Luxury Do-Gooding (Or, how my hubby got me to agree to travel by Rovos Rail)

 

Kirstenbosch Gardens, Cape Town

In my second trimester of pregnancy, my husband was serving as Vice-Consul at the U.S. embassy in Lusaka. Since Zambia did not have hospitals that met the U.S. government’s standards, the embassy flew me down to Pretoria for a high-tech check-up.  And, since ‘visit Cape Town’ and ‘ride on Rovos Rail” was on my husband’s bucket list, he somehow turned my medevac into a vacation with a half-day stop at a doctor’s office.

Cape Town, I was surprised to realize, is a remarkably beautiful city.  As in—Wouldn’t it be nice to retire here—city.  City parks and trails along the coastline.  Crashing waves and sandy beaches. Boardwalk cafes, great architecture, museums—even an aquarium! We stayed at a charming B&B and toured the town on a double-decker open-top bus. Rode the tram to the top of Table Mountain for a stunning panoramic view.  Yes, there are shantytowns on the periphery and unresolved social tensions, but compared to all the other places in Africa where I’ve been, Cape Town was like another world.

Cape Town

Then, we took Rovos Rail from Cape Town to Pretoria. This is the same Rovos that offers a Cape Town to Cairo trip for the uber-rich. Just two days on Rovos was a major splurge for us (I actually don’t even know how much we spent—Stuart refuses to tell me, although he swears he negotiated a special price).  Rovos, for those who don’t know, boasts being the most luxurious train in the world.

“Recapture the romance of a bygone era as you step aboard the reconditioned wood-panelled coaches and enjoy fine cuisine in five-star luxury.”

You had me at 'cheese course.'

I admit it was pretty darn luxurious.  There was that voice inside me, though, that nagged isn’t this wasteful narcissistic spending?  Shouldn’t we be pouring every dollar we can spare into Friendly Planet Missiology or, at the very least, a college savings account for our unborn child?  With all the visits of friends and family we received during our two years in Zambia, we had been going on a number of expensive safaris and road trips. I felt like we were hemorrhaging money. Wasn’t it time to throw on the brakes and say enough?!  

Rovos Rail

My husband responded that I was being inconsistent in my logic.  Wasn’t it I who had insisted he read Dead Aid? Hadn’t I agreed that the best way to combat poverty in Africa wasn’t via charity but through purchasing the goods and services of African-owned and operated businesses? By my own arguments, wouldn’t this mean that if one really cares about sustainable development in Africa one should spend serious cash as customers of the tourism industry?  Hadn’t we deliberately been choosing socially responsible companies whose profits went back into the local economy? 

I didn’t have a good reply.  All my economics training suggests that he is correct, so why did it feel wrong?

It has been ingrained in many of us that doing-good requires sacrifice.  We must give things up in order to improve the world. We donate to charities, take ‘alternative spring breaks,’ and join in boycotts of stores and restaurants.  In exchange, we get the satisfaction of making a difference. Sometimes, we are so emotionally moved by our volunteering that we comment that we received more from the experience than we gave  (which I think is often true, and this opens up a whole other conversation about ways we exploit poor communities).

But sometimes, we can participate in win-win exchanges. Sometimes doing what’s good for the health of the community can feel indulgent. We can pamper ourselves by going to an eco-friendly retreat center and spa and have a tasty lunch at a café that purchases from local farmers. We can buy theater tickets to support the arts, and, yes, if we happen to find ourselves needing transportation to Pretoria, we can go in style via a family business that started as a foolish pipe dream and now provides regular paychecks for hundreds of households.  

Waking up to the sight of South African vineyards going by? Yes please. 

Moucha Island, Djibouti

Moucha Island beach near the mangrove forest

Next up on the Joy of Djibouti highlights list:  Moucha Island

Moucha is a small sparsely populated (i.e. vacation homes for the wealthy) island about a 20 minute boat ride from Djibouti city. It is great for snorkeling and scuba. If you are one of the lucky ones with access to a private boat, then just hop on over, find a nice patch of sand and enjoy.

Beach at Lagoon Bleu, Moucha Island

 For the rest of us, I'd suggest going to Lagoon Bleu via Djibouti Divers. They offer half-day, all-day and multi-day (overnight) options with delicious meals and beach chairs and shade umbrellas included.  The place has a small playground and rents water equipment (like kayaks and such).  Snorkeling can be done right off the beach or you can rent a boat/driver to take you to the best nearby spots and/or a tour around the island to see the mangrove forest.  Prices are extremely reasonable making it an ideal daytrip or romantic weekend getaway.

The bungalows for overnight getaways

 Their bungalows are simple but clean and feature comforts such as air-conditioning and private full bathrooms.  Reservations should be done in advance via their office at the Kempenski Hotel since spots on the boat do fill up.  Boat to the island leaves from the hotel and keeps a strict timetable. 

snorkeling

mangrove forest

Some friends from work had their wedding there, and a gorgeous event it was! The staff there did a wonderful job with setting up the seating and catering.

Beautiful spot for weddings

Lac Assal, Djibouti

photo by Todd Katschke

When in Djibouti, be sure to visit Lac Assal. It is the lowest point in Africa, third lowest depression on earth, the world's largest salt reserve, and the world's 2nd most saline body of water.

Translation: The water is crystal clear and you float--- like really float-- as in sit a child on your stomach and you still float high without effort, and you'd better bring extra water for rinsing off because it is so salty that your entire body becomes covered in salt crystal as soon as you start to dry.
 

The other thing to do at Lac Assal is collect salt pearls and salt crystals.  They make great natural art for home.  These Djibouti salt pearls are so unusual that they were featured on Salt News (I know, the fact that there is a news blog dedicated to gourmet salt is amazing to me too).   According to Salt News, you can  

"serve Djibouti Boule in a gimlet, using gin from the freezer and adding the salt ball at the last minute.  You then drink in a race against the dissolving salt.  Or wrap a Djibouti Boule with ground lamb, egg, breadcrumbs, and herbs and do meat-encrusted salt balls, meating your salt instead of salting your meat is not just witty, it’s delicious, and plays with the cooking time and texture of the food in interesting ways.  Or just enjoy the tactile pleasure they offer.  I keep a bowl of the on desk and roll them around between my fingers when I’m trying to figure something resistant to figuring, like what to do with Djibouti Boule. Roll some Djibouti Cutie around a plate with more angular geometries of sashimi, or melon, or what have you.  Perch some atop a beet and goat cheese salad for visual drama and textural intimidation (the crystals are actually somewhat soft, but seem hard as marbles). Scatter grilled or broiled seafood with Djibouti Pearl. Let some intermingle with the juices of a steak, a lobster salad, or what the heck, an oyster. Djibouti Dew is effectively a sprinkling salt.  It has an elusive, but ultimately hard and in your face intensity that makes it suitable for spicy foods found anywhere from Thailand to Madagascar to Peru to Mexico."

See that white stuff? It's not foam; it's salt crystals

collecting salt beads

Taylor collecting salt beads; photo by Stuart Denyer

Salt pearls; photo by Todd Katschke

A BBC news corespondent also did an article on Lac Assal, but it is a bit of a downer,  and I promised you posts about the enjoyable parts of life in Djibouti, so I'll just mention it in passing. 

Whale Sharks and Lac Abbe, Djibouti

Our colleague Fausto DeGuzman got a GoPro camera and created these two great videos while here in Djibouti.

Whale Sharks  (yes, I got to swim with whale sharks too on a later date---amazing experience)

Road trip to the chimneys at Lac Abbe--I went on this trip

(organized by my friends Armina and Rony at Phoenix Travel Services )

Joy of Djibouti

Floating in Lake Assal, the lowest point in Africa and the world's largest salt reserve

This weekend I hit the 6 month mark of my time living in Djibouti.  Six straight months without leaving the country, and a wonderful six months it has been.  I’m serious—not one ounce of sarcasm.  I really am enjoying living in Djibouti and look forward to the next 18 months here.

This may come as a bit of a surprise to some of you.  Djibouti has a bad reputation.  When telling people I was moving here, the responses I received were usually “My condolences” or “Where?!” I myself didn’t know diddly-squat about the country until it appeared on our bid list. Researching it online didn’t provide many clues as to what to expect, and books on the subject are hard to find.  Not even Lonely Planet can tell you much—just a few pages inserted into their book on Ethiopia.  After over a year of studying the topic, what I had learned could be summed up in the following points:

1)    Djibouti is freakishly hot much of the year

2)    Djibouti’s main sources of income are the rent paid by the Americans and French for their military camps/bases here. The port is also a major player in the economy.

3)    There are thousands of non-Djiboutian military troops stationed in the main city

4)    The vast majority of Djibouti men are daily users of a drug called Khat (read High in Hell for more about this)

5)    Men who have made their wealth from piracy own fancy homes here.

6)    Most Djiboutians are extremely poor

7)    Most of Djibouti is unfit for agricultural efforts

8)    There didn’t seem to be much to see/do in Djibouti  (which turned out to be completely incorrect)

9)    Djibouti used to be part of Ethiopia, but the French rented it to use as a shipping port and never gave it back.  Now it is an independent state.

10) BUT there is the snorkeling and the whale shark migration to look forward to!

After arriving and getting my official orientation, I learned a few more things--- like that HIV and tuberculosis levels are very high, and that one of the most extreme forms of female genital mutilation continues to be inflicted on the majority of Djiboutian girls.

So now that I’ve told you all of that, I’d like to say (especially to those considering coming here) that life in Djibouti is actually quite nice if you are one of the lucky ones to have a living wage.  Djibouti is full of stunning beauty both above and below the waterline. Djibouti has good restaurants and beaches, and in the winter the weather is fantastic.  There is a decent French elementary and high school and a French-run hospital with competent staff. Unlike most capital cities in the world, Djibouti has extremely low rates of random violent crime.  Muggings and car-jackings aren’t an issue here. Neither is air pollution or getting stuck for ages in snarled traffic.

Thus, I plan to dedicate a number of my upcoming posts to the joys of Djibouti.