Abd Alkuri c and Kalfarun starting at Kilmia

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Abd Alkuri c

   Abd al Kuri is a small, dry, wind-scoured island in the far west of the Socotra archipelago, in the Arabian Sea, closer to the coast of Somalia than to the mainland of Yemen. There are no roads to speak of, and no real place to ride a motorcycle; you reach it only by boat, with permission and with local help, so this is a stop of the imagination for most travellers. The archipelago is listed by UNESCO for its extraordinary biodiversity, and the main island of Socotra, with its bottle trees and dragon's blood trees, draws the most attention. Abd al Kuri is the quieter sibling, with a flat limestone surface and a long, empty coast.

   Read the complete Abd Alkuri c write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Abd Alkuri c is where the day begins. Next is Abd Alkuri a.

2. 2. Abd Alkuri a

   Socotra is the island everyone has heard of, with its dragon's blood trees and its upside-down umbrella shapes, but the archipelago has other members, and Abd al Kuri is the most western and the least visited. It lies about a hundred kilometres west of Socotra, closer to the Horn of Africa than to Yemen, and is a long, narrow slab of limestone and rock roughly thirty kilometres from end to end. Together with Socotra, Samha and Darsa, it forms a group that has been cut off from the mainland for millions of years, and that isolation has produced a remarkable number of species found nowhere else.

   Read the complete Abd Alkuri a write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Abd Alkuri a comes up about 46 km into the recorded legs. Next is Abd Alkuri.

3. 3. Abd Alkuri

   The people of Abd al Kuri are fishermen, and their lives follow the sea more than the land. The island is thinly populated, with a handful of small settlements, including Kilmia, a village on the coast, and the houses are low and simple, made of stone and cement, with boats drawn up on the beach. Fish, dried and salted, is the staple, along with goat meat, dates and rice brought from the mainland. The islanders speak a language related to the Socotri language of the main island, which is a South Arabian tongue that is quite different from Arabic and has no written tradition.

   Read the complete Abd Alkuri write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 72 km into the recorded legs you reach Abd Alkuri. Next is Kalfarun.

4. 4. back through Abd Alkuri

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Abd Alkuri write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Abd Alkuri sits at 154 km, about halfway. Next is back through Abd Alkuri a.

5. 5. back through Abd Alkuri a

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Abd Alkuri a write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Abd Alkuri a comes up about 98 km into the recorded legs. Next is Abd Alkuri c.

6. 6. Abd Alkuri c

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Abd Alkuri c write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Abd Alkuri c closes the day.