French Beach

Yesterday I went to a local beach in Djibouti.  We only stayed a few minutes, the weather was crappy: very cloudy, windy, and even a little bit of rain.  I've been here 10 weeks now and this was the coolest day yet and the only day that I didn't see the sun at all.  Getting to this beach is not easy, much of the journey is on very bumpy dirt roads which require a vehicle with some ground clearance to navigate.  We spent the remainder of the day cruising around Djibouti City.  I was with a local expert, he's been here four years and seems to know everyone.  We got to have lunch with a few other Americans that were not associated with the camp, the military, or the embassy; they worked for some local NGOs.  We checked out many spots in town, visiting restaurants and hotels.  We also went by the Khat distribution yard which was filled with people and taxis waiting for the daily shipment.  We were getting a lot of looks and unwanted attention (we clearly didn't belong) plus we grew tired of waiting so we left and missed the chaos.

Djibouti has many rough spots but if you know where to look you can find something interesting and maybe even appealing.  I'm glad I go out and experience it, even with the uncomfortable moments and prices that are too high.  The many people who just stay inside the wire of camp are missing out.