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| Addis Ababa: Eucalyptus plantations in the surrounding hills provide fuel for the town. |
Hundreds of women collect the wood and bring it into the town. They walk 25 miles a day. |
| Thu 4th: Arrived at Addis Ababa on the overnight flight from London Heathrow. After a security check there was a long queue to get boarding passes for the next day's flight. Was then told to go downstairs for a visa. They told me to go back upstairs for the boarding pass. This was repeated until eventually I had a boarding pass and hotel voucher. They kept my passport to return, with transit visa, the next day. Our bus driver had buggered off by then, so we waited an hour for another bus to be organised. Reached the hotel at 12:30 and was given a huge suite to myself. Lunch was some very tough beef and rice. In the afternoon we went on a city tour which was interesting although I was very tired and feeling sick. Went to the National Museum and saw the early hominid skeleton known as 'Lucy'. Also saw the emperor's throne and various tribal artefacts. |
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Djibouti: The Keyif is a 24m Turkish Gulet, built in Bodrum. It has 8 air-conditioned cabins. |
Then went up a mountainside to a viewpoint with superb views of the city. The road up was teeming with women carrying huge bundles of firewood. Eucalyptus has been planted on the hillside and is harvested to provide fuel for the city. The women walk 25 miles a day. Returned to the town and went to a market which was an incredible mass of people selling virtually everything. It was too dangerous for us foreigners to be allowed out of the bus. Returned to the hotel, was sick, and had an hour's sleep before dinner. |
| Fri 5th: Woke at dawn, but had had a good night. We have a free morning, so had a leisurely breakfast, stayed in the hotel all morning and had a leisurely lunch. The bus to the airport was an hour late. Managed to get my passport back and boarded the flight to Djibouti, earlier than scheduled. The plane stopped at Dire Dawa, which appeared to be just an airstrip. Arrived Djibouti and had my passport taken away again. Transferred to the Menelik Hotel in an ancient and very crowded minibus. Shared a room with Rudy who is an Austrian living in Jersey. Had a briefing with Camille then dinner across the road. Had a bad night as the ceiling fan kept me awake. |
Dining table and rear seating area. |
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Sat 6th: Up at 6:30 and had breakfast in the hotel. At 8:30 we had a partly guided walk through the town, then split up and wandered through a huge and hectic market. Returned to the hotel and got a bus to the port. Boarded our boat and had tea and biscuits. Saw dolphins around the boat within an hour. Moored near Musha Island for lunch. Rested in the afternoon as our mangrove excursion was cancelled due to water pumps being repaired on the boat. Water was restored on board in the evening. |
| The captain at the wheel. |
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| It's a hard life on the sun-deck. |
The dinghy takes us out snorkelling or to the shore for excursions. |
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