Journey through the desert to Oman

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We left Dubai, heading north to Oman's Musandam Peninsula, a small inhospitable area cut off from the rest of the country by the UAE. We drove through the flat desert pain, with only the odd sand dune and town breaking up the landscape. After an hour or so, barren rocky mountains appeared on the horizon. And these mountains stayed in front of us right up to the Omani border. For some reason I really enjoy crossing borders by land. The nations flags held up high, border guards, the little bit of 'no mans land' between the two border posts... it's infinitely than arriving into a new country the usual way, through a nondescript airport. As soon as we were through, the road which previously had all the space in the world to weave through the desert was suddenly flung to the edge of the mountain and sea and we drove and winding path up to Khasab. That afternoon we had a mountain drive taking in stunning views of Khors (more on those later) and the mountains themselves. We drove up the barren mountain, and were soon great with a flat plain. At around 700m high this plain enjoyed trapping the rainfall for itself and was full of Palm trees and small grassy paddocks which fed the goats farmed in the region. We climbed the mountains again up to 1400 metres and got out to enjoy the views. * Boring Geography bit * At this point what created these mountains became immediately clear as the rock beneath our feet contained fossils of various shellfish. Fascinating to see and meant that the land between our feet used to be under the ocean floor but has been uplifted due to tectonic forces to create the mountain range of the Musandam peninsula.

The next day we were picked up early for boat trip out into the khors. As we left the port of Khasab in the morning we were passed by many speedboats coming into the port. Our guide told us how they were Iranian smugglers (with Iran only being 60km away) who make the trip to Khasab to buy cigarettes and electronic goods. Leaving them behind we entered one of the peninsulas Khors (which is essentially the same as a fjord although the process that makes them is different!), looking out for local isolated fishing villages. We were told how these villages have only had electricity for 20 years and that fresh water is delivered once a week by ship, but the people make a good living by fishing and taking their catch into Khasab every day. As we cruised along two humpback dolphins joined us and swam alongside the boat, cruising the waves it was making. By late morning we reached Telegraph Island, used by the British during the days of the empire for transmitting communications onto India, and jumped into the cool water. Snorkels on we swam around, watching the fish, urchins, sea cucumbers and coral below. Every now and again I spotted a hole in the sand which was seemingly patrolled by a fish, and just once spotted a crustacean appear from the hole. Back on board our captain told us it was a Bulldozer Shrimp, which are blind, and it's Goby Fish 'partner'. The two have a symbiotic relationship, where the shrimp builds a burrow they can both inhabit and the fish warns of any nearby predators. Our day followed a leisurely path of cruising and snorkelling before we ended back at Khasab.

The next day we had a flight to catch to Muscat, but had enough time in the morning to quickly visit Khasab Fort. Wonderfully restored it commands the bay and affords wonderful views of the town and date plantations. Khasab Airport was an experience, two rooms - one to check-in and the other to wait for the flight! The airport actually doubles up as the regions air force base and so all sorts of helicopters where taking off and landing. The short flight itself, on a tiny turboprop, was wonderfully scenic passing directly over the khors and mountains we had cruised and driven through the days before.

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