Leaving the city of Salalah
Racing along the dual carriageway towards the port I could see sand devils in the desert at the side of the road. These little whirlwinds were probably caused by the temperature having reason so high at noon.
Camels in the desert
Ahmed turned off the dual carriage way and drove us out into the desert on a metalled road.
We went past plots of land staked out for building, half-built houses and even plots with just dug foundations.
The small group of camels just ignored the minibus as it pulled up in front of them. Again, I was the only person to leave the minibus to get a closer look. After I had taken a few pictures the biggest camel decided to have a closer look at me. I ran back to the minibus and slammed the sliding door.
My fear of the camel caused a great deal of merriment and ribbing both from Ahmed and my companions.
Camel on a pickup
Back on the dual carriageway we raced back towards the port. We were passed by a pick up truck with a camel in the back. The pick up was travelling much faster than us and we all tried to grab pictures as it sped away.
At the next roundabout we briefly caught it up as it sped away to our left.
We passed more half built houses at the side of the road.
Back to the ship
The port came into view as we rounded a hill and descended back towards the sea. The roads around the port were all very busy and we joined the queue for the port entrance.
At the security check, Ahmed had to show a paper document with his picture and the minibus details. The guard took the paper, studied the picture then looked at Ahmed very carefully; then walked around the minibus and compare its details to the paperwork.
The internal port roads were again crammed full of large tipper tracks, artics hauling containers and lots of coaches. Impossible as it seems the dust was thicker than when we had left only a few hours earlier. I had a closer look at the gas pipe structures.
Ahmed took us back to the concrete square by the ship and we said our goodbyes and walked across the concrete apron to Oceana.
The six of us sat down in the atrium and had a drink while we talked about our time in Salalah,
The two of us had a late lunch in Cafe Jardin of pizza and salad before going back to a cabin for a well deserved rest.