Day 4 - Hargeisa to Berbera
I checked out of the Oriental Hotel and made my way on foot
the short distance up the road to the bus station to purchase my bus ticket for
Dhubato at a cost of $4 (the guy at the counter did not have any change so I
paid him 3,500 Sh). My paperwork was checked and they even called the Ministry
of Tourism (when I visited them earlier in the week, they had very kindly
provided me with their telephone number on a post it note which I’d left stuck on
to the actual SPU waiver form). I was only waiting a few minutes before we left
and I was relieved I had plenty of room for myself and my backpack in the
minibus, the locals on board were all very friendly and they made sure I jumped
off at the right place for my visit to Laas Geel.
On arrival in Dhubato I walked the few yards to a small
building which was the main entrance to Laas Geel. I was greeted by a security
guard who asked for $25 (I paid $20 and 45,000 Sh as he had no change). To my
surprise there was another guy who had a pick-up truck parked nearby and he actually
took me all the way to the caves. I was prepared to walk, but to be honest I
was grateful of the lift as I had my backpack with me and I was a little tired,
(I think the round trip would be about 10km to 12km). At the caves there was
another building with some information inside and a few gentlemen sitting
around not doing very much. One of the gentlemen appeared to be another
security guide who led me up to all the carves, he appeared to be a rush or he
was just trying to impress me with his speed up the steps, needless to say I
kept up with him! After the first cave he seemed to slow down anyway!
I did not spend too much time at the caves as to be honest
it's not really my thing and I was just looking forward to getting to Berbera.
Whilst I was signing the guest book the security guard who showed me around
asked for $20 for Baksheesh, so I
gave me 1500 Sh before some other guy showed up, I’d never seen before also asked
for money, so I gave him 500 Sh!! (I'd
paid $25 entrance fee with $25 for security, that's enough in my opinion!) The guy
with the pick-up truck took me back to the main entrance and onto the main road
towards Berbera before stopping off at a restaurant, where he grabbed a plate
of rice and I grabbed a tea. Shortly afterwards he walked me to the main road
and within minutes he flagged down a minibus for me and I was soon on my way to
Berbera. The driver wanted $5, although again he did not have any change so I
handed over 45,000 Sh. I arrived in Berbera at about 2:30pm (we stopped at a
restaurant for about 15 minutes).
On arrival at Berbera I asked the driver to drop me off at
the Damal Hotel, where I booked two nights for $84. After a very cold shower, I
headed out for a short 20-minute wander around town before heading back to my
hotel where I had something to eat, which was very nice, fajita wrap and chips.
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