SKP7 a dream coming true!

Our 7th SKP-expedition was another dream coming true: 5 new discovered caves, of which 3 continue. 3km of topo and a new potentially longest (already 3km) and certainly deepest cave (approx. -150m) of Soqotra. We are currently working on the report, published on-line soon.
This year my wife and I choose La Palma (Canary Islands) to rest between the dragonsblood trees again!

SKP7 is ready for kick-off!

SKP7 is ready for kick-off. Between May the 11th and 30th, 10 Flemish cavers will continue their work on Soqotra Island. Some work in Hoq cave will be terminated with emphasising the protection of this site. The unknown southwestern karst areas on the island will be explored, some temperature data loggers in the Haghier Mountains must be retrieved and some new interdisciplinary research might start up.

New URL!

This website has been offline for a while, caused by a change in the name of our provider (from "Planet Internet" into" Scarlet"). Due to this situation our pointer www.speleo.be/socotra was not active anymore, so we do apologize for this inconvenience. The Dutch version of our SKP2000-2004 report, 150 pages of fresh data, is finished and will be printed in June. The English version is scheduled for August at the UIS meeting in Greece.

Invited by Ushuaïa Nature!

The French national filming crew Ushuaïa Nature (TF1), with Nicolas Hulot, is making a documentary about Yemen. They invited me over to talk about the cave research on Soqotra Island (9-19/03), a small item in the complete organization. Beside for the caves, attention will be drawn to the botanical uniqueness of the Island. It was also possible to fly over the island and film the magnificent landscape from above, an amazing opportunity. The documentary is probably scheduled for the first half of 2006.

SKP2000-2004 Dutch report a fact

The first Dutch draft of our SKP2000-2004 is being finalized, all cave maps are drawn. This version will be revised over the next weeks and is probably ready for publication in April. The translation into English is scheduled for the UIS meeting in Athens during August.

UNIQUE Collectors Item

UNIQUE Collectors Item: Our project and website seems to be a source of inspiration to writers. Last year a Science Adventure, titled: "Pirates, Bats, and Dragons" written by the American Prof. M. Davis and illustrated by William Simpson came out. It's a story about 3 young scientists who organise an expedition to the Soqotran cave systems. We contacted Mike Davis, who kindly told us our project had been an inspiration for him and offered all core SKP members a free copy. Thanks Mike, it's a real adventurous story! For more, information just click on the picture of the book below. If Hollywood should shows any interest, just send an e-mail first.
More reliable Tsunami news in coming in: between 40 and 80 fishing boats are destroyed and one child drowned near Qalansiya. Below some satellite imagery which demonstrates how "lucky" the Soqotri were, not being hit by a high(er) energy wave. Also take a look at the Friends of Soqotra website (see links).

A Tsunami hits the coast of Soqotra, just after SKP6

The Tsunamis also struck the Soqotran coast as higher tides were experienced (info JK). According to news arrived in Sana'a more than 40 fishing boots are missed near Nogeed and children died at Qalansiya! No news from the east coast or Hadibu... we'll keep you informed!
The complete SKP6 diary with pictures is updated, the translation in English will probably be for next year, my apologies.
After returning from Yemen we were invited by the Soroptimist Belgium (Westhoek) on Friday December 10th at the Casino of Koksijde, with the participation of Unesco Vlaanderen.The main theme of the evening was the water scarcity in Third World countries, with the SKP-project as an example. After an introduction, Rik Martens showed his new documentary "Vloeibaar goud" (liquid gold), followed by a powerpoint presentation by myself and finalised with a round table discussion. The day after my wife and I left for the Annual Geophysical Union (AGU) fall meeting in San Francisco (USA). Great to meet other speleothem scientist in a motivating scientific environment.
Have a great Christmas and a happy new year, superb holidays!