December 8: Jabal Akhdar

First day of an 8 day adventure trek in Oman was a success.  Our guide Ghassan arrived before 9 — we quickly packed our 4x4 rental and headed out to Jabal Akhdar.  During our short trek, we visited three old villages.  The views were incredible as one spot reminded Kimchi of Machu Picchu.  

Next, we found a really cool spot to see the spectacular sunset.  Ghassan made us a delicious cup of coffee served with dates.  We met some elementary school aged kids who let me play Uno with them.  They tried to convince me to ride a donkey but I made the wise decision to pass. 

We then raced off to stargaze with Mohammed.  This part of our adventure was incredible as we looked through a powerful telescope to see Jupiter, Venus and the moon.  The picture of the moon that we got was amazing.

We ended the night with a quick dinner at an outdoor barbecue spot.  Kimchi immediately made friends with some women from Thailand who now work in one of the local hotels.

Accommodations: B- (Stone House Hotel)

Huge room with cold tile floors and high ceilings. Hot water in shower didn’t last that long. We got complimentary water but no coffee.

Food: B (street food)

Had chicken and beef barbecue.  Kimchi told the cook, in no uncertain terms, that Korea had the best barbecue.  Food was tasty but we didn’t have any other side dishes to accompany it.  I was really cold outside — I needed a few more layers to stay warm.