Days 311 to 320 Diary Index
Days 331 to 340 
After another sticky breakfast at one of the local cafe, we packed the Landy and went straight round to the British Embassy. There I got a new letter of recommendation for Djibouti, which again cost me 600 Bir (38 pounds) and 1 hour of waiting. With letter in hand we then drove round to the Djibouti Embassy, filled in the form, handed over 30 USD and two photo's, plus letter and where told to return 14:00 the next day.
With all the paper work done for the day we returned to the Taitu Hotel. We then walked round the corner to one of the nearby Internet cafe and spent a hour or so there, checking mail and letting other travelers know about the Sudan Visa situation. After this we headed down to a supermarket we had spotted to stock up on storable foods. I then returned to the hotel and Werner went off to book his plane ticket home. Along the way back I ran into the Aussie couple Cameron and Dani, who were soon joined by two crazy South African Lads. We stood there chatting for quite a while, swapping stories of where we have been and info on various visas and countries.
Later that evening we all met up at the hotel and decided to go to a restaurant that the S. A. lads had found. After ascending all the stairs through the building we settled at a table on the roof terrace,and ordered our food. The food arrived fashionably late, but was worth the wait as it was really nice and had given us the chance to find out more about one another. With bellies full we returned to the hotel and along the way parted from the S. A. lads as they were staying some where different.
As we approached the Landy in the car park I quickly noticed that a new overland vehicle had appeared, with Italian plates. As we were getting ready for bed a ran into the owner returning to her vehicle. It turned out that she had just come through Sudan with no real problems and that she was carrying on to South Africa to raise money and awareness for her favorite charity. We stood there chatting for some time, until the cold evening air started to get to us and we bid each other good night.
After enjoying our sticky cake breakfast, we also bought some donuts and biscuits for the road. Once back at the hotel we filled the water jerry cans, and got chatting to two Swiss couples who hand turned up late the night before. They had also just come though Sudan, proving the traffic from North to South was still flowing plentifully. So what was the problem is going the other way then!
We finished a few other odd jobs off, said our good byes and drove round to the travel agents so Werner could pick up his tickets. We then drove onto the Sheraton Hotel to get money. We found that the bank had closed for lunch, so we thought we would eat our lunch in the garden, oh was that a bad idea. The security guy kicked up a hugh fuss, and no amount of explanation could make him see the logic that we would eat our lunch in the car park if not in the garden. They didn't even want us to eat our lunch in the car park, which made us even more determined to do so, just to annoy their petty bureaucratic attitudes. It worked because of several occasions the manager and door guard tried to sneak round the car park to spy on us. After finishing our slyly eaten lunch we reentered the hotel and used the bank branch to get money. It wasn't until we were back in the Landy did Werner tell me they had given him more cash than which he had signed for. After a treatment over lunch we just thought it was poetic justice and drove off.
Next stop was the Djibouti embassy,but we were too early and so went down the road to a shopping center I had found earlier, so Werner could buy some books. We then relaxed on the terrace of the restaurant enjoying a cake a juice on the behalf of the Sheraton hotel. We then drove back down the road a fruit and veg stall we had spotted and stocked up on a whole range of fruits and vegtables for our journey North. With all this done it was now time to pick up my Djibouti visa, and so we drove to short distance back to the Embassy. Werner stayed in the Landy and I went to the gates, where Dani and Cameron were already waiting. On talking to the Chat spaced gate guard he didn't want to let us in, and told us to wait. This their way of often flexing the little bit of power they have and appearing to be the big man. The best way to handel it is to be completely un phased and act like you can wait all day. This wasn't hard as the three of us stood chatting and joking until the guard felt his ego satisfied and let us in. We all collected our visas with out a problem and said we would let where each other know where we were staying once we got there, and then said our goodbyes.
Back in the Landy me and Werner were now ready to roll. We then made our way to the ring road and followed the unlikely looking main road North. The rest of the afternoon was spent winding our way through mountainous green country side. Along the way we passed many small villages which looked like they had probably not changed since a thousand years. As the sun drew near the horizon and dusk approached we started to look for a suitable area to camp for the night. We did not see many options along the narrow twisting road, until we rounded the corner high on a hill. There was a quarry cutting into the bank and only a small ditch to traverse. I edged the Landy over the ditch and into the cutting, which left us safely out of the way of passing traffic and a great view of the setting sun. We then enjoyed a light dinner before setting camp and spending the evening watch a DVD on the laptop.
Photo Of Country SideWe are up with the light, had breakfast, packed and were soon on the road. We continue to drive North to a junction town, where we turned East and continue to follow the main road to Dire. We arrive at the last town on our route late afternoon, refueled and headed off along the main dirt road which eventually meets Gonder. As we reached the end of the valley we climbed the steep, narrow dirt road high into the mountains. Once on top things leveled out to a more undulating landscape, which we could drive at a decent speed. By the time we had reached he village to turn off onto the piste to Lalibela, it was well dark. As we made the turn a young lad stopped us trying to convince us to stay the night in his campsite, telling us there were "bandito's" and that we would not be able to see where we were driving. I flicked on all of the spot lights and turned night into day for the 50m in front of us. I cheerfully said to the boy that's one problem solved then and drove off. We descended a steep hill and managed to find a entrance into a field of nearly level ground. We pulled up, set camp, had a sandwich for dinner and spent a little while reading in the roof tent before dropping of to sleep.
We woke that more to the sounds of rent a crowd talking and walking around the Landy. All the while we packed up and had breakfast they eagerly strained to see what we were doing or into the Landy. So time to close for comfort and I had to usher them back and draw a line in the dirt, not for them to cross. They persistently asked for presents and we told them we were not her to give hand outs but to see their country. By the end both sides were annoyed, us by their constant pestering and them by the fact take we were not going to give them anything.
We set of down the piste and after around a hour after crossing a well built bridge rejoined a tarmac road. We then followed this through the villages and we climbed up through the hills and eventually reached the village of Lalibela We found our way to the entrance of the site where the main three churches were situated. We each had to pay 100 Bir and then they made a big fuss that they were generously letting us take our cameras in for free! After getting rid of the guides hassling us to take their services, we wondered round the stone churches. In chase you don't know anything about these churches, they are not only famous for being very old alone, but because they have all been carved from the solid rock around them in a single peace. To do this with modern machinery would be a achievement but to do it with the tools available to the craftsmen of the time is wondrous. The details of the decoration is also amazing. It's just a shame that the outside of some of the churches have been heavily weathered, but the full splendor of the interior of the churches, with bright colours to highlight the stone work, is still intact. This is also one of the reported places either the Arch of the Covenant or the Holly Grail where hid. And I could quite believe it as they would make perfect hiding places for such artifacts of the time. Considering there was no manned flight and that you can't see these churches at only 100m away,as there natural stone colour blends with its surroundings perfectly.
Satisfied we left the touristy hustle of Lalibela behind and set off on the journey back. We stopped along the piste to enjoy lunch in the quiet dusty landscape even older than the churches. It took most of the day to drive back to the town of Weldiya and we arrived late afternoon. Werner sorted out his gear and shared the remaining food, while I tried to find if anyone could repair my tubeless tire, which had developed a slow puncher. Unfortunately couldn't and so I would just have to keep an eye on it. Werner and me said our goodbyes and wished each other good luck in there travels, as he was going to tour the Northern part of Ethiopia before returning to Addis to catch his flight home.
I drove the rest of the day back toward Dire and eventually stopped for the night in a empty road works camp at the side of the road, as the sunset. Had some dinner, set camp and reflected on the churches we had seen earlier in the day and wondered how Werner would get on before falling victim to the land of nod.
Gallery Photos Of LalibelaI started the day at the crack of dawn and as I was scoffing breakfast I let my compressor pump the slow punchered tiers back up. As I now noticed one of the rear tiers also have a slow puncher. Once I was all set I drove out onto the piste and followed it to the town on Dire. I spent a couple of hours trying to fine someone who could repair tubeless tires to no avail. As they all wanted to fit a tube and no one could rebalance the tier afterwards.
I continued on to Komlocker and Eastward until I reached the piste which was the short cut to the main road which continued onto Djibouti. The piste was rough and corrugated and very hard on the Landy. I stopped at the side of the piste to get some lunch and to have a little break from the driving noise. I eventually rejoined the tarmac road and started to make good time again. The road was full of trucks carrying supplies to and from the port of Djibouti. They carried every from tiers to fuel as it is Ethiopia's made supply route. Along the way to the border I stopped in the last town to send the remaining Bir I had on food. When returning to the vehicle I noticed a pool of oil under the engine. At some point on the rough piste earlier in the day the prop shaft for the winch had broken loose, and with the movement of the front axle been crushed into the power steering pump. I figured that I would waste too much time fixing the problem there and decided to carry on to the border.
I arrived at the Ethiopian side of the border around late afternoon. The passport control of housed in a rickety hut at the side of the road. After the official stamped my passport,he directed me to the customs build, which was a large new facility to get the Temporary import document they had given me stamped. After finding the guy I needed and his son rousing him from his afternoon nap, he happy stamped my papers. I then drove down the road (still good tarmac) until I reached the Djibouti border post. This was far less impressive, with poorly maintained buildings and broken vehicles lying around. There was no obvious place to take my papers so I looked around and eventually found some one to trust my papers at. He begrudgingly enter the office and got on with recording the details from them, while asking all manner of questions. He then directed me onto the next guy who stamped my carnet. He then point me across the road to where I needed to get my passport stamped. I walked over to fine most of the men where sprawled on the floor chewing chat. After explaining one of them eventually produced a rubber stamp and gave my passport a thwack, and scribbled something on top. They seamed satisfied and so I didn't waist any time in jumping back in the Landy and driving clear of the border post.
Once out on the open road the scenery was once again impressive. Which a vast salt lake to the right and shier cliffs rising to the mountain tops and stone desert to the horizon on the right. I continued on the smooth tarmac road until dusk was approaching. I then kept a eye out for some where to camp for the night. I decide to settle of a position over the back of some small hills and coupe of hundred meters from the main road, out of sight of passer by. I set camp in the tranquil silence of the desert and watch the sun melt into the horizon as I ate my dinner. After which I read for a bit in the roof tent before curling up in my sleeping bag for the night.
I woke with the morning light, and after the usual routine reinflated the slow punchered tiers. I then drove the short distance back to the main road. I followed the road Southeast to the only town marked on the map called Dikhil. As I passed through I could see it was nothing more than than a large village and the grander name of town didn't really apply, even though it was prop ably the big settlement for a hundred miles. Here I turned Westward and continued along the main road to Djibouti city only passing a few more villages along the way and passing over the two lake pan depressions along the route. The scenery was desert like all the way, with dry, rocky barren hills, few trees and even less animal life.
As I passed over the crest of the final hill to see Djibouti city and port spread out before me in the distance. Not long after I started driving through the shanty suburbs which seam to accompany most African cities, industrial sites and truck depots. I followed the main road right into the hart of the city and manage to navigate my way to what could be called the city center. By this time it was around 10:00 and my first job was to find the bank to withdraw some local money. I first tried the cash machine, which displayed a notice saying that you could no longer us credit cars and that you either had to enter the bank or use Western Union next door. I done the later and got charged Western Unions crap rates for the privilege of getting to my own money.
I then spent the rest of the morning wandering round checking out all the shipping agents I could see signs for and also checked in a couple travel agents to see what the flight situation was like. One agent I found take day were on the balls and told me all the facts, but most of the other I visited were in chaos and could give me a straight answer on anything. So went to one of the restaurants listed in the Lonely Planet and was introduced to the expensive price of things in Djibouti. After lunch I spent the afternoon walking around the city checking out the options listed in the Lonely Planet, as with most things in Djibouti accommodation is expensive and I wanted to get the best value for my money. The first few places I saw were not right for one reason or another. Either no parking for the Landy or very over priced for what you got. Later that afternoon I eventually found the Auberge Sable Blanc, tucked away in the back streets closer to the port. The price was still 30 USD a night but a least the place was nice, clean, with air con and secure parking. I asked if it was possible to camp, which they flatly refused and so I booked a room. Then walked off and returned with the Landy.
After doing some washing, I walked back into town to go to the internet cafe. Where I sent an e-mail update to various travelers to let them know were I was and what the situation was here. I then went back to the hotel, showered, ate dinner and spent the evening reading and writing my diary of the past few days events, before retiring to my room.
Photo Of Auberge Sable BlancI was rudely awoken at 05:30 by the sound of whaling. As my ears tuned into reality I realized it was the Mosque next door. From that point I couldn't get back to sleep and admitted defeat and got up around 06:30. I spent most of the morning washing the Landy and cleaning the cab interior. It was well over due and I wanted it to look tidy for the customs before it went in the container. I then went into town to check on how a couple of shipping agents were getting on with there quotes. None of them had any news so I went back to the hotel to eat lunch. I then spent the early afternoon doing more washing and get odd jobs out of the way. Later I got chatting to a French guy who was staying at the hotel and he kindly took me into town to show me were another shipping agents was. I then popped in the supermarket before returning to the hotel. Once back I took the Landy up toward the airport to find the offices of another shipping agent the French guy had told me about. I indeed found Massida Transit, explained what I wanted and they said they would find out a final price. On the way back I checked at one of the fuel stations to see if there was any where in town where I could get tubeless tiers repaired. They said that there was no one in Djibouti who could, let along rebalance the wheel. That evening I just chilled out and watched a DVD on the laptop, before going to bed.
I was again shocked into consciousness by the whaling from the Mosque at 05:30 in the morning. But this time managed to drop back off to sleep. My jobs for the day where to fix the hole in the PAS pump and change the spare wheels for the slow punchered ones. With having to wait for the glue to dry on the pump and cleaning all the mud and crap from behind the wheels, as well as removing the winch prop shaft, it took me most of the day. Towards late afternoon the Aussie couple, Cameron and Dani showed up. So after I had cleaned up, we ate dinner and whiled the evening away by looking at each other photo's and chatting until late.
Photo Of Danny And CameronI awoke at the now familiar 05:30 wailing session, but soon drifted back to sleep. As it was Friday eg the start of the Muslim weekend there was nothing I could do about shipping arrangements, so I started the day with a leisurely breakfast and read my Land Rover mags until Cameron and Dani were up and about. We then went for a walk in search of the beach front. Along the way we found the Sheraton Hotel which was a poor shadow of the one in Ethiopia and the US Embassy which looked more like a fortress. After managing to access the coast in several places we got the distinct impression that there was not much on a beach to see. By this point we were hungry for lunch and so stopped at a street cafe for a plate of chips and a coke. We then made our way back toward the hotel and found the so called beach along the way. The sand was mixed with silt mud and rubbish was stune across the beach and in the water. The only positive thing you could say was that the water was warm. All this didn't deter the local kids from swimming and splashing one another. After a rest back at the hotel we headed into town and had dinner at a street cafe. They served up a great chicken baget for a good price. After which we walked around to access the night life and a few of the local bars. Unfortunately the drink were stupidly priced, but I think most people were there more for the wild life that the drinking. So after one beer we called it quits and returned to the hotel to cash out.
Photo Of Djibouti PortI obviously had got used to the 05:30 battle cry as I manage to sleep right through and didn't wake until 07:00. First job of the day was to go to the internet, where I used the wonders of the web to send my Aunty some flowers for her birthday, back in Jersey. I then spent most of the day running around the various shipping agents collecting their quotes. This was interrupted by a nice lunch with Dani and Cameron back at the hotel. One of the shipping companies only quoted for actually transporting the container on the ship from A to B. Completely forgetting about the port charges, loading and unloading, packing etc. So I ditched them as a option, thinking that if they can't even given a proper end to end quote, which you would have thought would be an obvious every day task for them, what else would they forget. I did get two good well structured quotes from Merill and Massida which were both honist enough to say that they could only estimate the unloading/customs charges in Le Havre.
I then went back to the internet cafe to e-mail Chris and other travelers then news of the shipping quotes and to find out what info they had found regarding the Sudan visa. As I came out of the Internet cafe I spotted Cameron and Dani across the street so we all went in the super market to get some stuff to make a nice dinner and a few beers. That evening Dani and Cameron made dinner for all three of us and we sat drinking and chatting in the warm night air until late.
Days 311 to 320 Diary Index
Days 331 to 340