DAY 7: After 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 walk. IT was a bit of a low tide and rocks along the [View Full Entry]

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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 snow-white 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 administrative capital. The red granite of the peaks has been stained a ghostly gray by the lichens, which grow thickly above tree line. Perennial streams radiate from the misty heights, green ribb [View Full Entry]

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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 سقطرى ; Suquṭra) is a small archipelago of four islands and islets in the northwest Indian Ocean near the Gulf of Aden. Nearly 190 nautical miles (220 [View Full Entry]

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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 20 minute flight. I was at most anxious moment when we landed in Sanaa, this is my 1st time in the [View Full Entry]

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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 retiree, he talks a lot but meant well, quite friendly and a bit weird at the same time, he makes his own sandals, [View Full Entry]

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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 was sat next to me, this will be a long 6 or so hours to Peru. At the border some people got off the bus [View Full Entry]

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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 8:30am 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 aware of the "oh i did not notice how much bill you gave me " trick, I pursued him [View Full Entry]

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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 are 3 of us, sweet! The fellas, Julian and Clement are travelling Ecuador for 1 month, Julian from [View Full Entry]

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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 and the bus conductor, why the hell did they not tell me! Just gave me a blank stare back. Mumbling to [View Full Entry]

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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 gave him, he quickly sped off, 3 people were shouting our destination, Quito, Quito!! the most aggressive person won [View Full Entry]

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