12 47N 44 58E
Dany II to the Philippines
John Ridsdel
Mon 17 Aug 2009 06:36
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12 47N 44 58E
Aug. 16, 2009
Dany II
Good morning!...we have arrived safely in Aden
after having to power all night from about midnight on...it was sol going, but a
pleasant calm night with good visibility...we only saw 1 freighter &
no local fishing boats, between the radar & the Max Sea charts, it was easy
to stay on the 20 fathom line so we didn't have to worry about getting tangled
up in any fishing nets...the visibility this morning was less than 5 mi. with a
thick brown haze...apparently the approach to Aden is usually quite spectacular
with the remains of an ancient volcano jutting up behind the city...Dany II's
off white decks are now a lovely shade of "terracotta"...& everything
below is very gritty...unfortunately, Dany II isn't going to get a welcome wash
down...just hope the rain John has predicted will happen while we're
here!...entering the port was very easy, & we are now anchored off
Prince of Whales pier...the town looks pretty grim...can't imagine why anyone
would want to live in a place like this...it was lunch time by the time we got
settled & pumped up the dinghy, so we decided to celebrate our arrival with
a BBQ'd pork sandwich & a beer!...seemed appropriate!...knowing that
everything comes to a screeching halt between 12 & 2, we decided to put off
going ashore until 4 when it was starting to cool down a bit...as it turned out,
our timing was perfect...most of the men chew quat (like beetle nut), & are
stoned out of their minds by late afternoon!...needless to say everyone was very
nice & helpful...when we went into the customs office everyone was laying
about on matteresses on the floor watching some actress on the tele!...our
papers were processed in about 2 min. & we were on our way...our newly
appointed taxi driver was then ready to whisk us off the money changer...as it
turns out, US dollars are the only currency they will take for diesel fuel &
visas...next stop was a computer store where we were able to get more cartridges
for the printer & a cooling pad for the computer...this all happened in
about 15 min.!...we're off to take a bit of a walk around town...more
later...
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