Socotra, Yemen Travel Vlog - Rozz Recommends Season 3: Episode 6
[Music] hey you it's Ross surprise I'm here to tell you that I'm Reviving click Network for my Ros recommends travel Vlogs okay so quick Life Update after the covid-19 lockdown I went back to solo travel with a Vengeance and while I filmed my travels and posted bits and Bobs on my Instagram I never got around to editing and posting it on YouTube mainly because it takes up a lot time and I want to travel selfishly and live in the moment but I've had many of you come up to me in real life and even online telling me how much my travel Vlogs have inspired you to travel well so here I am deciding hm okay I've had enough alone time time to take the travel content back onto YouTube so here I am I've got exciting things planned this year including trips that you can come on with me but more details on that after the Vlog for now though I have finally got my together to put together a travel Vlog to SRA now I went to SRA in January 2022 when I mentioned SRA to my friends they would just go like huh where so zakra is a stunning Island under the governance of Yemen but it's more closely located to the Horn of Africa and it's been on my bucket list for many many years now is often described as the most alien looking place on Earth and onethird of the pl life on sookra cannot be found on anywhere else in the planet and I'm there the dragon's blood trees and I was told that this trip I would be camping in nature with little to no access to proper bathrooms I believe there are no shitty situations only ill-prepared people so here's what went down hey guys it's 9:00 a.m. in the morning I'm about to board a flight to KRA there's only one flight a week that departs to SRA and it departs from Abu Dhabi time for the real adventure to start the only way to enter and leave sakota is via a humanitarian Charter flight that departs from Abu Dhabi once a week and the only way to book this flight is through a travel agent seats are very very limited so you can see not many tourists make it on the island this is the immigration situation are just hustling there no lines so my Visa was sent to me digitally but they actually need the printed coffee the original Cofe which I do not have so I'm kind of waiting for my guide to come through right now um till then it's just chaos behind me okay guys so I just checked into my hotel it's called the heath R hotel and apparently it's the only hotel in sakra with reliable Wi-Fi and AC so this is my room and this is as Posh as it gets inra I got to give it to the AC though I tested it it was really strong there's a fridge I don't think I'll need it and even a TV a bed and let's see the shower situation very basic but hey compared to the fact that I'll be camping this is [Music] Posh I'm on delicious Beach this is the first stop upon Landing in sakra uh the waves look pretty Fierce there's no way I'm going to swim in that although I came prepare my swimsuit uh but I was assured that there are many more comma beaches all around cotra so looking forward to that this is the famous giant shipwreck of Delicia Beach this ship has been trapped here for like a few years thanks to the monsoon I don't think it's ever going to work ever again okay so I just took a cold shower it was quite nice on hindsight but quite um a torture while it was happening because it's quite cold right now in slotra anyway I was hoping for some socializing at dinner time but it seems like I'm the only one in the dining hall and I've got a fabulous seafood dinner winning right in front of me to dig into it's fish and briani [Music] wish I had some company I hear people they're just not in here so I'm just going to have my own dinner and talk to myself the fish is really really really good really fresh there some like vegetables things are dll of [Music] sorts okay so it's 7:00 a.m. right now I'm going to be leaving the heath R hotel and launch myself into full scale camping for the next 7 days we're heading out with DAR and Abdul yes we're going to see some endemic trees right now look at up look at Dar such a camera camera all right let's go [Music] so we're here in the Ferman Dragon Blood tree forest such an other worldly tree isn't it look at those alien branches Abdul I know that these are called Dragon Blood trees but it's soot tree language is not yeah no they are called the brother's tree okay the Brothers Tree Legend said that there were two brothers fighting on this island mhm and and uh it was the the first crime in the world and they killed each other so the blood came out down so this tree grown wow so this tree grows from the blood of the first crime yeah wow and in English we call them the dragon's blood tree nice because there were also the legend said it's like imagination yeah uh there were uh there were a fighting between elephant and the dragon wow okay guys you don't know how bumpy this ride is we're going down into the valley of the canyon I just bumped my head so it looks really stable but it's actually really not we're going down like a 45° slope on this car on like a rocky road okay it is crazy but is a rock star wo it's like nothing one hand driving where are we now we are in dur Canyon [Music] wo so I'm here at the DEH Canyon look at that such a lovely drive down 1010 would recommend now we're going to go up that Rocky Mountain Road and head to a resting spot as we wait for sunset this is the kitchen of shake no's house and that is the skin of the goat in it contains milk from the goats and I think they're making yogurt and that's how they store it we're in the kitchen right now and dar is preparing lunch but spr fish that's freshly caught today bubbling in the coldon of oil finally having the food that Dar need so good here will make a very good [Music] husband he cooks with part there's no measurement it's all in his head it's lovely smile dancing had to you know a lot of people come to sakra to see the Dragon Blood trees which are endemic to the island but you know what this island has so much more to offer so many different types of Landscapes from valleys to beaches to caves and uh the ocean with dolphins I'm hoping to see that I'm keeping my fingers toes and eyes crossed but for now though I'm trying to make it down this hill before the sun sets I have dinner at dar's friend's house which is like a really cool beach house look the dining room has sand this is amazing the dinner situation we have chicken and fries Dar is hungry this is our food he's been standing by the kitchen asking when food is ready M smells good today is the first day of camping set up tent by the beach this is space for my bag and this is my inflatable sleeping pad I've got a light there the catlon you are amazing and I've even got a neck fan that I'm doubling up as a floor fan today and my blanket and my inflatable pillow um such a lovely day I'm just going to call it a night right now morning just woke up I'm going to check out my surrounds right [Music] now not a Shabby view at all this is kind of like a camping site with shelter you just need to build your tent in there me and Abdul got tents and then dark took it for the team he slept outside okay I'm going to show everybody the toilet I thought I had to use my wet towels to shower but surprise surprise there was a a toilet with running water it's cold but it was a fresh welcome because yesterday was just a very long sweaty day behind our shelter is the toilet it's really really nice I mean there's one for girls with door and the other one without a door and there's like a potty in there that's like a toilet bowl situation at least is not a pale and there a shower head but I think we're missing the point the point is the view oh my God this is what I woke up to this morning and I fell asleep to the sounds of the ocean so I brought along the sleeping pet which is like inflatable I got it on Amazon and the best part is like see it's cushion and it's really easy to set up and it falls into a really compact package I'll show you later see how fast it comes out sleeping bag deflates and falls into this tiny little compact roll it pretty much fits into this bag which is then very compact for traveling we're now driving to a Dogg it cave y everyone's in good spirits D dul wooo hiking up to the entrance of the cave right now and I I really don't know why I chose to do it in flip-flops not a good idea holy [Music] this cave is just beyond beautiful it also serves a purpose to the villagers living around this area whenever a hurricane hits the villagers will run into this cave for a couple of hours just to take shelter from the storm and this cave provides a very safe and sturdy and cooling support so sometimes the goat owners take their livestock here and you know use this as a rest spot as well they'll make some tea and then the goats would just do what goats do and just scavenge vultures just hanging around us [Music] Dar is making amazing dinner again and this is the Sue Chef Abdul this is probably like the best pasta dish I've ever had in my life this is fried fish and chicken and lots of fries there's a bit of Curry spices the tomatoes coming through this this comfort food at its finest D needs to make this again before I leave the island this is like the best [Music] okay so we're at the Eastern Co CHP of s island and this is where the araban Sea and the Indian Ocean Beach so you guys must be wondering what are these things on the beach right these these little have light things they are all dead puffer fish and they're everywhere everywhere look at guys so even though the beach might look like white and Sandy bring glops or like some diapies video because these are like accidents waiting to happen look at all the fish in my flipflop the boys are setting up camp right now H this view is stunning I'll be sleeping here tonight I need to set up my sleeping bag so it's flat right now I'll show you how I get it done you open this and this is the foot pump now just keep pumping onto the whole thing in plates when that's done seal it in push it in taada oh this view oh my God can't wait to wake up to the sunrise morning it's 7:00 a.m. on a Friday it's my fifth day in sortra I'm on the eastern coast of the islands and let's just say I've been wanting to camp out on the Stars forever uh fell asleep to the sound of the Waves woke up to the waves crashing and the sunrise and you know what the best part is no other tourists around oh oh I needed this I really needed this and I don't even mind that there is no bathroom situation here it's just all natural in the wild I'm going to show you what it's like to shower here thankfully there's a fresh water stream that flows out into the sea and uh that's exactly where I'm going to brush my teeth and get a quick rinse this is where I'm going to be taking my shower it's a fresh water stream and it leads out to the ocean okay so here at the kisan pools is a bit of a hike down it's about half an hour downhill all the way and it's not really a pave path it's kind of Rocky I thought it was not going to be worth it but you know after swimming in this pool 100% worth it I just dread the hike back up that's all it's Friday evening and we just set up camp here in the seaside uh town of Kalen it is the second largest town in sakra and you can see behind me Mountain ocean just amazing we're going to be here for two nights and then I'm going to start making my way back out of cotra sad and that's Abdul hi and dar he never rests this guy is a superhero he drives for three to four hours and then when he comes here he makes tea and then he cooks dinner and then he sings morning day six on SRA and I'm waking up on this beautiful Lagoon of kalenia today I'm going to take a boat trip out to the sh up beach and check out some islands and hopefully see some Dolphins along the way it is cold and windy it must be like 20° right now but I need to pee and I can't do it anywhere else and if there's the option of the toilet I'll take it and you know what clearly I don't care about how my hair looks like anymore I'm just grateful that it's day six and I don't have like the runs or diarrhea or any food poisoning the food's been great cuz D has been an amazing cook how do you stand it's a bit questionable but hey my stomach can take it so yay now we're in the toilet area the showers up front three shower heads there for the guys and for the ladies this is our little private area there are two shower options and I prefer this [Music] one so we've got beautiful natural light one shower head toilet ball it's not bad it's a bit of squeeze we're here at the colia seaside and we're just going to get into that boat to get to shr island this is a really wonderful one and a half hours 2 hours Tour all around the islands and the amazing rock formations that I've seen the birds the wildlife we even saw Dolphins I couldn't capture it inside my camera but uh this place is just so rich in biodiversity this is a small town on the tip of the island and we are here on this little bo Bo it's helping to Wrangle the boat wow [Music] crazy today's lunch is stop out so this is a crap muscles but like squid rice soup and fish tell me what are we going to do now we go to T and S for photo and see orch oh yes o yes okay yes let's go making his way to grab us some things oh my God Abdullah caught a stingray there's a stingray here and it's breathing I can't believe I love eating stingy okay and there Abdullah he caught like a turtle oh my [Applause] god wow is it delicious yeah [Applause] it's creamy sweet oh this is really good you don't even need soy sauce it's got his own Umami in it ah more please look at this fresh oie it's so fatty so sweet the second one was better than the [Music] first M it's sweet like scallop but meater and chewier slightly chewier oh I love this the Dew Lagoon is my seafood buffet I'm just walking and eating the whole time fresh seafood I love this and now we're heading back to abdullah's Cave um he's going to Shu some fresh scallops he says he's got giant scallops and we're going to eat some crabs and we're going to cook the Cuttlefish after a short track we're finally up in abdullah's cave I am so tired look at the giant W I'm just going in up St Jee hello Abdullah alome you are welcome where are you from Singapore yeah waa there a shrimp in there freshly shooked scallops it's raw I'm going to try to eat it right now it is really sweet I just met Loretta from Italy but she now lives in a southest friends and she's here traveling without her husband and do you work Loretta no I sto because I wanted to see all the countries in the world she quit ad job to travel the world my soulmates so I'm not sure if this is broken in Translation but my guide just told me that this huge crater here was caused by literally his words huh something that fell from the sky could it be a meteor I'm not sure and now the locals have created these little holes to harvest salt oh very nice Abdul on a Russian tank who would have thought you would see Russian tanks on the shores of culture so after 8 Days going wild on the island I came back online to a barrage of messages from my very concerned friends asking are you okay please message us back please let us know you're safe so in short yes I was very safe the people I've met throughout my stay on the island they were so hospitable they were warm they were curious just lovely people I think for many years access to cultra has been cut off to the world because of the ongoing Civil War in Mainland Yemen but tourists like myself are slowly trickling back in thanks to the launch of direct flights from the United Arab Emirates since 2021 so this year I'm actually going back to sakra with a group of 12 people from my Instagram Community you see I'm actually launching a series of Photography trips in collaboration with my friends at Rocky Road travels now whenever I go to off the beaten path crazy solo Adventures I always turn to Rocky Road travels to help me manage all my tour itineraries so this collaboration makes so much sense to me and I don't know why I didn't do this earlier so if you want to come on one of these trips with me we still have a few more planned for the rest of the year keep updated with me follow me on Instagram at hey Ross and then join my broadcast channel it's called our Explorer page 2025 is going to be one hell of a ride I promise you and I hope you'll come along
2025-03-04 15:12
