Djibouti

Ethiopia and Djibouti Trip

November '03

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
	My posh accomodations at the 4-star Sheraton Addis. My room came complete with butler service.
	St. George's cathedral. I got a personal tour, including a chance to walk through the crypt housing the tombs of Haile Selassie and his wife.

Djibouti Town, Djibouti
	Explore's map of our trip.
	We explored Djibouti Town on foot with our tour leader Hasan.

	Hasan gave us a brief introduction to the city.

Musha and Maskali Islands
	We boarded our ship, the Deli Valletta, to cruise into the Bay of Tadjoura
	Anchored offshore in the Marine Park of Musha and Maskali Islands.

Tadjoura
	We went into the town of Tadjoura for a walking tour. Hasan is sitting on an ancient well-head.
	Everyone was all dressed up as it was a holiday (the first day after the end of Ramadan). The night before we'd gone into town for dinner, and witnessed the evening celebrations -- bonfires and firecrackers.
	A group of children. Everyone was dressed in brand new outfits, and had new toys (mostly toy guns and cell phones -- kind of sad)
	A small camel caravan setting off.

Foret du Day
	We took an optional trip by 4 wheel drive to the Foret du Day National Park.
	We made a brief stop while our driver chased this camel off the road.

	We were expecting a green forest, but a lot of the forest was dead and dying. Some sort of parasite is attacking the junipers. A herd of donkeys grazes in the foreground.
	Two typical huts. We went inside the traditional hut on the right to see how it was constructed, and almost sat on some family members sitting inside in the very dark hut.

Bay of Ghoubet
	The ship sailed into the Bay of Ghoubet, aka the "Devil's Cauldron", while we drove around to meet them from Foret du Day
	The crossing to our ship was very rough in the launch, but our pilot seemed to enjoy the challenge, and we learned to enjoy getting soaked.

Volcanos
	We drove up into huge lava fields to explore.
	We hiked across a lava field ...
	... to the top of a small volcano.
	The lava fields went on for miles and miles.
	A giant lava tube.
	You can see the Rift here, as it cuts through the lava flow and even through the road. The Rift runs through this part of Africa, where two plates come together.

Lac Assal
	We drove out to Lac Assal ("Sticky Lake"). The salt mined here travels by camel caravan to Ethiopia (and also by truck, but the camels seem more romantic)
	A view of the lake. The white along the shore is salt crystals.
	A better view of the salt forming along the shore.

Sea Life: coral reefs, whale sharks
	We left our sheltering island behind, and set sail for Arta Beach.
	Sometimes we snorkeled from the ship.
	Sometimes we snorkeled from the beach.
	Sometimes we snorkeled with whale sharks. (Annie gets the photo credit on this one)
	Chris Lyons took these next 3 great shots
	You had to swim hard to keep up.
	If you look closely, you can see a swimmer's arm at the right, which gives you an idea how huge these sharks were
	Whale sharks swam around the ship, later that night. This one is 20-25 feet long.
	An iridescent parrot fish.

Drive to Lac Abbe
	We took an optional trip to Lac Abbe ("Rotten Lake"). This took 4 hours by 4WD over very challenging roads.
This encampment houses 6000 Somali and Ethiopian refugees. It's in the middle of a barren plain, and must be a miserable existence.
	A house in a small village we passed through.

Lac Abbe, part I
	We arrived at this former lake bed just in time to see the sun set behind the amazing sediment formations.
	The next day, we awoke early and drove out to walk among the formations and watch the sun rise. Each rock formation is the result of a hot spring below the surface. When this part of the lake was still under water, sediment formed into columns around each opening.
	Taking a break from all of that tiring photography.
	If you look closely, you can see the steam emerging near the top of the still-active formation.

Lac Abbe, part II
	As we approached the current lake shore, we walked across these parched sands.
	Our shadows, as we pause to take photos of a flock of flamingos in the distance.
	A closer look at the flamingos.
	The camp where we spent the night. Despite looking very flimsy, the domed huts were very secure in the high winds at night.
	A goat herd and her flock we passed on the way out.
	Taking a break in the shade.

Sailing back to Djibouti Town
	My favorite view of the ship, flat on my back on the comfy mattresses on deck, as we sailed along.
	My bedroom, the mattresses on deck. The last night we slept on deck, we were tied up on dock with all sorts of activity going on around us.

Wildlife Park
	With a 12-hour delay in our flight, the tour operator arranged for us to visit a nearby wildlife park.
	One of the six rescued cheetahs housed here. They were remarkably calm around humans, probably why they can't be released. The remainder of the day was spent lounging around a pool waiting to head out for the airport. Four flights and 2 days later, I arrived home.