Fred 'skating' on Lac Assal
On Tuesday, we made part of the day trip we had been planning, going out in a 4x4 Toyota Land Cruiser (how did Land Rover manage to fail so completely to keep their market share in Africa?), to the salt lake 150 metres below sea level rather than the Planet of the Apes scenery of Lac Abbe. And we were joined by the person who says he is Richard Limo, but who we doubt actually is the famous athlete and his girlfriend.
It waas well worth making the trip, as we were treated to some incredible landscapes, as you can see on the flickr pages. These include the white lake of Lac Assal, looking very much like it had frozen over - thus the skating poses. It was hot, very hot and would have been hotter had we arrived in the afternoon, but at least it was a dry heat, unlike in Djibouti City.
On the way there, we came across the side of the Great Rift Valley, the land just falling away towards the Red Sea, and to deep dark, black and orange canyons, with pools of green water way down at the bottom, and also boiling hot springs, feeding the lake below.
After the On Tuesday, we made part of the day trip we had been planning, going out in a 4x4 Toyota Land Cruiser (how did Land Rover manage to fail so completely to keep their market share in Africa?), to the salt lake 150 metres below sea level rather than the Planet of the Apes scenery of Lac Abbe. And we were joined by the person who says he is Richard Limo, but who we doubt actually is the famous athlete and his girlfriend.
It waas well worth making the trip, as we were treated to some incredible landscapes, as you can see on the flickr pages. These include the white lake of Lac Assal, looking very much like it had frozen over - thus the skating poses. It was hot, very hot and would have been hotter had we arrived in the afternoon, but at least it was a dry heat, unlike in Djibouti City.
On the way there, we came across the side of the Great Rift Valley, the land just falling away towards the Red Sea, and to deep dark, black and orange canyons, with pools of green water way down at the bottom, and also boiling hot springs, feeding the lake below.
After the Lake, we climbed back UP to sea level, to beautiful views over the Bay of Goudouk, surrounded by volcanoes, both in and out of the water, dark black relatively new lava flows, golden and black sandy beaches (we picnicked on teh black sand - which seemed to be free as opposed to the golden sands).
We were promised a stop in an Afar village, but all the driver found was a couple of huts by the roadside and as we got out, we were greeted by a very ferocious woman, whose best description would be old fish-wife who hurled abuse at us, picked up stones and made a play to throw them at us. The baboons by teh side of the road later on were more polite and civilised than her!
It waas well worth making the trip, as we were treated to some incredible landscapes, as you can see on the flickr pages. These include the white lake of Lac Assal, looking very much like it had frozen over - thus the skating poses. It was hot, very hot and would have been hotter had we arrived in the afternoon, but at least it was a dry heat, unlike in Djibouti City.
On the way there, we came across the side of the Great Rift Valley, the land just falling away towards the Red Sea, and to deep dark, black and orange canyons, with pools of green water way down at the bottom, and also boiling hot springs, feeding the lake below.
After the On Tuesday, we made part of the day trip we had been planning, going out in a 4x4 Toyota Land Cruiser (how did Land Rover manage to fail so completely to keep their market share in Africa?), to the salt lake 150 metres below sea level rather than the Planet of the Apes scenery of Lac Abbe. And we were joined by the person who says he is Richard Limo, but who we doubt actually is the famous athlete and his girlfriend.
It waas well worth making the trip, as we were treated to some incredible landscapes, as you can see on the flickr pages. These include the white lake of Lac Assal, looking very much like it had frozen over - thus the skating poses. It was hot, very hot and would have been hotter had we arrived in the afternoon, but at least it was a dry heat, unlike in Djibouti City.
On the way there, we came across the side of the Great Rift Valley, the land just falling away towards the Red Sea, and to deep dark, black and orange canyons, with pools of green water way down at the bottom, and also boiling hot springs, feeding the lake below.
After the Lake, we climbed back UP to sea level, to beautiful views over the Bay of Goudouk, surrounded by volcanoes, both in and out of the water, dark black relatively new lava flows, golden and black sandy beaches (we picnicked on teh black sand - which seemed to be free as opposed to the golden sands).
We were promised a stop in an Afar village, but all the driver found was a couple of huts by the roadside and as we got out, we were greeted by a very ferocious woman, whose best description would be old fish-wife who hurled abuse at us, picked up stones and made a play to throw them at us. The baboons by teh side of the road later on were more polite and civilised than her!
Labels: Djibouti, Trip to Middle East and Africa
posted by Charles Roffey and Fred O at 15:52
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