 | DAY 11 |
As soon as we get into the mountains, around the area of Hajjah, the weather changes drastically. 
Men chewing qat on the side of the road, got out of their car expressly to have their picture taken. |
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I don't feel too good today. Not enough sleep for sure; major case of diarrhea. I think all the stuff I ate, smoked and chewed yeaterday has caught up with me. I wish I could stay alseep in a cool room all day. I don't feel like sweating, like talking, even taking pictures. We're being escorted by a van of militaries again. We're waiting for another car. I feel pretty sick. Had the shits since I woke up. Having diarrhea at Hamid's house wasn't exactly easy or comfortable. Trying to uncomfortably squat over the toilet, sweating to no avail, one of the kids banging on the bathroom door, and the sound of the family so close by. I wanted my privacy. I didn't know what to do with my toilet paper, as this time, I just couldn't bare only water. I shoved them in my pocket and hoped that I didn't stink as I hugged Hamid's family goodbye. I would later find a place to throw them. These militaries – there's 10 of them – are all in fatigues. Three sit in the front, three on each side of the back with their weapons in front of them, and one standing behind the automatic machine gun (a huge one, I don't know what you call it). One guy has a rocket launcher, I can't understand for what. They all seem very young. They don't look in our direction very often, just quick glances. They look like they have such a purpose, I haven't been able to understand what. We've been traveling through the country on our own for almost two weeks now and haven't encountered any problems! And I don't want to pay for their lunch again! This morning in town there was lots of shooting – apparently because some sheikh just came back from Mecca. It sounded like war! But since he had just come back from his pilgrimage, everyone was excited and so were firing up in the air. How bizarre I think to myself, I remember once when I lived in Los Angeles this kid got killed by a stray bullet; does that ever happen here? I don't bother to ask, I don't feel well enough to talk. Hamid's been to Mecca. He's telling Aida all about it. I've taken some anti-dhiarrea pills, hopefully they'll work. Time for a nap. While I was passed out in the back seat, we got shot at. A tribe of Bedous on the side of the road aimed their guns at us. It didn't take the military guys very long to respond. Perhaps it's a good thing afterall to have them around. But I'm feeling too sick to care. We leave the desert mountains behind and the weather and landscape changes drastically once we pass the town of Amran heading towards the sea. It's beautiful. It's dark because of the rain and clouds. The terraces are breathtaking. Hamid stops in Kuhlan A'far, a small town perched in the mountains. Although I was feeling a little better since the weather had cooled, I was in no mood to get out of the car. Hamid insisted. He came to open my door, grabbed by hand and said he had a special surprise for me and that I wouldn't be dissapointed. Grudgingly, I went along. He led us by hand up this steep hill, then had us close our eyes for the grand surprise - the breathtaking view over the valley of terraces. It was gorgeous. He was right about the surprise, it was one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen in my life. Indescribable. I decided that if I were ever to live in Yemen (or escape to write a novel or something like that), it would be here - in these remote mountain villages with outrageous steep views. Far from any cities, high up in the mountains, surrounded by valleys and peaks in every direction, and lush greenery (qat plantations) down below. Half way through our decent from mountains to the Tihama we have car problems. I can't hold myself any longer and dare walk into a restaurant and use the bathroom, against Hamid's advice (a foreign woman can't just walk in to a restaurant not order anything and use the bathroom!). I'm surprised that the owner hands me a key, I buy a 7-Up as a token move... besides my grandmother had always told me that 7-Up was good for an upset stomach. We wait for probably an hour until the LandCruiser gets fixed. And we continue down. We pass through one part that felt like a rainforest! Amazing country in its variance and beauty. It's as if I'm in Africa. It's well above 35 degrees Celsius and it's 6:30 pm. Hot and humid. But after descending from the mountains, it was flat, big trees around, greenery, but sandy colored grass and huts as houses. Very dark inside. Lots move around on donkeys and camels here. We stop on the side of the road so that Hamid can buy some more obnoxious music (at least it will be a different tape for the remainder of the trip). We get invited into a big tent, we peek in; of course I quickly ask to use the restroom. We are walked to the back. The bathroom is built of hay and cardboard, open roof of course. There are two big stones to step on, which serve as a bit of an altitude from the ground, where the remnants are. I have no problems leaving my toilet paper behind here. We continue on this straight road, guessing that the coast must be 20 to 40 kilometers to my right. We pass a car with suitcases piled on top of the car higher than the car itself. They must be returning from Saudi Arabia, Aida says, to which Hamid agrees. Apparently people go shopping up in Saudi where there's more stuff to buy (but isn't the exchange rate to the Saudi's favor?). We stop at a shop to buy some cold water bottles for the night and the following day. Surprisingly, they're not only cold, they're frozen solid! And there doesn't seem to be any electricity around, perhaps a generator. Hamid asks for some umarked path through the sand. It's dark now. We drive through the dark on unmarked paths, I'm not sure he knows where he's going. And he's driving fast and once in a while there are palm trees in the middle of his path so he swerves around them. It gets too scary for me to look, so I lie back down again. There isn't a star or the moon in the sky. It's pitch black except for our headlights and blasting music. We continue on for twenty or thirty minutes, pass a town without electricity, some fishermen taking off for nighttime fishing in their zorgas (baby blue wooden boats that I had seen earlier by the Indian Ocean coast). The trees we passed were only illuminated by the headlights and seemed so eerie. Kind of palm trees with funky spikes coming out all sides. They looked like a species from outer-space! We get to our spot. It's hot, upper 30's and there's a warm breeze. I'm not sure of the time anymore. I wander around a bit, and realize that we are on a sandy cliff and I can't go down to shore. Aida and I lay down under the sky and relax. Hamid stays over by the car. While Aida goes to the bathroom a few feet from us, I notice a silhouette in white approach her. Hamid quickly gets to his feet and chases him away. I realize we are not alone. But I'm relaxed enough not to be scared, even though I can't see two feet in front of me. We lie down in the humid night. At one point I go to the car to get some belongings and out of politness ask Hamid what he's thinking about. It takes him a while to answer, instead asking me to have a seat next to him in the LandCruiser. At first I think the guy is mad, asking me to sit down in the boiling car. But then I sense trouble as the look on his face gets serious. Then he says that what's on his mind is me, and won't I sit and talk to him? Now I've always felt uncomfortable at guys making such comments towards me, but this was incredibly awkward. I didn't want to be mean to the guy - seeing I was out in the middle of nowhere, he was my driver, my guide and my bodyguard! And we still had a few days to go with him. I just said no to sitting next to him, and probably blushed. He insisted and I just got quiet and left, sinking in the sand on the way back to Aida, who was sitting in the sand enjoying her cigarette. I felt I was being watched all night by Hamid's eyes; I couldn't bare looking in his direction or saying anything else to him. I whispered my discomfort to Aida, whose only words of comfort were "I'm glad it's not me!" A bit later, the crescent moon rises. It's very hazy. I can see some stars. While I was lying down, I saw a few falling stars. We're sleeping out in the open only on thin mattresses; we opted not to use a tent, as it's hot and it's nice to fall asleep while staring up at the skies. I'm a little worried about scorpions and such, but it's so nice to be out in the open air with only the sound of the ocean and the light of the moon. I fall asleep and have a great night's sleep. The few times I woke up throughout the night, the sight was great - the full moon, the stars, the sound of the waves, and always comfortably warm. | |
Hamid has led us to the top of a town for a spectacular view below
Typical mountain scenery: the terraces, the small town, the mountains all around
Looking down below
The sun light shines through the clouds at times, highlighting the tips of the terraces
The terraces are endless, filling every gap from the highest peak to the lowest valley |