Milestone 11 – Distance: 2,004.6 km (41.1%) – 27 March 2021
Greetings campers! We’re now in the Yemen and we’ve passed the 2000 km mark in a little under 3 weeks.
Thanks to our local fixer on the Yemeni side, we now have the necessary approval letter from the Ministry of Tourism (which took about 2 weeks to arrive!) allowing us to obtain our visas.
We’ve learnt that it’s best to use the same passport to exit Oman and enter Yemen, to avoid problems, and that we need to enter the Yemen via Oman at Surfeet currently paying 100 USD for the visa.
Who thought the local fixer (guide) would be so vital to our journey! Apparently, travelling around the Yemen without one risks deportation on arriving at checkpoints.
Once again we’ve had to head off the beaten track and took a detour to the east coast, a short journey from our entry point on the border to a fishing village called Hawf.
This photo of Hawf is typical of the craggy coastline and scenery that continues from the neighbouring Dhofar province in Oman into the Yemen. You can see the mist hanging around the peaks, a result of the seasonal monsoon (Khareef) turning the barren mountains into lush fertile valleys and forests.
We know this is a country at war but we are vigilant and travelling in a group – we must stick together 🙂
Shout out to Nicole Smoot and her wonderful adventures.
