Country #68: Shake, shake, shake...

The Rift in the Great Rift Valley

Salt Trader

Lac Assal

The "sal" part of Lac Assal


Kind-hearted souvenir salesman from Lac Assal

The eee-vil island

Lava Field courtesy of a 1978 eruption

Poolside View from the Djibouti Kempinski Palace Hotel

Bank of Djibouti






The Lonely Acacia Tree


D'Adaile Canyon

A typical nomadic home



The tasty Acacia Tree

Shake, Shake, Shake. Shake Djibouti.

Not just the first bad pun of the year,but also a reference to first "new" country visited in '08 (coming in at #68 for anyone keeping track). I was surprised earlier this month to learn I would be visiting Djibouti, so surprised in fact that I had to dig out my atlas to see where exactly one would find Djibouti. I did already know one thing, though; I really enjoyed saying the name...Djibouti.

Our Djibouti time was limited, so we were truly fortunate to get Daniel as our tour guide for the day. He picked us up at the swanky Djibouti Kempinski Palace Hotel and in a scant 9 hours, showed us some of the many faces of his country of birth. He took us around the capital city, also named Djibouti (that's right, we were in Djibouti, Djibouti...a city so nice...), where I exchanged dollars to francs from one of the many women who sit streetside with big bags o' cash. It is a testament to the honest and open nature of the Djiboutians that in a country of widespread poverty, these ladies can do such a seemingly dangerous job without fear of crime or harassment. From there, we set off on the truck-laden road that connects the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and Ethiopia. As we passed trucks and camels alike, Daniel pointed out the homes of the nomadic people, who stay put only as long as there is water to be found. Once the water runs out, they pack up and walk until they find a suitable place to dig a new well. Since this is, for the most part, a very arid country where crops simply will not grow, they subsist on a diet of cereals and camel's milk. Traders will walk for four days straight in the scorching sun to Ethiopia with a caravan of camels carrying salt, which they they will then exchange for cereal grains, only to turn around and do it all over again. It is a harsh and brutal existence, one which bears no relation to the starched-linen, opulent lap of luxury that we had left behind at the Kempinski hotel. Yet, Djibouti has a natural splendor that could never be matched by any man-made structure. Take for example, the reason for our tour, Lac Assal. It is the lowest point in all of Africa, the saltiest body of water on Earth (even more so than the Dead Sea) and arising out of the desert landscape, it is also breathtakingly beautiful. The salt pans surrounding the lake reminded me of freshly fallen snow while the lake vied for attention with shifting colors that ranged from sky blue to emerald green depending on the angle. We effortlessly floated in this water, while gazing at Devil's Island in the distance (so named for sailors who misread the current and became shipwrecked on this piece of land). It was a day out of a tourism brochure, except maybe for the crystalline salt formations on the bottom of the lake that were doing their very best to shred us like a head of cabbage. But even those, when taken out of the water, made for artful and unique souvenirs. We examined some snowflake-looking formations offered by an older gentleman. After buying a few, at the non-Kempinski price of about $1.20 each, he insisted on giving us a good chunk of his inventory as gifts. It was a touching display of generosity from someone who, materially speaking, had so little. Armed with his good will and our Djibouti souvenirs, we headed back towards town, stopping along the way to admire the geological split known as the Great Rift Valley, walk atop a Djibouti lava field and see some Djibouti hot springs. I just wish there was a word I could use to sum up our day, our experiences, our impressions. Wait, I think I've got one...Djibouti-licious. Oh yeah...2nd bad pun of '08. Nailed it.