Faux Wheel Drive

Theoretically blogging, Kia Rios are not made for off-roading. Apparently they simultaneously lack the clearance and the cubic litres to power them through such off-road hazards as sand dunes and mucky wadis. However, we find that our Rio, when fully loaded with a weekend worth of camping equipment, three car sick children, and two crabby adults positively hugs the rough, unpaved roads that scream "ADVENTURE".

Chanting the mantra "The Rio loves off-roading...The Rio is a four wheel drive...The Rio loves off-roading..." we set off in the middle of a group of rugged looking Land Rovers up a wadi into an area called the Gubra Bowl.

The Land Rover owners scoffed just a little when they saw our ride. After all, their vehicles were pimped--ladders, racks, four wheel drive, spare petrol in square metallic containers strapped like a badge to the rear spare tire...oh, did I mention our spare tire is in shreds in the trunk thanks to an unfortunate encounter with a curb a year ago? A view looking over the Gubra Bowl One of these days we'll have to get that repaired.

But no matter, with a flick of the eyes, the Land Roverers silently agreed amongst themselves to set us in the middle of the caravan, a bit like elephants set their sick and infantile in the middle of the herd for protection.

An hour into the Bowl over violently graded dirt roads, the Land Rovers shot up and over a rise to claim our camping spot, right in the middle of a group of three camels. To honor our arrival one spread its back legs and created a sizable pond of camel pee. Charming.

The camel handlers came and stood for a series of photos and a litany of questions regarding their camels' ages, diet, and well-being. One of the camel farmers came and threw his ten-year-old son up and behind the camel's hump. Another camel became very upset at its friend's plight and started doing a camel dance around our campsite. The questions and comments continued. Many "humdill-allah"s and "inshallah"s were exchanged before the word of the winter began to be bandied about--"muttera" and "shittah". Rain.

Earlier in the day another front had moved off of the Indian Ocean and was in the process of breaking up over northern Oman, dumping rain on select locations. Of course rain is good. However, as you may have gathered from earlier posts, rain, while appreciated, is not always desired due to the flooding that invariably ensues after even the smallest amount of precipitation hits the ground. And rain is especially unwelcome during a camping trip in a Kia Rio in the middle of a place with the word "bowl" in its name.

The afternoon melted into an evening that stewed in cold, black clouds. While the kids, all dressed in two and three layers, climbed and ran along rocky rises all around us, the winds grew stronger and chillier, finally blowing away the clouds. The astronomers among us brought out their telescopes and trained them on the moon, Jupiter, and Orion's Nebula. We added more layers and hunkered down in camp chairs between long spells staring through the lenses at the bright, crater-ridden moon, clusters of stars, and the bands of color on Jupiter.

And it never rained. And the Kia Rio made it out of the Bowl. And all was well with the world.

Another successful camping trip thanks to our faux wheel drive.