A large exclave of Oman

11.1.25 to 17.1.25

Oman has an exclave in the north of the UAE, Mussandam. Of course we also visit this part of Oman and are thrilled.

Smuggling

We see an incredible number of small speedboats with very large loads. The boats race through the water like crazy, they are equipped with up to two 200 hp engines. We watch the boats in amazement and wonder what they are doing. A local explains to us that these speedboats come from Iran and bring cheap Iranian petrol to Musandam via the Strait of Hormuz. On the way back to Iran they take electronic devices and even luxury cars back with them on their small boats. These actions are of course smuggling and are prohibited. Oman seems to tolerate this because no harm is done. The Iranians try to catch the smugglers, but their boats are obviously too fast and too maneuverable for the Iranian military boats. If the goods are important, a dinghy always goes with them so that if they are caught, they can transfer to the dinghy and hand over the goods. Since this professional smuggling is not covering enormous quantities, neither country seems to be doing much about it.

Happy moment

We treat ourselves to a one-day dhow trip to a large fjord! On both the outward and return journeys we see an incredible number of dolphins. They come to the ship and want to play with the ship. They show off their skills, beautiful jumps, backstroke and sideways jumps, and all right next to the ship. It is fantastic to be able to watch the animals so close and so playfully. It is incredible with how little body movement they can achieve enormous speed in the water. Of course we try to capture everything on camera.

Encounters

We meet Christine and Thierry, a German French couple, in Khasab. They have been travelling for a long time and have just shipped from Kenya to Salalah. They are also doing a dhow tour, but a different one to us. We see each other again in the evening and have a few moments to chat before both go their separate ways.

For a smile

We definitely wanted to go to the infamous Strait of Hormuz since we were so close! We booked a day trip to Kumzar, the northernmost fishing village in Oman, which is practically on the Strait of Hormuz, not directly, of course, but in a natural bay. Theoretically we can see Iran from here, but the weather is not so good, and we can’t see anything. The water in the Strait of Hormuz also looks no different than the water in the entire Persian Gulf. In the afternoon, when we set off on the return journey, our captain just said that the wind had picked up a bit. It’s hot and a little wind can’t hurt. After the first hour of sailing on the dhow, we retreat more and more towards the middle of the ship because otherwise the spray would splash us. The wind slowly develops into a storm and the dhow moves like a nutshell on the strong sea. The storm is now whipping the spray across the entire ship. We seek cover behind the sideboard and are given blankets by the captain. He also forbids us to get up, as a sea rescue would be very difficult. With shorts and a T-shirt, we are not exactly optimally equipped for this kind of weather. We are completely soaked, because in addition to the spray it has of course also started to rain. We don’t notice the difference, there is just water in the air, and we are getting wetter and wetter. After a good four hours we reach the port of Khasab, slightly hypothermic and thoroughly soaked. Luckily, we were able to park Globi in the port, so that after a short, brisk walk we can reach our home on wheels and change and warm up. Despite our fears, to the contrary, we did not catch a cold on this adventure.