Blogs from Yemen, Middle East - page 2

More children...... read more

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 Farzat(share 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, 7,000! I said what? Just take me to Farzat Sana'a please, Aden he insists, I looked at the boy, turns out he hired me a taxi to go straight to Aden! Both can't speak English, I tried to convince him just take me to the taxi stand, when it did not work I walked out of the taxi and took my ... read more

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 diarrhea, just cramps. Somehow though I felt I had a pretty good sleep and when the noise from the call to prayer came 3amish my tummy was better. Around 7am I packed my stuff and headed for breakfast, paid my bill and said my goodbyes to everyone. Walked 5 minutes near a gas station in town and found ... read more

Felix Airways flight back to Sana'a took 2:45 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 airplanes still in the grassy area near the tarmac, scary, they should put it away so we dont get scared! Same thing in Aden airport! Took heaps of fotos of sceneries from the plane, deserts in Mukhalla area and some towns and sea and beach and busy city in Aden and also saw an extinct volcano near the sea, cool!Behind ... read more

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 ribbons of life teaming with endemic fish and freshwater crabs. Limestone plateaus fan east and west, providing alkaline soils for the iconic Dragon's Blood Tree. Bottle trees grow in such profusion that entire hillsides turn pink following ... read more