March 11, 2013
Flight: Socotra, Yemen (SCT) to Riyan, Yemen (RIY), Felix Airways, CR7
Flight: Riyan, Yemen (RIY) to Aden, Yemen (ADE), Felix Airways, CR7
Flight: Aden, Yemen (ADE) to Sana'a, Yemen (SAH), Felix Airways, CR7
Hotel: Arabia Felix Hotel; Sana'a, Yemen; $35/double
Too soon, our stay in Socotra was already over. For me though two days was really enough, I think I would get bored out of my skull for a 7 or definitely 10 day itinerary as I like to keep moving around alot on my travels. Socotra was definitely worthwhile destination, the alien looking plants and gorgeous water and landscapes were great to see. One day or two more is all I could see stretching the trip.
Before breakfast we took one last walk along the lagoon shore, this time towards the cliffs to the north. The sand here had become fossillized, full of old clam/worm holes. A quick breakfast and we were off to the airport at 7:30. We were flying back to Sana'a today for a few hours before connecting onto Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. Our flight didn't depart until 11AM and the trip only took a bit over an hour so we had plenty of time to wait at the airport. There were actually many power sockets all over the walls so I was able to charge up my camera batteries, both of which were dead or almost so. That is another tip for Socotra.. the campgrounds don't have anywhere to charge up, so either come prepared with a solar charger or cigarette lighter charger that can be run from the car.
The owner of Socotra Eco Tours met us at the airport and we paid the balance of our tour. We were surprised when they only charged us two days instead of three. So that was a $75 savings there. We had only been there 50 hours though so that made sense.
For such a small airport, Socotra had lots of security, we had to go through x-ray/metal detector 3 times to get to the waiting lounge! The room was pretty barren and rundown, peeling paint etc. There was a small shop where they were selling drinks and snacks. The room was also airconditioned so that was nice.
Socotra airport
The flight arrived several minutes late and we were worried about making our connection in Aden.. showing on our itinerary as 40 minutes. Luckily we found out that it was the same plane continuing onto Sana'a, so that no problem. Finally we take off almost an hour late, this time I had snagged seats on the left side of the plane to get a good view of the coastline as we headed back to the mainland. As on our earlier flights, inflight service consisted of a juice box and a piece of cake. The flight again stopped in Riyan for a few minutes, then flew down the coast towards Aden. As we were taking off from Riyan, the plane started doing wide looping spirals to gain altitude. We had experienced similar maneuvers when flying to Afghanistan, I am guessing that there is potential rebel activity along the coast here.
Detwah Lagoon from the air
Felix Airways food service
Finally we fly into Aden, looping across the large natural harbor. Aden was one of the the old British coaling stations for steamships back in the 1800s. It would have been nice to visit but we were only on the ground a short while before heading now towards Sana'a. A long day already.. three flight segments and we had one more at 2AM! At Sana'a airport we found an ATM then hopped a taxi (4000 YER) back to Arabia Felix. Seems a shame to pay for the room only using it about 6 hours! But it let us reorganize and shower and get ready for the next few days.
I had left my jambiyah knife at the hotel, planning to mail it when I got back to Sana'a. The hotel menager helped me wrap it up in layers of cardboard and tape... hopefully the package will make it back to the USA! We walked over to Tahrir square, passing a mini qat market and guys selling AK47 parts on the street (magazines mostly) and found the post office OK. Luckily there was a guy there who spoke English and was able to help us figure out how to mail it. Turned out to be very expensive, 6850 YER, almost as much as I paid for the knife to begin with!!
We went back to the hotel then asked about an ATM as now I was short on USD.. turns out there was one right by the post office! Back we went and found a hole in the wall in a pharmacy, even more luck it dispensed $100s. I wanted to make sure I had enough cash to get us at least through to Djibouti.
Sanaa streets at night
Back at the hotel we grabbed a quick dinner. There was a bookseller at the hotel, he was desperately trying to get us to buy anything, books, CDs, etc as he said there are no tourists. Politely declining, we headed back to the room to crash for a few hours before heading back to the airport. All international flights to Sana'a seem to arrive/depart at ungodly hours. Our flight to Ethiopia left at 2AM, arriving 3:45AM in Addis! Ugh.
March 12, 2013
Flight: Sana'a, Yemen (SAH) to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (ADD), Yemenia
Flight: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to Dire Dawa, Ethiopia (DIR), Ethiopian, DH8
Flight: Dire Dawa, Ethiopia to Jijiga, Ethiopia (JIJ), Ethiopian, DH8
Hotel: Belayneh Hotel; Harar, Ethiopia; 300 ETB/double
We headed to the airport around 11PM and had no problems checking in with Yemenia and carrying on our backpacks. Immigration took a few minutes, mainly because the family ahead of me seemed to have documentation problems. I don't remember much about the flight other than I didn't sleep much. We landed 15 minutes early. As we were deplaning, I realized I had left my book in the seat back... they let me back on the plane to get my book but I was going against the flow of traffic and it took quite awhile to get to it, even though we were in one of the front rows of Econ.
Yemenia SAH-ADD
It is possible to get a visa on arrival in Ethiopia. Dean and I had visited Ethiopia 5 years previously and at the time the visa was $20. We were surprised to see that the price remains $20. The process is very easy, there is a room right before immigration where you go and pay the $20 then you get the visa sticker. There is also an ATM just before the immigration desks where we got out some Birr.
Our next flight to Jijiga didn't depart until nearly 8AM. Luckily we had been able to get boarding passes at the transit desk before immigration. It took awhile though before we realized we needed to go over to T1 (old terminal) where domestic flights and some regional flights depart. The terminal wasn't open yet but the guards let us go upstairs to wait in the pre-security area. There are some reclining lounge chairs here and I was able to get a bit more rest.
Around 5AM there started to be some more activity, the cooks started showing up for the cafe. We eventually had breakfast of omelette and damn good Ethiopian coffee. The Cloud Nine lounge opened around 6AM and we went in for awhile courtesy of my United Gold status. The lounge was pretty nice, they had a buffet setup with sausages, spinach, eggs, etc. They didn't have individual sized Mirindas (orange soda) in the fridge so I grabbed the whole bottle and ended up drinking most of it before we left
Ethiopian T1 lounge
We had decided to change our plans slightly. Instead of spending three nights in Somaliland, we decided to go to Harar in Ethiopia and see the hyena feedings, then spend two nights in Somaliland. Originally our flight was to Jijiga but the flight stops enroute in Dire Dawa. Dire Dawa is closer to Harar so we thought we could get off the flight there (we had carryon bags only), we confirmed it with the transit desk and the gate checkin agent.
Out flight left on time, bussed out from the terminal to the DH8 prop aircraft used by Ethiopian on domestic routes. I saw Ethiopian's mothballed 787 planes sitting on the tarmac. Originally I was supposed to fly back to the USA ADD-IAD on the 787 but now that was not looking very likely. The flight to Dire was quick, as we landed they said for transit passengers to Jijiga to remain on the plane. We got off though, but on entering the terminal there was someone checking boarding passes. Of course ours still said Jijiga on them. We argueed a bit and the airport manager and captain eventually came into the discussion. We were escorted back onto the plane! That messed up our plans a bit as now we would need to backtrack from Jijiga to Harar.. about 2 hrs plus the extra flying time.
Mothballed 787
Ethiopian ADD-DIR
We took off, our hopes dashed. About another 40 minute flight to Jijiga, which is a new airport built some distance outside of town. The landscape here had changed, flat, dusty fields with dome-shaped nomadic houses. The taxi driver wanted 200 birr to take us into town, about 15-20 minute drive. We headed directly for the bus station. Ethiopia is much more colorful than Yemen had been, women do not wear veils but do cover their heads. We found the shared taxi heading to Harar and had to wait 20-30 minutes before we had a quorum. The bus station was pure chaos, people selling wares, muddy ruts, old dilapidated buses. Ours luckily was a newish Toyota. And they didn't totally squeeze everyone in to overflowing.
The road from Jijiga to Harar is newly paved and in great condition. The landscape changes from the flat dry desert through mountains and past these hills of oddly shaped granite boulders. Lining the road in places were these plants, almost looked like giant pea plants with huge pods. At one point we passed this huge camel train heading into a town market.
We finally arrive at the bus station in Harar and hired a tuktuk to take us to the hotel. Unfortunately we misread the hotel name and the tuktuk driver starts taking us off in a different direction. Eventually we realize our mistake and just have him drop us off at a nearby restaurant, Fresh Touch. it turned out to be a great choice. Had our first beer of the trip (St. George) and a huge calzone for lunch for under $5. Ethiopia is still a great bargain destination.
We walked back to the bus station and ended up picking the Belayneh hotel, very convenient to the bus station and close to one of the gates to the old city. There is a huge market setup just outside the hotel and they were working on the road. But at night noise should be a problem. We planned on getting an early start to Hargeisa in the morning. The hotel was sufficient, nice enough room for 300birr/double. The power was a bit iffy though... plugging in my laptop the socket sparked and didn't work very well after that.
Belayneh hotel
We walked into Old Harar, full of narrow winding streets. Old Harar is considered one of the 4th most holy cities in Islam.. it was a center of learning back in the day. I wasn't quite sure what to expect but it did not feel like I expected it to feel. The city is built on a hilltop surrounded by a wall with several gates. As we were walking through the town we attracted a girl 'guide'. That is unusual as well, usually we are inundated by touts in such a place. We explained we were just walking though and eventually she gave up.
Women in old Harar
Old taxi in Harar
There are a few historical houses here, Arthur Rimbaud lived in Harar. Haile Selaisse also spent his honeymoon here. We wandered around for awhile, checking out several of the city gates before heading back to the hotel for a nap.
One of the tourist sights in Harar is to witness the 'Hyena men'. Every night at 7PM, there is a spectacle line none other. AtLocal men feed meat to hyeans, using sticks and making the hyeans do tricks. This is a long standing tradition and we hoped that we could catch it. There are now two hyena men in town. We caught a tuktuk to head to the 'new' hyena man who we heard is better somehow. However when we arrived there was no hyena man and no hyenas. Local kids started calling out for him but then they said it might not happen until 8PM.
At that point we decided to switch and go to the other one. Good thing we did, as we pulled up there was another tourist couple there taking photos. The price was 100Birr each. The old man would toss meat to several hyenas lurking in the shadows. There was one he was feeding from the stick. I managed to pose a few photos feeding the hyena. He started making them do tricks but by that point he was out of meat and the hyena was full and so the show was over.
Feeding the hyenas
We took our tuktuk back to the Fresh Touch restaurant, very good. Then walked back and crashed for the night. We planned to get an early 6am start for Hargeisa.