Day 5 Day 6: Hajhir Mountains We spent all previous nights on the beach where it was warm. I was already used to sleep in my tent covered only by the sheet. This time we were at a high elevation. The campsite was a beautiful place. We watched the sunset sitting at our tents’ entrances
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Day 4, Homhil Protected Area Day 5: visiting the fishing village & the cave dweller In the morning, we went to a small fishing community that is only accessible from the sea. The boat ride took about 1 hour. Our group was greeted on the shore by excited kids and their very hospitable parents. They
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Day 3, Arher Sand Dunes Day 4: swimming in a natural infinity pool on Homhil Plateau From Hadiboh, we drove up a really bad serpentine road. It was so steep that it looked unpassable. Our battered Toyotas crawled along it at a walking pace tilting from one side to the other. The drivers looked unperturbed
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Day 2, Kalysan Canyon Day 3: hike to Hoq Cave That day, we hiked up to Hoq Cave. It is a natural 3-km long cave. Going there required hiring a local guide from the nearby village. Some important looking man registered our group in his accounts book, we paid the entrance fee. It took 1.5
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Day 1 Day 2: hike to Kalysan canyon & bottle trees In the morning, we packed everything and after a good breakfast drove east to Kalysan Canyon. There we saw our first bottle trees that are endemic to Socotra. We could not contain our excitement, stopped the cars and everyone rushed to take photos of
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The best time to visit Socotra is from February to April when its bottle trees are in bloom. Coincidentally, it is also the peak season for tourists. Who would have thought? AirArabia has 1 or 2 weekly flights to the island from Abu Dhabi and they are fully booked well in advance. In order to
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Ghardaïa and around it Algerian Airlines rescheduled our flight to Algiers from early morning to 1.45 p.m. It was for the better. We slept late, rested at the hotel, had lunch, and drove to the airport in Ghardaïa without rush. However, our program for the day in Algiers was cut short. We had time for
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Oasis in Sahara We spent some time in the oasis visiting its towns. We stayed in Beni Isguen and started our excursion there. The town was founded in the middle of the 11th century by a Berber Muslim heretical sect. Its name means “the sons of those who keep the faith”. We went to several
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Sahara We were warned that nights are cold in the Sahara. Everyone brought warm clothes and we were given sleeping bags fit for winter. Five of us women lay down side by side in one big tent. The night was hot. We left the tent windows open so we could breathe and got out of
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Constantine We arrived in Ghardaïa after midnight and drove to Beni Isguen Oasis. We stayed in a traditional guesthouse. The rooms were basic, yet had everything that was needed. Water in the shower was hot and no bugs of any kind. The group now consisted of 5 women. The rooms were double, so I had
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