Musandam (finally!)

On Thursday sea conditions were good so we could finally leave for Musandam. Musandam Peninsula, a strategic point on Strait of Hormuz, is separated by the rest of Oman by the east coast of the Emirates. From here, you can see the Iranian coast, which is only at 15km. Musandam area is known as the “Norway of Arabia” because of its khors (inlets). This is a beautiful area, also famous for diving and dolphins watching. The main city of Musandam Peninsula is Khasab, where we had decided to stay for two nights. After a five hours cruise, we arrived at Khasab port in the evening. It was the beginning of the week end, Khasab had only three hotels and we did not have any reservation. No information point, no taxis or public transportation, the only way to go to the city center was by hitch hiking. Not very nice situation :-(. On the road, a young couple stopped and we asked them to drop us to the hotel that we had picked from the guidebook, 5 minutes before. They were very nice and I could practice a little bit my Arabic with them. They were impressed! 🙂 At the hotel, we were lucky because its last room available was waiting for us 🙂 🙂 🙂 Through them, we booked a half day dhow trip around the fjords for the following day.

 The dhow (traditional boat) cruise was very nice. Landscapes in Musandam are gorgeous, there is a special light when you sail through the fjords. We could also spot some dolphins, which enjoy sailing alongside the boat for a while. They are very funny 🙂

After one hour or so, we stopped for a while for snorkeling but I preferred to stay on the boat to take some pictures. We arrived to the dhow port early in the afternoon and spent the rest of the day exploring the city. Musandam was worth a visit!

My Tips :

• National Ferries Company Muscat – Khasab, has two departures a week. Tickets one way/return 23/44 OR. In 2.013 it was not possible to book online.