12 45N 44 58E
Dany II to the Philippines
John Ridsdel
Tue 18 Aug 2009 05:12
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12 45N 44 58E
Aug. 18 2009
Dany II...it's another gray (brown?) hazy day here
in Aden...it's 0700 & we've just picked up the anchor & called for
permission to leave...permission granted & we're off like a herd of
turtles!...our next destination will be Salalah, Omen..we're going to try to
keep our speed as fast as possible to get through this next 500 mi. of
unfriendly water...hopefully the current will start running E as it's supposed
to at this time of year, & the SW winds will fill in...it doesn't take much
to get D2 sailing 7knts, so we hope to be sailing soon...Aden was a reasonable
stop, with good provisioning & friendly people...but not much else to
recommend it...I can't think of many positive adjectives to describe the
place...only bleak, grim & desolate come to mind...yesterday we did a bit of
a tour...the high point was the ancient water catchment built into the
hill...empty of course!...they're still not sure who built it or when, but when
it was discovered in the 1800's, it had been filled in with rubbish...now days,
they have a big anti litter campaign going, & despite the dirt & rubble
everywhere, it's actually quite free of rubbish, especially plastic bags!...our
"guide" took us to lunch at a local resteraunt...I felt a bit odd since I was
the only woman in the whole place!...I would like to talk to some of the women
here to get a better idea of life here in Yaman...at least it seems like they're
able to move freely about, just as long as they are in groups & are wearing
the full black "tent"...there are a few who actually show their faces, but most
are only showing eyes...oh, & did I mention the black gloves as well?!...we
still have no idea what the women look like except to judge by looking at the
young girls under about the age of 12, when they're still wearing "normal"
western clothes...but they would appear to be slim & elegant in spite of
being camoflaged in black flowing burkas...I doubt that we'll ever really
understand this place, & certainly not in a 3 day stop...so much for now,
stay tuned! D2 & crew
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