We casually left Aden this morning. At first, Dave wanted to do the 70 mile leave before dawn version. I prevailed on him to give us an easy start....So instead, the anchor went down just 20 miles up the coast. It's a day of relaxing in this peaceful but dry desert like anchorage. This is the beginning of a 2 month long voyage up the Red Sea. Tomorrow we will day sail to our final anchorage before we enter the Strait of Bab el Mandeb...The entrance to the Red Sea. It is an historical landmark that we don't know the meaning of. Gloriously, it's a beautiful day here with cooling winds and bright sun. Four other yachts have arrived behind us and it actually feels good to have a few boats around for security. We have been reading and Judy baked some cinnamon strip goodies (for the pirates I think). A few fisherman have stopped by to trade fish for alcohol or cigarettes. We didn't want any octopus or squid but we gave them some cookies. Probably not what they had in mind?? the aroma of the baked spareribs & potatoes are calling us for dinner. BFN

We are truly now in Arab country. There are calls to prayer from every corner of the city throughout the day. Men wear daggers in their belt, most women are completely covered accept for their mysterious eyes......Yes, they are very friendly and curious about us aliens in their midst. Sometimes, we are asked to pose for a photo. Yesterday at the water tanks we encountered a group of folks and were invited to a picnic. We all had fun taking each other's picture. There are signs of antiquity at every turn. Old castles, ancient water systems and forts. You look at a building from the front and it looks modern and new. From behind it looks like it's hundreds of years old. Some are thousands of years old. We found a local taxi driver to be our guide (Mohammed, again) Today the sailors were invited to a private tour of the local museum with the the local dignitaries. The whole thing was being videoed for TV. We're instant celebrities!

Sorry for the delay. We have no internet here. Just found an internet cafe and will try and add photos and positions soon. We arrived safely and have enjoyed the sleeeeeep. Doing a little touring in this new location. We had a survivor party last night with all the yachts. The people here are very friendly and helpful. First thing we topped up our fuel so we can make a quick exit. We hope to head around the corner and into the Red Sea in the next 3 days. We are now mostly rested and ready to head out but, we just found out that the city officials are having a party for us Saturday and it would probably be impolite to sail away before that.

Here is the Wikipedia link to Aden, click here: