I was up at ten to five which was perfect as the sun rose 15 minutes later over the ocean. I’d taken my pen and pad down to the beach and wrote a few pages before the sun got too hot and I returned for breakfast.
Sunset over Omag Beach
Cheese, honey, jam and bread. Yemeni honey is as sweet and delicious as its reputation
Camel and crab tracks
Soon we were packed up and on our way eastward along the southern coast to Dagob Cave, a huge cave in the cliff in which a family lives and raises sheep. Apart from the overpowering stench of guano, it seemed very agreeable. And their noses probably packed up generations ago.
It’s early morning on my first full day in Socotra and I’m sitting on the crest of a sand dune watching the waves roll in on a long sandy beach.
Sunrise at Omag Beach, Socotra, Yemen
Sandstone and limestone cliffs like those throughout the Middle East run behind the beach into the horizon. Unlike those other cliffs, these are alive with life from the recent rains.
More Sunrise at Omag Beach, Socotra, Yemen
That’s the scene set, now for the journey. The flight from Sana’a was uneventful. Passed over the terraced mountain farms where qat and occasionally food is grown.
Then down across the Arabian Sea until Socotra came into view. the first sight is of the cloud-shrouded mountains, then the coastal plain.
I caught sight of what looked like a huge lagoon behind an enclosing sand bar. Ameer, who we’ll meet soon, tells me we’ll be visiting there later.
Banking steeply, we descend heading back towards the sea and land at the charmingly ramshackle Socotra International Airport.
It’s at the airport that I meet Ameer, my Socotri guide for the coming days, and wait by an amusing baggage carousel which is actually just a conveyor belt. If you don’t get your bag in time it is unceremoniously dumped in a pile on the floor.
Bag secured, we head out to the carpark and meet Salim the driver and all get into a flash newish Landcruiser which is to be my base for the trip. Ibn Battuta I ain’t.
We immediately start up into the hills behind the airport and onto the plateau above. It isn’t long before I spot my first Dragon’s Blood Tree, lifting it’s umbrella like canopy above the scrub.
Dragon's Blood Tree above wadi Dirhur, Socotra, Yemen
or so my tour guide tells me. It is a pretty special city and I’m sitting here stuffing my face with mezza, samboush and an exquisitely marinated mixed grill of goat and chicken, while uploading today’s photos. Another lazy gallery
My room on the fourth floor
View of old city of Sana’a from my window
Kids everywhere
Buildings in old city of Sana’a 1
Buildings in old city of Sana’a 2
Buildings in old city of Sana’a 3
Wooden Door
Buildings in old city of Sana’a 4
One of 38 mosques in old city of Sana’a
More happy kids
Rooftop view of old city of Sana’a 1
Rooftop view of old city of Sana’a 2
Bab Al Yemen gate to old city of Sana’a
Nighttime view from my room
Contrary to expectations, internet here is fine so at least the beginning and end of my Yemen stay will see me well connected.
No pictures today sorry, Last night I flew up to Cairo from Lilongwe via Nairobia (Kenya), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) and Khartoum (Sudan). Tonight I fly to Dubai via Doha and…
