I spent the weekend with friends in Muscat and we agreed to meet approx. 60km from Sohar towards Muscat. Unfortunately one car coming from Abu Dhabi had two broken tires on the way to the meeting point
. The replacement of the tires was time consuming and it became too late to enter the mountains and set up our camp as planned. So we decided to stay in a hotel in Sohar and enjoyed the evening in comfort. The next day we went towards Jabel Rais, passed a hot spring and inspected the camping site, which was located on some terraced fields with a magnificent view. We spent the afternoon hiking in the mountains until literally some shoe soles fell off the shoes
. So we set up our camp, enjoyed the dinner and the fire and always had an eye on the dark clouds above us. The night brought some rain, but after dawn and breakfast everything was bright again 
. Unfortunately one of the cars could not be started , which we thought was due to humidity or cold weather during the night. Eventually the car started after some time and checking the relays and fuses. 
We went to a beautiful wadi and started our way by foot upwards past boulders and through the refreshing water until we reached some pools and “the chains”, a very tricky passage over big boulders to reach another pool. Everybody truly enjoyed it, but it was time to continue our journey towards Jabel Shams. The scenery is fantastic and we had spectacular views driving through the mountains on and off-road. We reached the guest house after sunset and made ourselves comfortable.
On the next day we wanted to go down Wadi Bani Awf, but again the car could not be started
. After various attempts we decided to bring a mechanic from Al Hamra (some 30km), who luckily after several tries and errors could manage to start the car. He could neither tell us the cause nor the cure but left us confirming, that now everything is ok Insha Allah 
. As it was already past noon, we decided to stay in the guest house for one more night and spent the afternoon hiking until sunset.Next morning ….
same, same problem - the car does not start. So, the task was going down to Al Hamra to find and bring a mechanic. That turned out to be more difficult than the previous day, as nobody was willing to come, and we really tried all the mechanics and electricians 
. On we went to Bahla (another 25 km) but with the same result – nobody willing. We finally ended up in Nizwa in the dealer workshop. The foreman sensed from the beginning that the problem was a broken relay from the fuel pump and Anne and Burkhard were able to replace the relay based on his instructions via the mobile phone . Until I reached them again the half day has passed and it was time to pack and return to Abu Dhabi.Even if not everything went according to the plan, we all enjoyed and relaxed
.
......, but actually......I really enjoyed that!