And this story didn’t start with a plan. It started with a tree. A strange one – twisted, alien-like, almost… magical. I found it online by accident during a break between surgeries. I used to work in an anesthesiology clinic, where everything was sterile, precise, predictable.

But that tree? It pulled me out of that world in a single heartbeat.

I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I searched. I clicked. I fell down a rabbit hole that led me to Socotra – a place so surreal, I wasn’t sure if it was real at all. The more I learned, the more I wanted to go. The more I needed to go. But it felt impossible. No clear flights. No tours. No real information.

So I let the dream go. Until one day… someone I barely knew posted a story: they were on Socotra.

My heart skipped a beat. I had no idea how they got there, but I knew one thing: I was going too.

I messaged strangers. Asked too many questions. Sent money to people I had never met. Packed a bag. Booked a flight. And jumped. And I fell in love.

Not just with the island – its raw beauty, its alien landscapes, its silence. But with what it woke up in me.

Because Socotra is not easy. It’s not polished. There are no fancy hotels. No WiFi. No plans that ever go exactly right. But somewhere on a wild, empty beach – alone, barefoot, sunburnt and salty – I realized something I had been too busy to notice:

I was alive. And I wasn’t happy.

That moment changed everything. I started dreaming differently. More boldly. I spoke with Abdullah – one of the island’s most grounded souls – about building something together.

Back then we didn’t even have a name. But we had a vision: To open this rare, raw place to people who would truly see it. To create real opportunities for the incredible people who live here. To build something honest, wild, and human. That’s how Beyond Socotra came to life. Not as a business plan. But as a feeling. As a choice. As a love letter to a place that changed mine.

– Roksana