The adventure begins - island of Suqutra

Dihamri Marine Protected Area. Swim, snorkel with the fish and freshly-caught fish for lunch. I presume the lunch wasn't caught here!

Today I embarked on a week-long trip around Suqutra (Socotra or whatever combinations of the two spellings).  The island has been described as the Galapagos of the Indian Ocean and sits off the horn of Africa (Somalia) and below Yemen. 

Starting off

Travelling with me are Marie and Lou (both whom I know from last year) and Kristina.  There had been some mishaps (overbooking?) by the airline and only Lou and I had tickets issued.  With the help of a local friend (yes ... at 2am) we managed to get another two tickets for Marie and Kristina at the airport.

It was rather stressful ... it would have been very wrong for me to go as Marie and Kristina had made the arrangements.

Our week in paradise

It was a whole week of 4WD'ing (with Omar our driver), picnics, swimming in crystal clear waters, snorkelling, bird & dolphin watching, observing the unique flora of the island.

Egyptian Vultures scavenging for leftovers of our lunch.

And let's not forget camping, bathing only in the sea (ie. no showers) and of course natural toilets (ie. behind the bushes).

As I may have mentioned in my previous trip, the pleasures in Yemen are basic ... in Suqutra it includes sitting under the night sky for freshly killed goat or freshly caught fish, lying down to watch the stars and moon.  As an aside, on the mainland the pleasures may be the various types of local bread, or just lying down to admire the intricate ceilings in one's house.

I must say the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean surrounding Suqutra is the most beautiful I've experienced ... even better say Maldives, Tahiti etc.  It is very undeveloped and unspoilt, and with travel warnings for Yemen in place I hope that this will remain.  There are very few English-speaking visitors; most are from more liberal countries like Italy and France.