boxes for our bikes on our flight out. And it included getting a first taste of life in a big city in Oman–the people, the food, the ways of communicating, the sand in the air, the heat. It all felt very different, which is exactly what we were looking for. Now onto the cycling! To avoid busy highways, we took a bus from Muscat to Sur. Just getting on the bus was an adventure on its own, with other passengers helping us load our (so many) things on and with the bus driver making his way to greet us once onboard. We looked out of the windows as we moved along and started getting glimpses of landscapes that we were yet to explore. Town after town, we saw people sharing coffee, laughing. And excitement starting to build.... Here are a few photos of our time on the bicycle in Oman: And here we go: And check out the camels: It is on the bicycle where one is most vulnerable, where one can sense the changing landscapes by the minute, and where one is face-to-face with people, at all times. Bicycles invite conversations and Oman was yet another proof of this. While on our bikes, we met people every day. Drivers would usually honk as a sign of support; at each stop for water, supplies, or rest, we were greeted and asked about our travels (where are you going? “Mashala!” All on the bikes?, etc.); we were stopped multiple times on the road and given water or chocolates, even if we couldn't possibly carry any more; and we were once stopped by 3 men who got out of their car and shared Omani coffee and dates with us in the middle of the desert-a beautiful and very well received gesture of kindness. On the road is also where we met Mohammed and his family. They literally stopped their car to talk with us, to check if we needed anything, and to invite us over to their beach house. We initially said no, thank you, as it was about 3:30 p.m., and at that time of the day we knew we would soon have to look for a place to camp. But something about their invitation clicked and we accepted. So there we were, following a family who we did not know to their house somewhere along the route, in a country that was quite new to us. And I am so glad we did, as it turned out to be one of the loveliest experiences in our time in Oman. They showed us their house and we had coffee and dates together. We were invited to dinner, to stay overnight, to have a shower, and to have breakfast. We cooked, ate, had Karak tea, talked, smiled, the children played, and Horacio and the kids played music at night. I was so happy to meet them and incredibly grateful to the kindness, warmth, and openness with which we were received. I felt like I was with family and saying good-bye the next day was now saying good-bye to our good friends. Thank you, Mohammed, Khadija, and family, for these very special moments with you! After breakfast, Mohammed and his family saw us off, with a package of dates from Khadija's family farm (the most delicious ones we ate in our time in Oman), all the water bottles we could possibly fit, and a bunch of snacks for the road. We cycled south, inching our way towards the desert and evermore remote areas. Provisions There were times when we had to plan for 2 days of not being able to get provisions, which can be pretty tough in the desert. So we stocked up every time we could. Our food supplies in Oman included dates, nuts, canned tuna, canned hummus, olive oil, bread, ramen, canned fruit, and at least four 1.5 liter bottles each. We also carried hydration tablets that we brought from Portugal, which were very helpful when tired and in extreme heat. We stopped for Karak tea when possible–in gas stations or settlements–and we occasionally encountered restaurants where we could grab something to eat (like rice and chicken or Indian food). Running out of water As carefully as we had organized, we could not avoid running out of water once. We had planned to find a shop that was marked on a map, though it turned out not to be a shop but an abandoned mosque. The next town was several kms further, and it was hot. We continued forward, taking only small sips of water at a time, not knowing how soon we might actually find water. The next settlement had no shop, but alas, it had a mosque and we had read that in an emergency, mosques would be a good place to stop. We were greeted by a group of about 12 young children–smiling, talking, walking or running alongside us on our way to the mosque. I got off my bike to walk with them, and soon enough, one of them was inquiring about taking a ride on it. I would have been happy to, but they seemed quite young and a fully loaded bike can be challenging to control at first. Next thing I know, a car got off the road and signaled to the kids to leave me alone. I explained to him that the kids were not bothering me (in fact I loved being greeted by them). He seemed happy to hear this and immediately asked if he could take a ride on my bike (LOL), which he did and seemed to have a blast. We were all laughing. In the mosque, we were generously provided with plenty of drinking water, for which we were very thankful! Kindness One after the other. Every single day. Smiles. Offers to help. Mohammed's family opening their house to us. People in cars on the road stopping to give us water, dates, or chocolates. In a hotel in Masirah, a family bringing us a platter of home cooked seafood and rice, so we could try traditional food. In Masirah beach Camp, Zaal helping us set up camp and parking a truck next to the tents so as to protect us from the strong winds. Water in the mosque. And it goes on and on. Our days Every day we woke up with the sun. We had breakfast (coffee or Karak, hummus, fruit, tuna, or whatever we had handy), cleaned up, and picked up camp. This would normally take about 3 hours, and during this time, Horacio got caught up with work. We then had to load the bicycles and get them from our campsite to the road, which could take quite a while, especially when our site was deeper in the sand or farther away. By the time we were ready to start cycling, it was usually about 12 pm., right when the sun was at its peak! By then we were already hot, sweaty, and tired, and sometimes even a bit cranky (me at least). But as soon as we started cycling, it was FREEDOM. Right then and there, the heat and the sweat would stop bothering me and in a second I would forget about the hours spent packing up or pushing my bike through the sand. I would feel the wind on my face or helping me on my back; I would maybe catch a glimpse of a camel running free in the distance; I would soak in the color of the sky and the changing landscape; and I would feel my feet sinking into the pedals and propelling me forward. Negative thoughts or feelings have no place while pedaling. It is a time to be fully immersed in what is happening, in absorbing the surroundings, in making sure one is safe, in spotting the possibility of provisions and eventually, of finding a safe place to sleep. Freedom to live, as is. That is one of the things that I love most about traveling by bicycle.
And here are more pics: Our time in Europe was coming to an end. We had cycled from Belgium to France to Portugal and it was time to move on. Our Plan A was to continue onto Taiwan, but it was still closed in early December. After quite a bit of research, we decided on a Plan B–Morocco. But, as we were (literally) about to purchase our tickets, I received a WhatsApp from my mom warning us that Morocco had just closed down due to Omicron. Relieved to be spared of a future hassle of trying to change or refund tickets yet with no Plan C in mind, we went back to the drawing board. We were well aware, from the beginning of our adventure, that we needed to stay flexible throughout the year. There is only so much planning one can do when cycle touring. But COVID added a bigger dimension to planning. Last minute closures, sudden changes to restrictions in different places, and visa policy modifications meant that we couldn’t plan much in advance and we needed to be ready for this at all times. And so, our big mantra proved itself useful time and again–we will figure it out.
It was early December and we were in Lisbon when this happened. Thankfully, due to a Portuguese COVID measure that allowed foreigners to stay longer in the Schengen area than the usual 90 days, we were able to extend our stay. We were loving Portugal, so being there longer was actually a blessing in disguise. We found it a very warm country, we enjoyed the safety of its streets and the pace of life, we loved talking to people here and there, the food was amazing, and we even made friends. The only “downside” was the place we were staying at, which we definitely did not want to extend. So we quickly found another place and this time it was wonderful. Only two blocks from were we were staying at (with our luggage entourage this made a difference), on top of a hill, with beautiful views of the city, cheaper, and extremely comfortable. With a good roof under our belts, we could start planning. Here is where things stood in December: After leaving Portugal, we would not be able to enter the Schengen area for the next 180 days. We needed a place outside Schengen, that was open, that did not have crazy restrictions such as quarantines, with good weather (not winter, not monsoon, etc.), safe, and doable (e.g. too many mountains with our load would be really tough). We started cycling in Europe on purpose, as we considered it to be a relatively easy place to solve any “bugs” in our plans, our bicycles, and our way of traveling. And while it of course represented a cultural change, it was still very Western. By early December, we were all craving something culturally very different. And so, the search was on. Coincidentally, the morning after Morocco closed, a middle school friend of Sol’s messaged her about his trip to Oman and how he had met a cyclist who found Oman a wonderful place to cycle in. Our eyes lit up with hope. Oman? Could it possibly be our next destination? We did not know much about it as a place for cycling, but we were open to considering any potentially good options. Figuring out a destination is no simple thing. It takes time and research, and the way we work it out is by all of us participating in one way or the other. Questions we ask ourselves about a destination that help us choose are: 1. Is it open? Yes! Oman was open and the only requirement, other than the usual visa processes, was to be fully vaccinated. 2. Is the weather good for cycling? Yes! We found that January-March is the ideal time for cycling as it is “winter.” 3. Is it safe? This is a big one for us, especially as we are traveling as a family. As we see it, safety has 2 sides: safe for traveling per se and safe for cycling. The ultimate yardstick for safety is whether a country is considered safe for women traveling solo. If it is safe for a woman traveling on her own, it is safe for a family. Safe for cycling is a bit more complicated but it comes down to whether there might be cycling paths, shoulders on roads, whether cars and buses tend to be considerate with cyclists, etc. Blogs from cycle tourists were a lifesaver on this one. And yes, as it turns out, Oman is an extremely safe place to travel and cycle in. And while it does not have cycling paths, roads have shoulders and there are smaller roads that are not too busy. We very rarely felt threatened by cars or buses. 4. Are there areas that can be cycled that aren’t too mountainous? What route might we take? There are many, many mountains in Oman, bu there are also deserts and coastlines, and areas that are not mountainous. We use Komoot (app) to figure these things out, and Sol is especially good with this aspect. 5. Is it nice? A few pics of Oman were all we needed! 6. How is the food? Another biggie in our family. We love trying out different food, we eat everything, we are ravenous when cycling, and enjoy the pleasure of good food, be it street food, restaurants, or the supermarket. Oman was a mystery in terms of food, much to be discovered. 7. How does accommodation work? Are there campgrounds? Is wild camping legal? In Oman, wild camping is legal and accepted! This means one can pitch a tent literally anywhere! There are tons of beautiful places to do this–pretty much anywhere outside cities or towns there are beautiful landscapes through mountains, wadis, or deserts. 8. How about cultural change? With its history, landscapes, food, religion, etc., we thought that Oman would be provide a very rich cultural experience. Of course, while we might have some (but not all) answers to these questions, our actual time in places is partly unplanned, which is probably what makes it the most fun. This is how Oman came to be–a coincidental suggestion at the right moment, pretty much out of the blue, launched us into considering it as a possibility and the more we read, the more curious we became and the more we felt like this would be an amazing next step. And as it turned out, it was a wonderful overall experience! |
Archives
December 2022
Categories |
RSS Feed