We finally slept well, all the way until 9. After a buffet breakfast we packed up and headed out. It was already over 100 degrees, and inching up. Our plan was to visit the famous Wadi al Shab, but started getting nervous about the hike required in to the swimming area. Different sources said it was anywhere from 45 minutes to over an hour. We decided not to risk it in the extreme heat, and instead went to a different nearby swimming spot that promised just a 5 minute walk.

The Bimmah Sinkhole didn’t sound like the most exotic place. Sinkhole in general is really a horrible word. But it was free and not busy and we ended up having a great time.

The water was clear and refreshing. Despite looking green in my photos, it was quite blue. It’s sea water from the nearby ocean since it’s under sea level. It’s even tidal! The snorklers swam around together for over an hour.

I found a nice shady spot and forced myself to get used to the skin nibbling fish. I swam in my shirt so the heat was tolerable, even pleasant, in the shade with a wet shirt.

After swimming, we drove another 2 hours to the middle of nowhere. Somehow there were men working on the roads in the middle of the day. We drove past neighborhoods of shacks that clearly don’t have power or running water. I can’t imagine.

We arrived at Ras al Jinz turtle reserve. This beach is protected for mama and baby turtles, and if you stay at their hotel you get to go and see them nesting at night and early in the morning.

Millie was especially excited because the rooms are tents. They are quite cushy with AC and en suite bathrooms, but it’s extremely windy. The sides of the tent flap loudly and the man checking us in warned us ahead of time that it would be loud. So we’ll see how the night goes.

Once we got all our stuff in, we walked down to the restaurant at the reserve. It was buffet style, mostly Indian food. We were starving so it was great.

We finished the meal as we did last night, by eating a million dates. They are grown here and so much more delicious than the big mushy ones we get at home. They taste like honey.

After dinner we did a quick walkthrough of the very dated museum, and then headed out on the tour. We took a short bus ride to the shore, and then were led by red flashlights to a nest. We saw the mama turtle laying her eggs! Like we actually saw the eggs squirting from her body. Sorry I couldn’t think of a better verb.

We saw some baby turtles, and another mama turtle making her way back to the waves after she was finished. Some crazy facts I learned: 1/1000 of these eggs will survive into adulthood. The ones that survive don’t lay eggs for the first 30 years of their life. Once they’re ready to lay eggs, they return to the same beach where they were born. And then they do this every 3 years until they die. In between their 3-year laying cycle they can travel as far as Australia, but they always come back to this beach.

It was a magical experience even though it was crazy windy. We didn’t get back to the tent until 10:30! A very late night for a little person.