aden

Aden used to be this busy port strategically positioned in the gulf of aden where most ships going through the indian ocean to the red sea or the other way around would stop. What we saw however was completely different. mostly because the effect of the pirates and partly because of the unstable situation of yemen, the port had only half of the traffic it used to have and the facilities looked a bit dilapidated. the city itself had closed streets with barricades and leftovers of debris and rocks probably from manifestations that had taken place not too many days or even hours ago. just across the anchorage was a famous bar and one of the only 5 establishments in the city that sold alcohol. apparently it was a cool place where locals would hang around. unfortunately for us the place was burned down a couple of days before we arrived along with the other four hotel and bars that sold alcohol. We asked and were told that a group of fundamentalist muslims had done the job.


despite the once again heavy atmosphere and sense of turmoil, the people were extremely friendly and we felt welcomed. they even apologized for the crisis their country was going through. we had planned to fly to sana, the beautiful capital of yemen but were strongly advised not to go. We of course took the local’s advise and sadly gave it a miss. so we stayed near the port and did our usual chores such as getting water, diesel, food, change oil, filters, belts, etc… we also had a celebration for having left the most dangerous pirate area behind. So once again we had a good time, rested and relaxed and prepared to move on and finally out of the indian ocean into the red sea.

al mukallah

in salalah a few other boats joined the convoy and we were now 9 boats sailing together towards yemen. under strict convoy formation everyone tends to need to rest more frequent so it was decided that we would stop in al mukallah, half way to aden. a few days later we arrived in the middle of a street riot. from the anchorage it looked pretty vibrant and chaotic with strong men screaming very forcefully. For our own security (as we were told by the local authorities) we were asked to move to the inner port where we would be better protected.

indeed we moved and for the entire next day we were not allowed to go ashore, again supposedly for our own safety. so we spent the entire day in the harbor watching how a ship full of cattle was being unloaded and I guess being loaded with goats. It was quite the scene.





at night we were allowed to get out of the port gates to have dinner. We liked seeing the town even though it was dark and only for a short while. being so many tourists (a total of 22 crew in the 9 boats) we were transported in two mini buses with police and were escorted to dinner…we felt like tourists for the first time since we left home, but i guess that was part of the convoy plan we signed up for; so we went along and actually had a very good night in this place supposedly in the verge of collapsing into some sort of turmoil. the atmosphere was definitely heavy and although we were not to informed of the current politics in the country, we did feel it was not the place to be wondering around. So the next day we continued our journey towards aden.

salalah

we sailed in convoy around 600 miles from muscat to salalah. the four original boats departed together from muscat and then we met a fifth along the way who joined. convoy sailing was thought and uncomfortable but it provided the security of the numbers. we thought that if the pirates saw many boats together they would be turned down from any desire of attacking because the logistics of handling 5 boats would be too complicated for them. also with more boats everyone has less chances of being taken. sadly this is the thought of many… let them take the others and not me…. ! during the entire leg the tension levels were high due to the long sleepless nights and constant watch and attention during day and night, not only watching possible pirates but also the other boats of the convoy. at all times we maintained a set speed and distance from each other. this is difficult to accomplish when you have wind and waves. luckily for all of us, most of the time we sailed with other boats we had little to no wind, allowing us to somewhat maintain the formation.


once in salalah we were able to sleep again and recover strength for the next leg f convoy sailing. in this town we rented a car and did some sightseeing across the dessert, went to the beautiful beaches, the beloved lulu supermarket and in general had a relaxing and fun time. we did not have to work so much on the boat here as we had done practically everything back in muscat, so salalah was all about enjoying our time in such a different place. and very different to us indeed because we are just not used to this culture. just seeing camels and goats out the window and completely covered women everywhere is so bizarre…. I assume that is how omanis feel when they go to south america… maybe seeing us dance men and women so close together is something they will be shocked to see… I can only imagine their faces watching a couple dancing tango. but this is the beauty of traveling which we love so much. to learn about the differences everywhere! this entire trip has certainly been an education!

muscat, what a treat!

after so many rough miles sailing up north the indian coast and then west on the pakistani and irani coasts we arrived at our original country of destination: oman. unbelievable, when we could have just sailed 1000 miles from Maldives straight to salalah, but instead sailed triple the amount of miles and arrived in the same country but in muscat… close to the strait of hormuz… far from where we wanted to go…. but what a place it was.



Here we met our friend justin who came from london to sail this leg with us. we also met friends from other 2 sailboats that joined our little mini convoy of only 2 boats; so now we were 4 sailboats who would sail together hugging the omani coast. We were surprised by the port sultan qaboos which we found incredibly clean and beautiful. also the city of muscat was very clean and pretty. What a contrast from india. We saw gardens everywhere with blooming flowers in the middle of the dessert!!!

We went to a very nice and comfortable marina where we got some well deserved nights of sleep and did a much needed maintenance to the boat. By this time of the trip most of the lines are of have already chafed and almost everything on the boat has been replaced or mended or is not in use anymore because it doesn’t work. So this place with unlimited water to clean the dirt from india was excellent for the boat and for us. the only downside of it all was the cost. this marina has been the most expensive of our entire trip. oman in general has been the most expensive country. Not only everything costs more here but the exchange to the dollar does not benefit us so everything is triple the price when compared to US.


we also discovered the best supermarket ever. a chain from the arab emirates called LULU. what a place… with all the arabian sweets one can think of and with my now favorite snack: dates!! overall muscat was an amazing treat. Delicious food at the market and at the restaurants. we went to the best fish place ever. what a delicious meal.
we also were treated exceptionally well by all the locals who gave us a ride everywhere, helping us save a little money on taxis. we felt clean and rested. still anxious about the remainder of the route which was still long and the same if not more dangerous that what we had already covered. but with a clean and ready to go boat we felt it was time to move on.