Feb 21st, 2011 at 11:00AM:
A yacht carrying a quartet of Americans was recently seized by Somali pirates, the latest in a string of hijackings that reaches back millenia. According to MSNBC, the seized yacht, the "S/V Quest," is owned by Jean and Scott Adam - a couple on a worldwide quest distributing bibles. While they no doubt expected to spread the word far and wide, they were certainly not expecting to be boarded by ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
somalia posts
10 breeds of pirate - Somalis to Vikings to Japanese Pirate Ninjas
Feb 21st, 2011 at 11:00AM:
A yacht carrying a quartet of Americans was recently seized by Somali pirates, the latest in a string of hijackings that reaches back millenia. According to MSNBC, the seized yacht, the "S/V Quest," is owned by Jean and Scott Adam - a couple on a worldwide quest distributing bibles. While they no doubt expected to spread the word far and wide, they were certainly not expecting to be boarded by ...Somali pirates capture American couple and crew on round-the-world adventure voyage
Feb 19th, 2011 at 7:30AM: Putting an abrupt stop to the voyage of a lifetime, a US-flagged yacht with four American citizens on board was hijacked 240 miles off the coast of Oman by Somali pirates Friday.
The s/v Quest, a Davidson 58 Pilot House Sloop, was in year seven of a ten-year around-the-world voyage with American owners Jean and Scott Adam and two crew members.
"S/V Quest was attacked by pirates in the Indian ...2010 -- a record year for Somali pirates
Feb 8th, 2011 at 8:30AM: For all the "extremes" of the natural world in 2010 – record-setting rainfalls, droughts, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions – man managed to rack up some big numbers too.
Particularly those persistent Somali pirates who picked up the pace on the Indian Ocean, ramping up attacks on cargo boats, cruise ships and private yachts. According to an end of the year report by the Piracy ...It's time travel writers stopped stereotyping Africa
Jan 21st, 2011 at 9:30AM: Pop quiz: where was this photo taken?
OK, the title of this post kind of gives it away, but if I hadn't written Africa, would you have guessed? It was taken in Dar es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania. This isn't the view of Africa you generally get from the news or travel publications--a modern city with high rises and new cars. A city that could be pretty much anywhere. That image doesn't sell. ...Piracy reached record levels in 2010
Jan 18th, 2011 at 9:30AM:
Pirate hijackings in the Red Sea and nearby waters reached their highest levels ever, the Associated Press reports.
Pirate hijackings worldwide claimed 1,181 hostages and 53 vessels, a rise of ten percent since 2009. Of these, 49 ships were taken by Somali gunmen in the Red Sea or nearby waters in the Indian Ocean. Somali piracy has been the biggest problem area despite an international fleet ...Somalia's Al-Shabab bans handshakes between men and women
Jan 8th, 2011 at 9:00AM:
As if you didn't have enough reasons to avoid visiting Somalia, Al-Shabab has given you another. BBC reports that the Islamist group has banned handshakes between men and women in the town of Jowhar. It's also illegal to walk with or chat with a member of the opposite sex you're not related to.
It's not clear what the punishment would be for committing these "crimes", but BBC's ...British couple kidnapped by Somali pirates
Oct 30th, 2009 at 2:00PM: A British couple sailing from the Seychelles to Tanzania was kidnapped by Somali pirates and is now being held for ransom.
Paul and Rachel Chandler, both in their late 50's, had been sailing since March on their 38-foot sailboat and keeping a blog about their journey. Last week family and friends alerted authorities that they had not heard from the couple in several days, and shortly after, ...Five great reasons to travel now
May 20th, 2009 at 3:00PM: You've been bombarded with pessimistic accounts of the travel industry's decline. And, yes, I am fully aware that I'm part of it. Frankly, these reports are true. There is a problem – i.e., people aren't traveling – and it's driven by a combination of macroeconomic challenges and company mismanagement. But, these conditions also mean there's no time like the present to get out on the ...Dispatches from the pirate riddled Gulf of Aden
May 4th, 2009 at 1:30PM: Regular contributor and adventurer extraordinaire Jon Bowermaster just started an interesting series on passage through the Gulf of Aden over at his personal blog. The body of water connecting the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean has seen a disturbing increase in pirate traffic this year, the most notable of which involved an American crew that retook their ship and killed three Somalians in the ...AlterNet condoning pirates in Somalia?
Apr 15th, 2009 at 7:30PM: AlterNet.org, a human rights advocacy site, has a new article posted: "Why We Don't Condemn Our Pirates in Somalia." First of all, I want to know who gave them the pirates in Somalia. Well, turns out the article is from a Somali perspective, and that "Karma" is the reason they feel they are "biting a perpetrator in the butt." Everyone knows that piracy in Somalia is serious business. And like most ...Destination on the edge: Mogadishu
Jan 20th, 2009 at 9:00AM:
Mogadishu is the adventure traveler's version of sex in public. The risk of getting caught defines the thrill. Unfortunately, the consequences cannot be compared. While a romp on your neighbor's front lawn might get you a fine or some community service, a misstep in Somalia can cause nightmares for the rest of your life.
So, quiet simply, don't go. If you don't believe the United States, then ...Somalia most corrupt nation -- Denmark the least
Sep 24th, 2008 at 10:00AM: Transparency international released their annual numbers on corruption around the world, and would you believe it, Denmark edged Zimbabwe out by 165 places to clinch the number one spot. Each year the organization dedicated to fighting corruption compiles data from a variety of sources to publish this list as a means to raise public awareness and point to the rampant corruption around the globe. ...Pirates release cruise ship hostages
Apr 11th, 2008 at 1:10PM: Call me naive and uninformed, but I honestly didn't think that pirates still operate in the world the way they do in the movies. That is obviously not the case.
According to this IHT article, the International Maritime Bureau, which tracks piracy, says that global pirate attacks rose 10 percent in 2007, marking the first increase in three years. Pirates seized more than two dozen ships off the ...Big in Japan: Real pirates are nothing like Johnny Depp
Dec 18th, 2007 at 10:30AM: Have you ever seen Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean?
Of course you have!
The wild and drunken antics of Johnny Depp are nothing short of hilarious, which is why Disney's Pirates trilogy has swept the globe from Hollywood to Tokyo.
But, today's posting isn't about the Black Pearl, but rather the distressing fact that real pirates aren't anything like Johnny Depp.
Since October, Somali pirates ...Africa Travel: Somalia
Mar 22nd, 2006 at 10:01PM: Let's let out a sigh before we touch quickly on Somalia. There is no tourism site developed for
this East African country bordering the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean because of the constant violence and famine.
Polo's Bastards, notorious for going places they shouldn't be even lists Somalia as one of the world's most dangerous countries to visit
and suggest journalists and backpack toting ...
