Good morning, afternoon, or evening, I hope you're doing great! Friends, it turns out that yesterday, while chatting with some Somalilander friends we've made around here, they were telling me that here in Somaliland, there's one of the most incredible places in the world. Some hidden caves, that practically no one can visit because you need a visa for Somaliland, -which, due to life's twists and turns, we already have, Charlie.
-We're all set See how curious, by life's twists, I already have it stamped in my passport, so I said to them, take me there, and here we are. On the way to one of the most impressive places in Africa, which has been hidden for a long time in this country, at least virtually inaccessible to the planet for being an unrecognized country. And also nearby are the coasts of Somaliland, where piracy still exists today. And you might wonder, "Pirates? Are they looking for treasures or what?" No, pirates looking for ships to seize and all that still exists, in this part of the world so we're going to see a bit of everything. You know it's going to be an epic adventure when you pick up an armed bodyguard. Anything can happen on the way. So let's see, let's see what awaits us outside the capital of Somaliland. First police checkpoint, and I think we're in the car with someone too well-known, because he just looks at them, waves, people come over, greet him, and off we go. He's no ordinary person. -No ordinary person. No ordinary person. We're going to make a quick stop on the way, we've been traveling through this desert for quite a while now and here, just like anywhere else, there are places where you stop to have a tea, to eat something by the roadside. They're like little villages, I'm going to see if I can take a walk around this one so you can see how tough life is around here. This one that I see is the kitchen, where they'll prepare what we're going to order. Salam! And this is where people live, this is what the houses are like, some are made of sheet metal. I see they have animals... Look, in fact, this goat just gave birth! Look at that little goat, how cute. Remember that many years ago in this country everyone was nomadic in this part of the world and that there still is a large percentage of nomads. So, even today, with concrete and metal sheets, life remains similar. Look how they make the houses... Obviously, the mosque always stands out in any village. Houses may even be made of clothes, in this country nomads make houses of cloth. I'm going to get closer to some that are here, but the mosque is always made grandly, in concrete and as beautifully as they can. Look here where there is a small nomadic settlement nearby. They build the house this way, they assemble it with branches, with sticks, and cover it with fabric, and that becomes the house. This is beautiful and exciting, we just veered off the road, we're entering the desert, we left the main road and now we're on our way to the caves. There are no signs, nothing, as if it's a place that's not so important, untouched by man. There are even nomads here, look where people are walking in the middle of nowhere, here near the caves. You have in front of you a man who hasn't changed his shirt in like a week, because indeed, it's the same one and it's unwashed. I've run out of clothes, but well, that's life. Friends, we're at the Laas Geel caves and we have them all to ourselves! What is this surreal thing? We're going to see cave paintings that are 11,000 years old. These are the Laas Geel caves and there's nobody, anywhere else in the world there'd be a line from here all the way up there, but there's nobody, just us. This is incredible. You might wonder how these caves were only discovered 20 years ago. Why weren't they discovered, I don't know, thousands of years ago? Well, it turns out they were discovered, but by the nomads living around here. But for them, those drawings were the work of the devil or demons, because I don't know if they have the figure of the devil. They were considered the work of demons, so they saw it more like a cursed mountain, a mountain where you simply should not get close. 20 years ago, somehow, a Frenchman was looking for things here and he revealed to the world what we're going to see right now. Something noteworthy is that these seem like normal stones, but they're stones full of minerals. Almost all of them are like this, I don't know if this is quartz what we have in Latin America and is found in areas where gold is, but all the stones shimmer. They are some kind of precious stone. Friends, this is insane, I feel like in the scene from "Ice Age" when they discover there are paintings and that there were people there before them... Exactly the same, even my skin crawls knowing that thousands, thousands of years ago there were people here, probably taking refuge in this cave, making these paintings. It's a great mystery. It's unknown what material they used so it would last for thousands of years Nor is it known exactly who made these drawings, But here we can find drawings of elephants, we can find drawings of cows, there's even a drawing of a human being in the shape of a human with dogs So it's believed that the civilization, the people who were here, used dogs for hunting. -Tell me, Mohamed
-Yes, I've been a guide for four years And I've guided many clients, and you are my first Costa Rican client. Your first Costa Rican client Friends, I don't know how true this information might be, but there's a chance. Let me know in the comments if maybe someone has already been here, -but it might be Charlie that we're the first Costa Ricans in history
-The first, my friend. To come and see the Laas Geel caves... Maybe not, but I don't know if we'll ever know; I'd like to think so, to make it more epic. The cave you just saw is not the only one; there are four caves where they were I imagine settled, here they took refuge, here they slept, here they lit fires and here they spent their time making their paintings... Look how impressive. I never imagined that in this country we came to simply see what life was like inside, in the country that wasn't on the map, we would find something like this and also just for us, with all the time in the world to analyze it, to see it, to appreciate it, because something like this anywhere else in the world would have a line to take a photo and to see it. The way the Somali nomads live is too shocking. From what I see here, they simply have like a living area outside the house, Salam! Here filming is not allowed because there are women inside the house... So the man of the house just allowed us to show it from the outside and show another part of the house, but they are very private and the matter with the women is very delicate, so, we have to be very careful. In fact, I got scared now when a lady came out. The houses are made of a wood structure, they cover them with plastic and on top, they have fabric: sheets, this is a jacket, this is a cut blouse... And this is the plastic they have, here we can enter, so come let me show you. This is like an extension of the house Where only men come. Salam. He is the owner of the house allowing us to film, and this here is khat, what comes from Ethiopia, What everyone is addicted to over there, which is like Ethiopia's drug, That's what is consumed around here. And here they gather outside, I imagine when inside is too hot and perhaps at night inside, only men to consume khat, chat, catch up but that's how the structures are, pure wood, they tie the sticks with whatever is available, a bit of plastics and fabrics... A life quite, quite tough. Another very shocking thing is the number of children they have here in the desert, Here in these houses, even now I was hearing a baby cry somewhere, You see many 3-year-old children, 5-year-old children, and it's that they keep reproducing, for them this is normal life, so it's not like they think "we can't have a baby", but they keep having children. They have to go fetch water wherever there is a well or where they can dig a hole in a dry river to extract water. It's a very hard life, but still, they have a lot of children and this impacts me too much because we are accustomed to a baby requiring a lot of care You have to take it to the pediatrician, if it coughs, you have to be careful with what it eats and here in these extreme conditions, they have many, many babies, many children. Friends, we are in Berbera. This is the area where Somalilanders go on vacation because here is the beach, what they have here in front is the Red Sea, But also, if we look at the map, this is the area where all the big ships that carry merchandise to different parts of the world pass by. It turns out that here in Somaliland piracy cannot exist, first because it is a different country, it's a peaceful country and is controlled by authorities from different countries who have military bases here because this is where the channel closes, but if we look at the map, a little further down, we see the coast of Somalia, where it is completely open, there is less control. Currently, they are trying to combat piracy to end it once and for all, but it still exists, pirates captured another ship two weeks ago... So it means that this is something that still happens in this part of the world. It's great to see so many people on vacation, or at least so many people enjoying the beach. I want to see what the water temperature is like in this season that is not so hot. Wow, incredible, it has the perfect temperature for diving in, it's cool. Yes, folks, last room, last night we're going to spend in Africa, but not the last of this trip because this is not over. I think Charlie wishes it were, but no Charlie, it's not over yet. An adventure is coming, I won't say it's more epic because everything has been very high, but it could be just as epic as what we've lived up to this moment. This was what we wanted to find in Berbera, The port in the Red Sea, this port here is what has made different nations recognize Somaliland, for example, Dubai is having negotiations with Somaliland to invest 400 million dollars in that port because it is a key point on the planet. Ethiopia also recognized Somaliland because it is advantageous to have that access to the sea And that's how the world moves, ladies and gentlemen. Well, my friends, finally here ends not only today's video but our tour through Somaliland And Africa for now... I want to know what your favorite moment was, what you liked the most, I can tell you doing this is quite complicated So many days here become heavy, and let Mr. Charlie say it, Who is still sick, I believe from everything he's caught. It's complicated but it's beautiful... The culture, the people, amazing places like the caves we found today, are totally worth it, but as I say it has its complications. So I hope you enjoyed this tour through Africa as much as we did, don't forget to subscribe, share this video if you liked it -And see you in the next video somewhere...
-Somewhere Somewhere, quite close, a few hours from here by plane. Pura vida! And kisses from someone who today saw caves with millenary rock art
