It was a few degrees above freezing in Ammam when the plane landed – a stark change from the heat on Socotra. I put on all clothes that I had in my backpack to keep myself warm. The bus from the airport brought me to Amman’s 7th Circle, I walked to the hotel from the […]
Day 7: Degub Cave We relaxed on our last day on the beach. After lunch, we packed the tents the last time and loaded them into the cars. There was one more place to see – Degub Cave that is more like a grotto and not as big and impressive as Hoq Cave. The hike
Socotra, Yemen, Feb 2025 Read More »
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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Dubai, OAE The MSC cruise was over. In Abu Dhabi, my husband and I left the Opera after breakfast and went to the airport by bus to take a flight to Doha. As we were flying during the day, the coast was clearly visible and the views were amazing. Doha was actually a 1-night stopover
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Khasab, Oman MSC Opera was docked in Dubai for 2 days. I heard so much about this city and was eager to see its wonders. When we looked out of the window in the morning, the skyscrapers filled the horizon. At 10 a.m., we took the first free shuttle bus from the port to the
