Socotra b and Socotra g

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Socotra b

   Halfway along Socotra's north coast, between Hadibu and the fishing town of Qalansiya, the island shows its gentler face. The coastal plain is narrow here, a strip of pale sand and scrub squeezed between the sea and limestone plateaus that climb steeply inland, and the road runs along it for most of the way west. Both towns lie roughly thirty kilometres away in opposite directions, which makes the place a natural midpoint on the island's main east–west journey.

   Read the complete Socotra b write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Socotra b is where the day begins. Next is Socotra e.

2. 2. Socotra e

   Eastern Socotra is where the island feels most like itself and least like anywhere else. The point lies about twenty-seven kilometres east of Hadibu, the island's main town, in the stretch between the coast and the inland limestone plateaus. Socotra sits in the Arabian Sea, closer to Somalia than to Yemen, and it has been isolated for so long that a large share of its plants and reptiles exist nowhere else on Earth. UNESCO recognised it as a natural World Heritage Site in 2008.

   Read the complete Socotra e write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Socotra e comes up about 73 km into the recorded legs. Next is Socotra g.

3. 3. Socotra g

   Socotra's south coast feels like the far side of a very strange moon. Here the island drops from the granite spine of the Haggier mountains onto a broad gravel plain that runs down to a hot, wind-scoured shore, with dunes piled against the cliffs and nothing taller than a goat for miles.

   Read the complete Socotra g write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 153 km into the recorded legs you reach Socotra g. Next is back through Socotra e.

4. 4. back through Socotra e

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Socotra e write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Socotra e, late in the day. Next is Socotra b.

5. 5. Socotra b

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Socotra b write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Socotra b. That is the ride.