Kasem Hato arrived in Madeira at the beginning of March, for a trip that should have lasted only a few days, but which ended up going on for much longer. The young man, a native of Jordan, is the author of a travel blog, and the visit to the Region was intended to capture the landscapes he says he is fond of. After two months in Madeira, the man behind the ‘Ibn Hattuta’ account is leaving today.
He arrived in Madeira with the intention of making new videos about the island’s landscapes, but on the day he was supposed to leave the Region, the flight was eventually cancelled. “There was no other flight to return, and the only alternatives were emergency flights for repatriation, but the prices were too expensive, so I ended up staying.”
“It is a beautiful place to be, but it is very difficult to get to know the island in these circumstances”, he tells JM, while taking a break from filming for the last video on Madeiran soil. “Everything ended up closing and we were unable to rent a car. Fortunately, I met some people who helped me to see a little of the island, within what we could do. ”
Among those who accompanied him is João Roque, a Madeiran who recently crossed Africa on a motorcycle, and author of the ‘nomad_on2wheels’ account, on Instagram and Facebook. ‘Nomad’ was also in the Middle East for some years, namely in Syria, at the service of the Red Cross.
“In the beginning, we stayed in Funchal”, reports the young Jordanian. “I came with a small group of six people. Most of them managed to return, after a few days, but I and those who were unable to arrange another flight ended up staying and rented an apartment in Ribeira Brava.
Kasem Hato had already been in Madeira for a few years, on a trip with friends, before starting the YouTube channel. “After the videos started, I decided that I had to return, to show and share the experience”, he explains. “I really liked the island, the landscapes, the people, the food… It is really one of my favourite places in the world, and I have been to many countries. Unfortunately, there were a lot of restrictions these days, and we haven’t been able to do many of the things we planned. But I really liked it, especially the magnificent landscapes. ”
“The island is not very well known in the Middle East, so one of the goals with my videos is to make its beauty known to more people, and I hope that after this situation is overcome, many more people will be able to come”, he adds. “My videos about Madeira had a total of four to five million views, among all my social networks, so I think a lot of people were interested, and I believe that the island will receive them as well as it happened to me.”
Finally, Kasem Hato is keen to leave a message of hope, when the deflation begins in Madeira and in many European countries, despite the fact that the fight against the pandemic continues throughout the world.
“Unfortunately, the situation with the coronavirus has affected a lot of people, and I have met people on the island who have also been experiencing difficulties because of this. I hope it will pass quickly so that everyone can get up and return to normality ”, he concluded.