Nick was up at 6 this morning to go scuba diving. Unfortunately this meant Millie and I were also up at 6.

We went to the Overlook Hotel breakfast buffet which was set up as if the hotel was fully booked, but we were the only ones there. It was very overstaffed which meant we got way too much attention. At one point Millie got some yogurt on her face and within 10 seconds an overeager server noticed came and wiped it off her.

When we were done with breakfast we went back up to the room and played for 6 hours straight. My original plan was to swim but the pool is closed for construction and she didn’t feel like going to the beach. We read books, made scavenger hunts, drew pictures, took a YouTube ballet class, made paper airplanes, and played hours of a game where she pretends to drop off Judy at swimming class but finds secret notes. It was equal parts fun and excruciating.

Nick got back and was a little disappointed by the dive because they didn’t see any whale sharks, one of his bucket list things and the goal of today’s journey. He took Millie to the beach to give me a break and time to work out some logistics.

Another travel annoyance today was that an airline just straight up cancelled the route of a flight we were planning on taking next week. We got refunded but no other airline flies it directly, and all other flights are expensive and long. I explored other options, none of which are great. After all that, I booked a non-refundable hotel for an upcoming stay, only to learn that it is inaccessible to non-4wd cars. So despite renting a car, we will need to find an additional car to bring us there. After yesterday’s annoyances and today, I had a real “why are we doing this again??” moment this afternoon. Luckily they are not major issues and just annoyances. We’ll figure them out.

We took showers and then headed out to dinner. We drove as the sun was starting to set and I was grateful to be out of the hotel. Muscat is a beautiful city. The roads are smooth and we made our way through the rocky landscape to Mutrah beach.

We had a traditional Omani dinner, sitting on big floor pillows. Everyone was exhausted but in good spirits and we played Go Fish while we waited. The food was great: heavily spiced slow cooked lamb, rice, and a chicken-y porridge with a tamarind date sauce. Fresh chapati bread with grilled meat and seafood skewers.

After dinner we walked along the shoreline towards the souq. The city seems to come alive at night since it’s so hot all day. The port had two giant cruise ships in it. Except they aren’t cruise ships. They’re the sultan’s private yachts.

We briefly walked into the souq (marketplace). I want to love these but always get overwhelmed by the men trying to get us into their shops. And I’m never interested in buying anything. The two highlights of this one were that it smelled amazing because everyone was burning frankincense, and that it had an interesting “hub and spoke” design with a central gathering area.

We walked around a bit and then headed back to the car. We got back to the hotel and I’m hoping tonight is our redemptive night of sleep after two nights of not-great sleep.