#dhows

We left Muscat and headed out into the countryside.

The landscape is consistently barren and rocky.

Most of the day was spent at 'touristy' sites. The first stop was a sinkhole.

Not a significant destination in my opinion.

Then to a local wadi, a small canyon with some water in the bottom.

We walked up the canyon a ways, some people waded in the water.

There were some goats on the canyon walls.

I found that my balance has gotten worse than I thought. I was not as steady on rough, rocky paths as I have been. Obviously, I need to work on balance issues when I get home. Cap Lakes has balance classes that I need to attend. My attending will encourage Cathie to get to them also, an extra benefit.

We ended the day in the town of Sur, where we visited a dhow construction factory. Dhows are traditional wooden boats used in this part of the world for centuries. When Oman was the largest trading country in the Indian Ocean, the trade was on dhows.

Today, they are a specialty item. Most new dhows are used for tourism or private pleasure boating.

The main part of the dhows are still made of teak, but the interior can be made of less expensive woods.

Because they are using expensive woods, the scraps from the boat construction are made into a variety of smaller items: boxes, platters, etc., to sell to tourists.

They also make racing row boats.

Our final stop for the day was at the local lighthouse, the last one operating in Oman,

There was a good view of the sunset, too.