Baboons & The drive to Arta Plage (Beach) & Arta

The drive to Arta Plage (French for beach) took a few years off my life.  This was an off-road trek.  And our car is considered an SUV, however.. it is not an off-road SUV.  Our car bottomed out quite a few times.  We drive a Honda CRV.  So, I don't recommend this trip if you don't have a tall vehicle.  Unless.. you don't care about the bottom of your car.

Before we got off the highway, we FINALLY saw baboons!

Look at the cute babies!

Oh.. and some more camels across the street.

Once in a while you see someone carrying things on their heads.. or strapped to their backs.  She is gathering firewood, as the people in this area cook everything over a fire.

Do you like this street sign?  If only we have paid attention!  But we were more focused on the part that pointed which way to the beach.  (That is a goat to the left)

Lots of camels.  In this area, they are almost camouflaged.

I loved looking at the mountain cliffs on this drive.  It might look all the same in the pictures, but in person it was so nice.  Much nicer change from the constant desert we see everywhere else.

 

We took a short walk when we got there, this was the view of the beach.

Donkeys carrying water.

When we got back in the car.. it said it was 107 degrees.

View of the beach as we drove away.  Nothing here.  But there was nice tide pools, and its always nice to get in the water on a hot day.

More beach-front property

Can you see the water through the haze?  I mean.. dust?

On the drive back, I was more prepared for the hazards of the road.. that I tried to relax and take more pictures of the mountains.  Here they have some stairs and equipment.  Not sure what they use if for.

Neat caves in the mountains.  Not sure I'd investigate to see what lives in them though.  Probably just goats if anything at all.

I'll never get tired of these Umbrella Thorn Acacia trees.  However, don't get too close.  The thorns sting for HOURS!

More camels

We tried to attempt a side road that went to the town of Arta.. but we had to turn around.  If her car can't make it, I know ours for sure wouldn't make it!

They paint rocks and spell things and designs on sides of mountains.

Isn't this a beautiful view of the ocean?  And it's not even dusty season yet!  (Yes, that is my sarcasm.. because the dust storms are arriving next month in July.)

OK, I officially want a house in Arta! (I am not being sarcastic) This is the greenest place I've seen in all of Djibouti!  Everyone was in awe!

Look at all of those beautiful trees in Arta!

Yes, I realize it is still dusty and mostly dirt.. but imagine living here when you can see the ocean just over those trees!

Wild flowers growing on the side of the road!  Amazing!

 If you are driving to Arta Plage, you need to PASS the road to Arta.  You cannot reach the beach from the town, as the town is high on a mountain cliff.

Decan Cheetah Refuge

In Djibouti, this place is considered the "zoo".  This refuge was built based on this cheetah.  She was chained in front of a restaurant for quite some time as a pet, and a veterinarian came and rescued it.  All animals were obtained in Djibouti.

DECAN (DECouvrir et Aider la Nature - Discover and Help Nature)

Baboons

Caracal

Porcupine

Leopard Tortoise

Apparently, these cheetah's were found in Djibouti.  And the reason you don't see cheetah's very often in Djibouti, is because the police kill them as soon as they see them.  

At first we though these were antelope and we were back in Cheyenne.. but these are gazelles.  Do you like how they stand up to eat in the tree?

This place is run entirely by volunteers.  Some of them sleep here too.  This sitting area has a view of the cheetah habitat.  Their living quarters have open walls, at least a breeze can come through.  But I wouldn't want to sleep here when the wind and dust storms come.

I didn't get a good shot of the lions.  And we didn't get to see all of the animals, as they are working on some of the habitats.  But I'm sure we will be back in the winter, when it's only in the cool 80's, instead of in the high 90's like it was the day we visited in May.

Our drive to Lake Assal

This post is mostly pictures.  Last weekend we finally left the city limits of Djibouti City, and drove somewhere!  And for the first time since arriving here four months ago.. it felt more like I was in Africa.  The city really doesn't give you the feel of what you would expect from being in Africa.  

African road hazards...

Donkeys being used to carry supplies

Stone, tin, and ply-board houses.  No electricity or running water.

The vulture soaring over the houses in the picture above.

Children running along side a car, trying to sell them something.  A common sight.

Stone houses

Hut houses and stone houses.

On top of a mountain

Looking at the mountains

Looking out at mountains and Lake Ghoubet

Vendors on the side of the road

Saw several camels

Same camel, but I liked where it was grazing

Heard of goats

Huts in the middle of nowhere.  We went inside a hut at our local "zoo", and there is no air circulation in these things.  I couldn't imagine having one family live in these one room huts with no running water, electricity, let alone air circulation.

Shacks and huts

Coming up to a village.. there is even a mosque

For those of you who donate to UNICEF, this is your money at work.  We saw water containers in many places along our drive in random areas where people were living.

Arriving at the village, just before Lake Assal

People flood to the street when they see a vehicle coming, asking for donations of money, food, or water.

It is really hard to pass these cute kids up!

Two vultures.  On the other side of this ledge, were two local people walking.

Lake Assal (Lac 'Assal for those who speak French) is a saline lake that is located 509 feet BELOW sea level in the desert.  This is the lowest point in Africa.  The worlds largest salt reserve.

Lake Assal

Crystallized salt

We didn't stay out of the car too long.  There was no breeze here.  The car said it was 99 degrees, but by the time we got back to the car it felt like at least 110 or more.  And there are locals that spend their whole day down here, selling salt pellets and souvenirs.

Yes, you can swim in this lake.  However, if you have any open cuts or sores, it will severely sting!  And be sure to bring fresh water to rinse off with.. otherwise, the salt will leave a nice coating on your skin when you dry.

A rock inside the lake

Other objects that were dropped in the lake and have been there awhile.

Crystallized salt on rocks and objects

My t-shirt says "Lost in Djibouti"

My t-shirt says "Is there anybody out there?"

Collecting a sample of the water to take home.  The water in the bottle is crystal clear, and after a while.. some salt has settled in the bottom.  We have even put a shell inside to see if it will get covered, and if it does.. we are curious how long it will take.

You can't really tell.. but this very short area of soft fine dirt on the road has camel tracks going up on the right hand side.

Don't pass on the left.. or else!

Red soil and a lot of erosion over the years.  Most of the road to the lake had guard rails falling down the sides.

A lot of rocks that look like black lava rock.. but I told my daughter they are sun burnt from laying in the hot sun all year long!  (It was a very funny clever joke, thank you very much)

I love all of these small bushes that look like mini trees.

Yes, this baby goat is standing ON the bush

Pretty view

Heading back to Djibouti City (32 kilometers)

Camels

Rednecks have been to Djibouti!  It looks like they built the locals a fantastic fence around their mosque.

The soil isn't this red everywhere.  And where it is, it is beautiful.

Everyone gathering out of the hot afternoon sun

Market stands on the side of the road

Approaching the truck-stop area, just outside the city limits of Djibouti City

1:30pm on a Friday.  Last time we drove past this, everyone was outside their apartments.. kids playing soccer.  Too hot to be outside.

Houses outside the city limits

Houses outside the city limits

View of the Port of Djibouti

Djibouti flags

Camels and goats gather in the shade too

Houses outside the city limits

What locals do on a hot Friday afternoon

The following pictures are within the city limits of Djibouti City.

Arena

More elaborate, comfortable houses in the city with running water and electricity.

Yes, we have FedEx

Statue inside the middle of a roundabout.

The other spot where locals go on a hot Friday afternoon.  We aren't allowed to drive down this road on a Friday, because around the corner.. the road is usually congested with locals playing on the beach and in the ocean.

The best time to see downtown is also on a Friday (which is their holy day.. like our Sunday).  Normally, there are people everywhere and its difficult to find a place to park.

There is more activity at the downtown market than I thought there would be for a Friday.  This is also usually extremely congested during the week.

Downtown market on a Friday.  Again, not many people.  And this is a common view of a road.  People walk in the road, even if they have a perfectly good empty sidewalk (this road doesn't.. but I've seen it on other roads).

So that concludes the tour of our road trip last weekend.  This post is intended to help people who haven't ever been to Djibouti, to see what life is like.  This is the reality of the local people in pictures from the perspective of someone driving through the country.

Before coming here, it was difficult to find pictures and information about what to expect before moving here.  Hopefully this post can help someone, and to give perspective to my friends and family of the things we see while we are here.

Djibouti City - May 23, 2013 - Currently 95 degrees "feels like 109 degrees" at noon.