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Italiano (Italian)
The wadi and the pedicure fish.
What I call pedicure fish were a surprise I enjoyed on that first day of the new year. Wadis are rivers, often running dry that in some cases have their beds carved into the rock, like small canyons. There are several, I chose to do only the Bani Khalid because for the last day I didn’t want to miss visiting the great mosque in Muscat.
When I arrived there were only two small groups one of Swiss and one of French besides the lifeguards. The locals would bathe clothed, there were a series of signs where Westerners were asked to respect their customs, but unfortunately many did not care and I was one of the few who used one of the tents/changing rooms with token entry fee. The water was deliciously warm and I was immediately greeted by a multitude of pedicure fish that feasted on my big feet and tickled me too much. With a few strokes I crossed a narrower passage and came to another spot with the sheer rock above me; a piece of heaven.
After a short while the human herd arrived, and within half an hour it seemed more like Ferragosto on the beach in Riccione than New Year’s Eve in a little river in Oman. I counted at least five groups of Italians, including one with the potential woman of my life; an exchange of smiles, but they had just arrived and I was leaving. On the way to my car I realized that I had never seen a river with so many fish, further downstream even big ones: it seemed to be on a coral reef.
I admit my faults
I have to say that the featured photo with the pedicure fish was taken with artificial intelligence; unfortunately I lost many photos from this trip. It bothers me because I prefer a real photo my bad, but some (very few) times it is necessary, however I will always state it.
The one that follows instead appears to be meaningless, whereas if you look closely, it is a 17-on-17 soccer game on a field half the size of a regular one-I love these popular events so much.
The ‘arrival in Sur
The scenery toward Sur is spectacular with the sand desert on one side and the mountains on the other. I arrived for lunch where I had a kebab with lemon juice and mint, excellent. I chatted with a couple from Novara, who told me they were not going to do what I thought would be the top of the trip and had kept just for the finale. They had been told it was not worth doing the hike to see the giant green turtles, but fortunately I was not convinced.
As soon as I entered the hotel, a receptionist quite different from the one in Dubai, without me opening my mouth, said to me in Italian: Hi Fabio, how are you?
In fact it was the only phrase he knew; of course I was the only single incoming and the hotel is full of Italians (ma va). Among them was the group I had already seen twice with the potential woman in my life. I booked transportation to go see the turtles; since it was not the best time of year they could not guarantee sightings; I retorted that they would be there because I am lucky.
I went for a little walk around the city, of which I expected more, and even that would have margins; but it is interesting to walk around even the less central part where there is indeed still poverty and neglect. On the waterfront I met the usual group with the potential woman of my life (third time): smiles and quick greetings, I was convinced that they would also be out to see the turtles, and then I would get to know them better.
Previous leg Desert in Oman, tented camp and die Italian
Next stop Giant turtle beach, the top of Oman
Lack of photos
As mentioned below, for issues that I am not going to explain, I have no photos of this part of the trip; so I close the story with a video taken at the previous stop in Dubai. The Burj Khalifa to this day is the tallest skyscraper in the world, lit up spectacularly to say the least.
Trips taken, travel stories divided by continent
Anecdotes, divided by type in travel narratives
Countries visited in my travel stories
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