The Rustaq loop

A long driving day but definitely worth it.

First stop was the Harat Asfalar fort. Very neat and built with fabulous views of the Jebel Akdhar mountains, this is definitely worth a visit. Tour groups are an unavoidable irritation but having been on a few myself, I do realise you become part of a pack and can no longer think for yourself. You panic at the slightest hint of losing sight of other members of the pack resulting in stampeding and shoving anyone not in your herd. I give them a wide berth.

Next stop the hot springs, very nice. Then the highlight of the day – Wekan. It sounds like something out of a film where bad and evil things happen. It’s a village high in the mountains and the anticipation of driving there was causing both of us a few twitches if you get my drift. 26 kilometres off road driving through a wadi and then a terrifyingly steep ascent to the village. To be honest if Steve had said he didn’t feel like it I’d have heaved a sigh of relief. But he didn’t. I could also see clouds gathering and had visions of flash floods and our car disappearing and us being dead and…..

I love sultan Qaboos as he has built a tarmac Road almost all the way to Wekan. What a guy! We only had 3 km of utter terror as we drove up the sandy unmade road all the way to the top. One question – why did he stop?

Anyway, our intrepidness rewarded us with superb views and a steep but paved hike through carefully tended vegetable plots and trees just about to burst into blossom.

The car journey down the mountain was as bottom clenching if not more than the journey up. However, our Kia Sportage came into its own with its descent control thingymejig – basically it controlled the braking and was very useful.

Next stop, Sawadi beach, which seemed an interminable drive. I nodded off but was reprimanded by my driver for not staying awake and “sightseeing “.

Sawadi beach was not a must see for me. It’s nice to watch the local kids enjoying themselves playing football on the beach and there’s an interesting watch tower on a little island you can walk to when the tide is low but the beach itself is a bit grotty and I’d rather have had a snooze.

Home and time for an aperitif. However the strangest thing has happened to me – I’ve gone right off alcohol and a mint tea is suiting me just fine. I’ll be wearing a burqa next.