OBOCK AND LA FORET DU DAY

Just had a great 3 day weekend with our friends, Wanda Wood and Bill Damour, from the American Embassy. They drove from Djibouti City to Lac Assal on Thursday afternoon to meet us. Then, we all climbed into our newest Hilux Toyota 4-wheel drive truck and drove up to Tadjoura, about an hour from our compound along the Djibouti coast. We stayed overnight at Le Gulf, a little motel like place with awful beds, but great food (mussels and wonderful fresh fish, caught daily just off their back porch.) On Friday we drove up further along the coast to the small town of Obock. On the road to Obock the geography changed. No longer were we in lava rock country. Instead the cliffs on the inland side were made of ancient coral and the ocean side of the road was flat with long extended beaches. John and I talked about the beautiful coral faced buildings that are still standing in Djibouti City. Now, they tell us they are not allowed to use the old coral in this way.

When we got to Obock, we checked into the Le Mer Rouge, a really lovely place right on the ocean. They have many little muraled bungalows on the beach and up in the courtyard area. There were 4 attached bungalows on the bluff, overlooking the ocean with little front porches. We took two of them side by side. The beds were very comfortable, the food not so good. But the ambience and staff was great! I definitely want to go back there again when it is cooler. We snorkeled in the ocean and just lounged in the water for several hours in the later afternoon. It was great.

Then on Saturday morning, we drove back along the coast and then up, up, up through the mountains away from the coast to Mt. Day – what a spectacular view. There we saw the La Foret Du Day (The Forest at Mt. Day). Once a lush ancient forest, it now lies dead or dying. Changes in the weather, they say turned this once lovely forest into fallen, bare-leafed trees. An expensive replanting program will soon be underway to try and restore its beauty. We were able to see the President’s big KHAT (legal drug in Djibouti) farm through the guarded fences. But, he was also growing bananas, coffee beans, hollyhocks and figs. We also saw a number of little home gardens on our way up. One of our employees has a little family farm there where he grows tomatoes, onions, potatoes, corn and carrots. He brings us fresh veggies every few weeks. It is much cooler and moister up there.

Then, when we arrived back at the compound at around 1:30 Saturday afternoon, our wonderful chef, Ali, had a full 3 course meal set with while table linens we had brought him back from the US waiting for us. Were we all gratefully surprised. Our guests were really impressed and told us they were going to steal him away for the US Ambassador. We told them, absolutely not. We might, however, be willing to lend him for a special meal. But, that was all.

The pictures above: The coral cliffs on the way to Obock; goat with a mottled coat-one of the most unusual goat colorings we have seen; our traveling companions, Bill and Wanda; a muraled hut at La Mer Rouge.

FLOODING IN THE DJIBOUTI COUNTRYSIDE

Last night it rained a little at our house in the Salt Investment compound, located above the Goubet near Lac Assal. I thought I heard thunder in the night. And this morning it began raining a lot. So, much, in fact that the rain leaked through our windows flooding part of our tile floors. A lake quickly formed outside our front door. We were leaving the compound and driving back to Djibouti City for the weekend and heard that the road was covered with water at Karta, a small village about 20 miles from the compound on the way to town.

We left about an hour earlier than expected and when we reached Karta, a low area in the road was covered with rushing muddy water. Our chef, Ali, is pictured standing in front of the racing water. Cars, trucks and minibuses were backed up waiting for the water to recede. But, the rain kept coming. One foolish driver decided to brave the current and was swept off the road and down the streambed. He was finally pushed to safety. Only the large tanker trucks and military carriers could get through. We all stood out in the pouring rain, soaked to the bone watching and waiting for the water to recede. Our clothing dried quickly in the warm air once we got back into the truck and were on our way. About an hour later, the water had slowed down and was low enough for our 4-wheel drive Toyota Hilux truck to get across. But, for the rest of our journey, we saw vast flooding in all the lowlying areas, along the roadside. We saw little waterfalls coming down the mountainsides and in one area, we came across a powerfull waterfall careening over a cliff down into a wadie (wash). The last picture shows our colleague, Mirgan, standing in front of this gorgeous waterfall.

Tonight, we had planned to play some night golf with some other Rotarians on our all sand golf course just outside of town. However, it has been cancelled since there is 30 cm of water on the course!!! Rain, Rain everywhere. These past two years have seen a remarkable amount of rain in Djibouti. Prior to 2009, there were three years of total drought - not a drop of rain. What a change! Too bad the rain comes in such powerful downpours, floods the land, and cannot be harnassed. There is so much silt in the floodwaters that dams cannot even be built to catch this precious of all life giving commodities for the residents of Djibouti.

ROTARY WATER FILTER PROJECT

Below is a revised press release Ann wrote about the water filter project she instigated in Djibouti with the help of Rotary:

"On January 29,2010 we were all honored to be part of a joint project between the Rotary Club of Djibouti, the Poulsbo-North Kitsap Rotary Club of Poulsbo, Washington, USA and Rotary International District 5020. These Rotary Clubs have together raised DJF 1.785 000 ($10,000)which will be donated to UNICEF to help defray the cost of water filters for the residents of the Lac Assal area. With the additional private donations from two individual US Rotarians, we were able to distribut 152 water filters to families from Laita and Dabale-Gahar, Djibouti. Those most vulnerable, families with children under five, pregnant women and the elderly were given priority.

This water filter project is being carried out with the help and coordination of UNICEF, Salt Investment and the Ministries of Health and Agriculture. Salt Investment is donating storage for all of UNICEF’s water filters and Mohammed Noor of the Health Ministry and Abdallah Watta of the Agricultural Ministry are providing the community organization and training.

The objective of the project is to reduce water borne illness, especially abdominal parasites in children, which is rampant in this area. This project is, in fact, a small part of an overall hygiene, sanitation and environmental project that Salt Investment is instigating for the entire Lac Assal region with the guidance and help of UNICEF. It is our goal to ensure that this project is sustainable and will expand to all families within the region.

We understand that the major problems to be solved in this area are infrastructure and the availability of water. To this end, Salt Investment and the Rotary Club of Djibouti are working together with ADDS, the government ministries, UNICEF, Inchscape, and some international foundations to develop infrastructure and a sustainable water source for the region.

We are grateful for the full cooperation of the village elders and leaders who have followed through with their commitments and we look forward to more projects which will improve the lives of the residents of the Lac Assal region."

The pictures show some of the over 150 families (mostly women) that gathered to receive the water filters, the boxed water filters waiting distribution, and two weeks later, one of the water filters in the home of one of the local residents.

WINTER IN DJIBOUTI

Winter in Djibouti is a novel concept. It begins in October and lasts until April. The days are a crisp 85-90 degrees and the evenings get down to a chilling 80 degrees. Last night it rained at Lac Assal. This is the first rain since October. And, the temperature dipped down to a bone-chilling 74 degrees.

The Djiboutians constantly complain about the cold and wear coats, sweatshirts, even down filled jackets with fur collars during the day. And, are freezing at night. Even the Djiboutian women wear sweatshirts with hoods over their traditional clothing in the evenings and dress in multiple layers during the day.

The winters tend to have a lot more wind at our compound at Lac Assal. Winter is also the time for mosquitos in Djibouti City. For some reason, probably the wind, we don't see mosquitos at our compound, even in the winter. The mosquitos are dangerous and I have to wear repellent in the evenings when we are in Djibouti City. One of our Superintendents is very ill right now with Dengue fever which is rare in Djibouti. It is transmitted by a special kind of mosquito and there is no cure. Just symptom relief.

John and I are in heaven here in the winter. We consider the weather balmy and beautiful. We wear our shirtsleeves and sandles day and night, appreciating the cool-down in the evenings as just right. I guess it is all relative. With summers here in the 110-115 range and humid in Djibouti City, winter is a welcome respite for us. I know several Rotarians, who having come here to visit during the winter months, made the decision to permanently move to Djibouti. Now, they make sure they spend their summers elsewhere.

Women's Clothing in Djibouti

Women in Djibouti wear the most beautiful fabric I have ever seen. The patterns and colors range from the most sublime to the most outrageous. All of the fabric is imported into Djibouti. The women tell me that most of it comes from Asia (in the past from Japan and Indonesia), some from France and more and more from China.

Many wealthier women in Djibouti travel to France or Dubai and now to China to purchase fabric directly from the manufacturers or designers and have their clothing made there. Traditional Djiboutian dress is mostly layers of lots of material beginning with a long skirt with lace on the bottom and a long or short head scarf and maybe even a tight head wrap under the scarf . The color and pattern combinations you see just in the layers is amazing. I would have never thought of pairing some of the pieces they put together. But, the effect can be stunning.

I have seen gorgeous solid colors in every color imaginable. And patterns ranging from geometrical to floral and freestyle. Some of the fabric is interspersed with intricate embroidery or lace. I have been in Djibouti now for 6 months and still am awed by the beauty of the material. I see something new everyday, even at isolated Lac Assal. Even the poorest Djiboutian woman wears bright colors. John's theory is that because the landscape is so drab, women choose to wear bold colors. This is in such stark contrast to Dubai where the women all wear black outergarments out in public and the men wear all white.

ADDIS, ABABA ETHIOPIA - Part II

Making the trip to Addis with us was our friend and colleague, Koffi and his girlfriend, Seaman. We were able to share some good adventures with them. They introduced us to the fascinating nightlife of Addis and to the traditional dances of Ethiopia.

Ethiopia has a rich political, cultural and religious history. It is the only African country never to have been colonized. It has more than 80 unique ethnic, cultural and linguistic groups. It is the oldest Christian nation in the world, other than Armenia. Over 50% of the population is Ethiopian Orthodox. Amharic is the predominant language, but English is also spoken.

Addis itself is a bustling, smoggy city of 8 million people. It is clean by African standards and safe. It is much cooler than Djibouti and many Djiboutians find respite in Addis during the terribly hot months of the summer - especially July and August. There are 1985 vintage blue and white taxis to take you anywhere you want to go. We hired a driver for the day to take us up to Mt. Entoto, the tallest mountain above Addis. Addis is at 7500 feet elevation and Mt. Entoto is at 10,500 feet. It was difficult to catch your breath at this altitue. But, we experienced panoramic views of Addis and the surrounding farm land. Eucalyptus trees dominate the landscape and were brought in to provide firewood. Daily, poor women from Addis, walk up to the top of Mt. Entoto, harvest the eucalyptus, bundle it and carry the bundles on their backs down to Addis. An amazing sight to see.

Mt. Entoto is the site of the modest palace of Menelik II - stone structures with thatched roofs and many monastaries. There we visited the Old Stone Church, an Ethiopian Orthodox Church with 8 floor-to-ceiling panels of 120 year old murals inside it's octagonal walls. The many scenes depicted the life and works of Christ. The colors were brilliant.

One of the most intriqueing places we visited in Addis was the Ethnological Museum housed in the original home of Emperor Haile Selassie on the campus of the University College of Addis. Inside we were able to explore the many cultures of Ethiopia, its musical instruments and crafts. Weaving and silver jewelry are Ehiopia's prize art forms.

One morning we visited the Merkato, the largest open air maket in the world. It was a bustling place, teeming with activity and one could easily have gotten lost or been pickpocketed there. We bought a couple of items there and then, Amy, our personal guide took us to the Piazza, a quieter shopping area where we found beautiful silver jewelry and woven goods.

We look forward to returning to Ethiopia and exploring other parts of this beautiful country.

ADDIS, ABABA ETHIOPIA - Part I

At the end of November Salt Investment closed down our facility and gave all of our employees 4 days off to celebrate Eid, the Muslim holiday. John and I decided to go to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, only a 50 minute air flight from Djibouti. The highlight of our trip to Addis was getting to know the family of one of our Salt Investment colleagues - Samuel. Because of problems getting him a visa to get back into Djibouti, Samuel was unable to make the trip home. Illegal immigration from Ethiopia into Djibouti is a huge problem. Even a highly skilled mechanic, like Samuel, needs to have all of the proper documents, or they will not let him return to work in Djibouti.

But, to our suprise, he sent his brother, Amy a University of Addis student, to meet us at our hotel. Then we met Samuel's, wife and two darling daughters, who showered us with gifts, invited us to their home for a full-blown Ethiopian meal complete with injera, and took us shopping the next day in Addis.

Samuel's Aunt performed the traditional Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony for us. Sitting on a low bench in the living room of Samuel's home, she began with green Ethiopian coffee beans and roasted them over a charcoal fire until they were almost black. Then the teenage sister of Samuel's wife Marguesh, pounded the coffee to a fine grind. Samuel's Aunt poured the coffee grounds into an elegant slender black coffee pot and placed hot water inside. She placed the pot back on the smoldering coals and boiled the coffee until you could smell the wonderful aroma. She then gracefully poured the thick, rich coffee into small cups and offered that to us with sugar. Traditionally, the pot is refilled with water (same grounds) three times. Each time the pot is put back onto the hot coals to boil before another round is served. It was absolutely delicious! Without a doubt, the best coffee I have ever had.

The first picture is of Samuel's family. His wife is pregnant, with a baby boy expected in mid-January. The second picture is of Samuel's Aunt roasting the coffee beans and the third picture is John smelling the newly roasted beans. The tradition is for all recipients of the coffee to smell the beans after roasting, before they are ground.