http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Viajerong-Pinoy/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Viajerong Pinoy en-us Sun, 03 Jan 2010 11:13:12 +0000 Sun, 03 Jan 2010 11:13:12 +0000 My Yemitco bus leaves 9am for Sana'a on my last night I hang out with Seb a French dude that teaches French at a University in Aden he is also a Couch Surfer host I wish I contacted him earlier but too late now he is good fun in 2 hours of walking the streets in the crater souqs he reminisce about Kazakhstan where he lived for couple years and one of my favorite countries in Central Asia. He http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Yemen/Sanaa/blog-460130.html Right off the bat my day started awfully the staff at the front desk of the hotel does not speak English and I struggled to tell ask him for places to stay in Aden then I need a taxi to the Farzatshare taxi station so he send this young boy to fetch me one he found one parked next to the hotel the driver having his breakfast when I got in he was saying Aden 7000 I said what Just take me http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Yemen/Aden/blog-459796.html Who is Queen Arwa Bin Ahmed Al Sulaihi During her era Yemen witnessed a new age of civilization development in all walks of life for she excelled in righteousness honesty knowledge and wit which made her run her kingdom wisely to the extent that she allured the hearts of her subjects to the extent that the Yemenites used to call herrdquo Our lady the Free Queenrdquo ldquo in honor and res http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Yemen/Ibb/blog-459698.html Another horrific night with stomach cramps once again whatever I got days before is still lingering damn As I curl up in bed 8pm got a knock on the door Ahamed fetches me for dinner I begged off and tried to sleep. There are new guests in the hotel and they performed for them loud drummings music and all through all that I grimace in pain in my room on and off in my slumber no fever no dia http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Yemen/Taizz/blog-459697.html Got woken up as usual by the 3am call to prayer Josh was snoring but not as loud as the chants from the mosques. beautiful sunny day after shower headed for breakfast with Josh at the rooftop no one was there but us and as a treat Amin boiled some eggs for us and only me ate them all Josh left after breakfast to find the driver he wanted for our trip to Manakha in the Haraz mountains he need t http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Yemen/Manakha/blog-459696.html Felix Airways flight back to Sana'a took 245 stopping in Mukhalla and Aden The captain is quite cool he told us what we will see in the air so we can take our cameras out and take fotos. We saw Qalansiah beach from the top again and some small islands in the Socotra archipelago we only got served water all the way through Sana'a no food sucks At Mukhalla airport there is a couple of crashed http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Yemen/Sanaa/blog-459695.html DAY 7After the rain last night the sand dunes have a bit of crust at the top I climbed up one to get a good sunrise foto but the clouds hover over . We did not have bread for breakfast so we drove straight to Di Hamri beach still cloudy and a bit of wind. This place is full of red rocks the sea is choppy and so not a great day to snorkel. Ali told me we stay here couple hours so I went for a w http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Yemen/Socotra/blog-459341.html NATURE OF SOCOTRA While the people help make Socotra a haven in a hostile world the island is also a natural wonderland. From the aqua lagoon at Qalansiya to the snowwhite dunes at Ras Momi from the alpine meadows of the Haggier Mountains to the desolation of Nowgad Socotra is a land of surprising contrasts. Rising to over 1700 meters the Haggier Mountains loom over Hadibo Socotra's admin http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Yemen/Socotra/blog-459335.html A little information about Socotra for those interested I myself have to read up on it I only knew about this island 2 months ago when I googled Yemen to prepare for my trip there.As for the title some people dubbed it as Indian Ocean's Galapagos because of the diverse animal and plant life that exist in the island most are endemic.S O C O T R A Socotra or Soqotra Arabic 15871602159 http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Yemen/Socotra/blog-459334.html Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt stops in Addis Ababa i did not know that it is not written in my itinerary so at the counter I double checked with the agent and I was told indeed a quick stop to refuel and drop off passengers I did not mind it really but never thought I will be going back to Ethiopia again this soon More than half of the people got off and lots of empty seats for the one hour http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Yemen/Sanaa/blog-459098.html Posada Sol de Oro is where I decided to stay in Arequipa found it in Hostelworld just picked it at random and turned out pretty good the receptionist Maria Elena and her brother Ricardo runs the show at the moment they are so nice and go out of their way to help out am happy I chose the place to stay for a week in Arequipa and chill. Met my roommate Broad an American from New Mexico a ret http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Arequipa/Arequipa/blog-451948.html The night bus from Cuenca Ecuador left a little late and we changed bus at Machala to CIFA bus company. The bus was full and from what I gathered it actually came from Guayaquil. There was someone sat on my seat assignment so i sat where its empty I am so tired to argue most Ecuadorians I noticed dont really follow the seat assignment they go wherever they want to. A lady with a crying child w http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Ancash/Huaraz/blog-451054.html After a quick breakfast I took a taxi and asked to be dropped off at Puente San Felipe where apparently I can catch a bus at the Pan American highway to Cuenca. I was there at nearly 830am and waited for a good hour Such luck When I paid the 8 fare the bus conductor tried to stiff me I gave him a 20 and gave me 2 change and quickly moved on to another passenger I wasn't born yesterday I am http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/South/Cuenca/blog-449323.html Sunday eve sat in the dorm alone at Hostal Tiana resigned to the fact that I won't be able to do the Quilotoa loop as I can't find someone to go with there are tours around but wanted to do it without paying for a guide. Then as luck would have it 2 guys checked in Frenchies The boys told me of their plan to hike the loop tomorrow so I asked them if I could tag along with them and now there a http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Centre/Quilitoa/blog-448984.html The town of Latacunga the capital of the province of Cotopaxi is chaotic on a Saturday arriving mid day lots of things going on I noticed as the bus crossed the blue bridge and into the narrow streets i was the only one left in the bus the driver told me to get off i said take me to the terminal he said it was before the bridge where everyone else got off I got annoyed and yelled at him an http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Centre/Latacunga/blog-447889.html The border town of Tulcan was built on a hill cobblestones and all and when it's pouring down rain the water gushes down like a torrential stream to the bottom the taxi we were on was caught one too many times in this deluge and we got a bit worried but the driver got us through safe and dropped us off at the bus terminal .85 cents per person but he did not give us a change for the 2 dollars we http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/North/Quito/blog-447674.html Popayan to Pasto took about 6 hours we have to haggle for the best price bus company everyone is competing for our fare at the bus terminal in Popayan we settled to the lowest price and we got a proper bus not a van. The bus was good for a good 2 hours it actually have a strong ac then it broke and the heater went on and somehow they cant turn it off so the roof has to be opened to let in fres http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Pasto/blog-447665.html By 7am we are in town to wait for a collectivo to take us to Pitalito. A taxi was waiting as well we figured it will be faster if we got on it but it did not want to leave until one more person comes we got tired of waiting we asked him to leave but would not budge so when the collectivo started moving we hopped off the taxi and got on the collectivo leaving the driver without a fare at all his http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Tierradentro/blog-446242.html Left Popayan early Johnny the French dude is the last addition to our group of now 5. At the bus station we got swarmed by bus conductors wanting our fare they were pushing and shoving each other we went to the bus company that gave us the cheapest fare16000 pesos. We had a quick breakfast then hopped on to the collectivo van. Scenic windy road trip to rough gravel roads all of us but Johnny http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/San-Agustin/blog-446184.html Popayan is about 3 hours away from Cali arriving at the bus station i took a taxi cause i feel lazy walking to the Hosteltrail. Nice place i was by myself in the dorm then I noticed stuff in one bed so there mst be another person here. I walked around town to get food and also to sight see. Almost everything here is white the buildings the walls etc. That is why they call it the white city. http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Popayan/blog-444829.html