DUBAI – OMAN

The first part of Dubai we left by ferry to the northern part of Sharjah because cycling through modern Dubai over 8 lane highways is too dangerous. Leaving the ferry we went further North direction Musandam, a Governorate of Oman that is also an Exclave as it is totally cut off from the rest of Oman. Cycling went well and crossing the UAE border into Oman went smoothly. The Omani customs were joking about my passport photo which according to them was not me but they waved me through anyway with a big smile.

Such a difference in the amount of traffic. Cycling on this beautiful coast road with only the occasional car was a breeze. It’s always exciting to cross a border. New scenery and people. What will it be like you wonder. The weather was warm and comfortable and after 95 kilometers we set up camp on the beach, cooked a meal and watched the sunset over still waters in all kinds of red and violet colors. Welcome to Oman!

The next day, after a windy night, we climbed some steep roads towards the town of Khasab from where we are supposed to take the ferry through the Strait of Hormuz around the peninsula to Shinas. Musandam’s rugged coastline resembles the coast of Norway with its fjord-like inlets and its waters are home to dolphins and other marine life.

In Khasab we checked in a hotel recommended by locals and then heard the ferry was canceled due to bad weather. So we hired a 4 Wheel drive car and on advise of the rental place where to go drove off into the mountains. The steep impressive mountains in Oman are rugged and made us think of Norway with the exception of the colors which range from light browns to dark almost deep purple shades. We took a track over the mountains to a remote bay and then headed back up on to another very steep and rough goat track where to our amazement we saw 2 cyclists coming down on their bikes. Thomas, Austrian and Yoga from Taiwan told us they had climbed, mostly pushed their bikes up this road the previous day and had slept in their tent in bad weather at a settlement further along. They were now coming down for the ferry to Shinas as well. We were impressed!