RIDE & REST
Back to Shaqra Heritage Guesthouse
9th November - 16th November | 2023
The next morning we had a lovely breakfast together. They had constructed and designed the inside of the old fire brigade truck to their needs, which was fantastic. To me, all looked very well thought after.
After breakfast, their kids still needed to learn for school and then we all went up to the old Ford “Al Árif” where we had a nice view over the area.
Back to our vehicles, we went together to Jubbah, where we wanted to visit the historical heritage. In the last stretch, I went a bit faster as I was desperate for a cafe, and I was lucky to finally find a place selling cafe at 14h00. When I ordered the guy asked me if I wanted to have it there or take-away. As I was happy to sit in an air-conditioned room, I ordered it there. I had just sat down with my cafe and piece of cake when the guy came to me, telling me that they were closing for prayer time. I nearly had a fit! With all respect to prayer time, then do NOT ask me if I want to take my cafe inside!
Once I finished my cafe, sitting at over 30ºC in the sunshine, I caught up with Melinda and her family at the parking lot of the historical site, where they just had their lunch. As I was desperate for a toilet, I went already into the information office. Again, I left my riding gear in their truck and we went to visit the site. It would have been helpful to have a map or any indication to explain anything on the site. There were so many interesting rock paintings, but no idea what about or from when - guys, please do something for future foreign tourists!!
We left the parking lot to a spot close to Saha. It would be at least a 2-hour drive, meaning we would drive in the dark. It was still a lovely drive as the landscape started to get more mountains again. Unfortunately later on it was too dark to see the beauty of it. Once it was dark, I followed their truck as their lights were better than mine on the BMW. At about 19h30 we found a lovely spot on the outskirts of a village and again we prepared the front in the truck for me to sleep there. After a delicious dinner we carried on chatting again until late, but this time we were a bit more sensible to go to bed earlier ;-)
The next morning I got up early as I had to pack up things and it would be a long day of riding, about 600km, back to the Shaqra Heritage Guesthouse. However, getting up early didn't help to leave early, as Melinda made a typical Hungarian dish for breakfast: Palacsinta :-D What a fantastic start to the day that is - Köszönöm!!
I tried to use some sort of back roads using OsmAnd, but in the end, in the little villages, it sent me all over the places that I used again Google Maps, especially as it will be such a long distance. However, I still had to set it always about 120km away to stay on the back roads to have not too boring straight stretches. That was really enjoyable as stopping at fuel stations in smaller villages to fuel up and have a drink. Each time locals invited me to have lunch with them - how nice is that? Unfortunately, I had to deny it as I needed to get on. What a pity!
For the last 90mins I had to drive in the pitch dark with the famous bad lights of my Schimmelchen! I was always glad when I could tuck myself behind a car for a while. It was so great to be back at the Shaqra Heritage Guesthouse (google maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/obVoaRtCeLomQwGX6). It felt like coming home! And this time I booked for 4 nights. I can start to feel running down, in need of a real holiday! But I will only get home before Christmas as I will be staying until the end of March; otherwise, it will be a long break ;-) So note to myself for the next leg: travelling max. 7 months and then having some holidays off the Nomad life!
The next days in the Guesthouse were mainly chilling and catching up on Social Media. The highlight was, of course, meeting with the “Shaqra girls” for a picnic!! It was so great to see them again! Not all, as some are in Mecca for the Umra! How interesting is that! After some well-deserved rest days, it was time to hit the road again. It was so sad saying (most probably finally) goodbye to the family of the Shaqra Heritage Guesthouse. I had such a fantastic time there - a hidden gem!
Today I picked a route north around Riyadh, but it was a big mistake as I couldn’t find a camping spot. And if there was a tree there was directly a sign prohibiting camping! That is the first time seeing that in Saudi Arabia! In the end, I could only head to Al Hofuf to stay in a hotel. Due to this, I made 600km again that day and 2 hours driving in the dark. I guess no need to mention I slept like a log as I was very tired.
The next day I pampered myself with a nice breakfast at a nice restaurant, without the separation of the female/family! Al Hofuf is famous for its rock formation within the town, so I drove once around it. I didn't go into the cave as the critics on Google were too bad concerning the entrance fee!
Into the direction coast, I tried to visit the Yellow Lake close by, but the track to the viewpoint ended in deep sand, so I gave that finally a miss BEFORE I dropped the bike. It was already difficult enough to turn around the bike in the deep sand!
I reached the beach close to Uquair, as recommended by the girls in Riyadh. What a lovely area and it was indeed something like a camping place. The only thing it is NOT having is toilets - not talking about some bushes! Like that, I had to wait until dark and even then it was all fully illuminated … Before going to bed I picked a strategic place close by for my morning pee before daylight! During the night there was a lot of movement at the campsite and the beach just behind my tent, so I hardly slept! At one point it sounded like a truck parked right next to my tent! It was a long weekend as half half-term school holidays! I picked the right time for an official camping place …and my strategy in the early morning also didn't work out, as right next to the spot a huge campervan was parked! Maybe I should knock on their door to use their toilet ;-)
Oh, and my luck continued … It was raining in the morning when it was time to get up and pack up! I waited another hour, but it didn´t look like it would improve, so I packed up. I have to remember to dry my tent once in Bahrain tonight! Of course, once everything was packed up, it stopped raining!
Are you also curious about visiting Bahrain? Stay tuned as in the next blog we will be in Bahrain meeting a lot of bikers (groups) :-D In the meantime, hmmm, which drink could I recommend now as the choices in Saudi Arabia are pretty limited! I leave it this time to you, but remember ZERO alcohol ;-)
Places | Cities:
Jubbah, Saha, Shaqra, Al Hofuf, Uquair Beach.
Driven km | Trip:
Total | Steffi: 31250 km
Information Border Crossings:
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Maintenance | Breakdown:
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Health issues:
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Special thanks to:
Melinda and her family (IG: f4m_on_tour) for giving me a place to sleep and sharing overlanding stories - have a great time travelling direction China!
Shaqra Heritage Guesthouse once again for giving me a place to chill and relax!