Muttrah to Riyaam; The Bay Traditional Geocache
Hidden : 9/21/2013
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

A magnetic micro-cache hidden on the route between Muttrah and Riyaam. This cache is part of a series leading from the harbour of Muttrah to the village of Riyaam.



Driving along the boulevard leading from Muttrah to Muscat one can easily imagine that this was always so easy. However the fishing village of Muttrah, the small settlement of Riyaam, and the Capital city Muscat were historically separated from each other with transport between the three being undertaken mainly by boat. There were overland connections, but they were rather difficult footpaths leading through the rugged mountains forming a backdrop to the three villages. In the 20th Century, first a single lane road was constructed between the three places which ran over the beach between Muttrah and Riyaam, and then wound its way through a valley between Riyaam and Muscat (this is the subject of a separate series of 8 caches: Riyaam to Muscat, GC44J40 to GC44J4N). In the 1970's finally the boulevard was created which is currently carrying all the road traffic between the three villages. However the old road is still there hidden behind a nice park on the side of the boulevard.

Coming from what is now the Harbour entrance of Muttrah going towards Riyaam, one first walked over the beach in front of a row of white beach-front houses, many of them still standing there today. At the location of this cache the first ever tarmac road in Oman was built leading from the Bait al Falaj fort in the inland valley of Ruwi, which contained a landing strip for aircraft, to the Muttrah beach. The Muttrah High Street as it was called was the main shopping street and passed along the back-side of the Muttrah souq. At the location of this cache there was a little bay, used by the local fishermen to pull their boats onto the shore. The old road winds itself around the bay to continue over the narrow beach hugging the jagged mountains to the settlement of Riyaam and onwards to Muscat. The fishing boats are still there today but now need to pass underneath the newer boulevard built further out in the sea, effectively making this bay into a tidal lake.

The cache consists of a magnetic micro-cache, containing a log-book and a small pencil. A micro-geocoin could just be squeezed in if need be. Please use the required stealth when searching for this cache as this urban area is always full of muggles. Please place the container back in the exact same location to keep it out of sight for any casual passers-by.

Enjoy the hunt!

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Vafvqr ba gur yrsg yrt.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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