To the sea...

After some of us slept in (Amelie, Cora and I), while others went to work (Adeline and Thierry), we set about packing half of the flat into the back of the Land Cruiser and headed for a beach about an hour outside of Muscat. The road snaked its way through the mountains before spitting us out into a village that was pretty much run by the goats. There were goats in the doorways, wandering in the road and one who had decided that the top of a car was an excellent vantage point.

From there it was a rocky track to the beach safely tucked below a small sand dune. We set up camp on the top of the dune overlooking the water with mountains behind.

Thierry and I then set off to forage for wood for our bonfire. Even though there were numerous trees, most were thoroughly covered in thorns and therefore ripping apart the dead pieces laying about the ground was less than enjoyable. In the end we did manage to find several large pieces that were thornless and returned like a pair of mammoth conquering hunters to the campsite.

The girls meanwhile had been playing a nice gentle game of boules...

Before the sunlight faded behind the mountains we had a quick dip and a game of aerobie and then went to prepare dinner. It was another fish bake, this one even better than the previous week’s, since Thierry filled the fish with a nice selection of ginger, onion, green onion and parsley. Suffice to say, no meat was left on the bones once the five of us were done with it. And this being only one of three and not even the largest one!

We then retired to the campfire to roast some marshmallows the good ole' american way and eat chocolate stuffed bananas heated over the fire, both of which were big hits with the French contingent.

Circle of Friends...

Feeling thoroughly stuffed and relaxed everyone retired to their various sleeping arrangments. Cora and I slept on camp beds under the stars covered by a mosquito net. It was a perfect temperature for sleeping and listening to the waves crashing on the beach provided a wonderful background noise to fall asleep to. Another perfect ending to a relaxing and fantastic day!