Another day at the beach...

So yesterday the office staff went out to French Beach. The choice was to go to the beach for a unit outing or to stay behind at the base and work. It wasn't too difficult of a decision to make obviously. There were 19 of us who went and packed up everything you could imagine including a bbq grill, coolers, tables, chairs and SUVs to carry it all. It ended up being a good day and was nice to get away from the work and the daily routine and scenery. It would be nice to get a regular weekend off to go do something relaxing and enjoy some downtime.

This is the first time I've written in a while because I haven't had much on a positive note to post for public viewing. The next few weeks should be a little better and the week before Thanksgiving I head off to Tanzania for a safari. I'll try to post a few photos of the day if this Djibouti internet will cooperate.

Still nothing new to report....

Another frustrating but uneventful week has passed. The best part of the week was the four hours at the pool on Sunday. Evidently I got some good color judging from the comments I'm receiving such as I should use some sunblock. It was also a day to clean the CLU..... it really doesn't take too long to clean an approximate 140 square feed of a trailer and bathroom.

The Thailand trip is not going to happen for me now since I would have been in the airport as much as I would have been in Thailand so I'll save that for another time after I get back home probably. So perhaps a Safari in the cooler months closer to the end of my tour.

Several folks here have been told that there's no funding for their billets and they may be out of here in less than 90 days from now.... I'm not convinced that will happen but who knows. I asked if I could be one of those people and I got an immediate response of "NO!".

The excitement of the day was the termite treatment in my office. I'm sure there's more nonsnese to come...... only an alleged 176 days left on my sentence.

If you don't have anything nice to say....

So my mother always said if you don't have anything nice to say then you shouldn't say anything at all. Judging from my lack of posting you can imagine that there has been nothing too positive as of recent history.

Last week one of my worst nightmares came true... one of my caps popped off of a tooth. So I go to the dentist on base and asked if there were any cosmetic dentistry supplies in the clinic or if they did that kind of work and I swear the looked at me like I was crazy. I then explained that I had popped a cap and needed a repair. The dentist was able to reapply but I'm certain it's not the quality I'm used to and who knows what he used or how long it will last but I'll be in for repairs as soon as I get off of the plane next year.

So as if the nightmare of the tooth wasn't enough.... how could things get much worse??? Well let me tell you. There I was at the ATOC getting training so I can drive on the flight line if I need to at some point in time. There were maybe 40 folks in the class when all of the sudden "The Big Voice" came on. Keep in mind the big voice is for the playing of the morning colors and emergency messages for the Camp. The next thing I hear is my name being called out and summoned to the XO's office immediately.

Well imagine back in high school your name gets called over the intercom to go to the Principal's office and everyone in the class turns and looks at you. The Marines were sympatheitc and wished me good luck as I exited the room. As I did my "walk of shame" across base to the XO's office, I was wondering which of the horrible things I had accomplished this week had been discovered. Crossing the horseshoe, my colleagues looked in amazement and asked what I had done since I was only the second person EVER to have been paged over the big voice.

When I arrived the XO was on the phone and motioned for me to take a seat. I maintained my look of innocence just in case and as to avoid any self-incrimination of my deeds. The next thing I knew there was a string of colorful discussion that left me confused. It turns out I wasn't in trouble for doing my job but there was something totally outside of my work stream that needed to be fixed. While not my job I was glad to be needed for something rather than being busted for something else and I of course happily agreed to do what I could to fix the problem.

Things have definitely been busy and it's not getting any easier to do the job at hand. Every day is a little bit more of a chore but hopefully when I leave it will be more on track and the person following me will have an easier time of it.

I still intend to get a nice gift for myself upon returning home!

Haze, Hot, Humid...

So I walked out the door this morning and it was haze, overcast, hot and a little humid. Not what you would expect from the description but the atmosphere was full of sand and dirt to the point that the sky was gray and the sun really wasn't visible. It looked like rain was on the way however I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen until October at the earliest since it doesn't rain here much.

I took a look at the calendar and my orders and if all is correct as of tomorrow I will have merely seven months to go on my tour! I have to admit I'm ready to get back to my family, friends and home. The movie Elizabethtown was on tonight which didn't help much either with the scenes from Kentucky and some of the family scenes that were reminiscent of our family gatherings.

Nothing exciting to report....

So it has been a sedate time back at Camp Lemonnier. Since returning from Egypt my sinuses an allergies have been a mess. The air quality here is pretty awful and the winds are starting to shift so it feels like a hair dryer blowing in your face during the day. With the winds coming from the desert along with the heat comes dirt and sand so breathing is tough at times.

The July 4th holiday weekend is right around the corner and that'll be two days off work in a row which will be a nice change. Once I make it through July I'll only have six months left on this tour and I'll be ready to transition back to civilian life.

I'm not being negligent on blogging, but unfortunately there's not much to report on the daily operations here.

Back in Djibouti

So I finished up in Sharm and got a good last day of suntanning and a massage. Unfortunately on Sunday a nasty sinus infection crept up on me so the flight home was nearly miserable and I didn't manage to make it out of the bed most of Memorial Day. I suppose that's the price I have to pay for having a vacation. All good things have to end and the days of the 5 star hotels are gone for a while.

I actually went to the Dr. today and got a prescription to knock this infection out.... It's ridiculous to have a cold while sitting in the middle of Africa with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees.

Not much else to report here,,, just back to the grind again and only 8 months to go on this tour.

Still at Sharm

Still at Sharm

So the day around the pool was a good one on Thursday and I ended up going to some German restaurant that my companions for the evening selected. After eating garbage that is not local enough for me I’ve decided that it won’t be anti-social just to go out by myself to enjoy something appropriate to the region rather than Italian or American chain restaurants. By the way, the German food really wasn’t so good considering what I’ve grown accustomed to having available.
So the utter dread started to set in when it was time to lad up on the bus for Mt. Sinai. Being that I’m not all that interested in religion, the three hour one way bus ride in lieu of sleeping in a comfortable bed for the night didn’t really appeal to me. We arrived in Sinai sometime after 0230 and unloaded the bus. We bet our Bedouin guide who took us on the start of a hike. The choice was a 7km walk (about 5 miles) or ride a camel up the mountain to a point where there were about 1,000 steps to get to the summit.
So I get to the camel station and you know that if I have the option of walking or riding there’s not much discussion for 5 miles uphill on loose gravel type surfaces. Well I finally get on the beast and had several delays. We were supposed to be in groups of five on the camels but that didn’t seem to happen and I was in a group of three. Shortly after mounting my camel and we had been waiting too long, I guess something got my camel agitated and while tied up to another camel with a colleague saddled up, my camel started bucking,,,,,, yes I’m sure you can picture my state of excitement with this happening. I have what feels like a sprained wrist and thumb now from that incident.
Well it only gets better after the bucking camel incident. It was cold and breezy out in the middle of nowhere Egypt and of course I dressed for the climate one would expect so I was in shorts and short sleeves. You know how I love being cold so you can see the happiness building. We had to stop three times up the mountain. One time we had to stop because an older British gentleman who was self-described as “too old with a belly” kept sliding out of the saddle to one side of the camel since his gut kept him from being centered. Having to wait behind him trying to get centered again didn’t make me too happy since our camels didn’t appear to enjoy having to stop and they were getting impatient. Finally we moved on and I have no idea what happed to that man but he had no business trying to make the trip.
About half of our group decided to walk rather than take the camels. When Mark and I arrived at the camel stop everyone cheered and said “they’re finally here”….. yes people on foot made it there much faster than riding animals up. So I finally get off of the animal with my busted wrist and realize that I’m about ready to freeze. Several times on the way up I was tempted to turn around and go back but I pressed on to the camel station. The air quality was kind of crappy and there was still sand in the air from the day before so visibility wasn’t that great. I didn’t relish the idea of hiking up 1,000 steps to watch the sunrise so three of us decided to stay back at the camel station and once the sun was up back down the mountain we headed.

It was probably silly to not go up there after the effort but truthfully I would discourage the trip. It wasn’t a good use of my vacation time and I found it rather unenjoyable. We passed St Catherine’s Monestary on the way back and that was supposed to be a toru as well but was not opening for several hours so all but two of the group decided to forego that and head back to salvage the day and relax and enjoy our time here.
After getting back I brushed my teeth and met a buddy for lunch. Considering the day’s events, I decided that a massage was in order so I scheduled one after lunch and then a sauna and steam. The natural progression from there was out ot the beach where I managed to pass out in the sun for the rest of the afternoon and woke up dehydrated. It was multi-tasking at its best since I got a nap and some sun and beach time.
I stuck to my guns and decided to head out for dinner without a group and met up with our tour guide from Camp Lemonnier. We ended up going to a middle eastern/Egyptian restaurant and enjoyed a long leisurely dinner and then I headed out to the main area with all the shops and open air bars. It was a busy place and I managed to do a little more shopping. The Egyptians love to talk with Americans since there don’t appear to be many who travel here. Some of the questions I got tonight were about our Presidents and if American people thought Egyptians were terrorists because they were Muslim. I know the guy was trying to make a sale but he actually made good conversation and asked insightful questions and I purchased something from him. The mistake with that is trying to get out of the area after other stores see you have made a purchase….. I may not have been a terrorist target but I was a retail target.
So now it’s after 0100 and tomorrow is the last day here before heading back to Djibouti on Sunday. Luckily Monday will be a holiday where I can regroup and get it back together before another work week. I’ve decided not to do Turkey and Istanbul in July but looking seriously about Thailand in August.

Moved on to Asia today (Wednesday)

So the 0550 wakeup call was entirely too early today. After a big breakfast we piled back onto our bus and headed to the Cairo airport to catch another flight. The whole airport process was relatively painless and the flight to Sharm El Sheikh was only about an hour.
Sharm El Sheikh is part of Egypt but located in Asia. It’s a Mediterranean feeling here and evidently it’s a large tourist area for Russians and the British in addition to the Middle Easterners. While it’s a nice area, the day started out with a little disappointment. Our hotel was supposed to be a beachside Marriott Resort but it turns out that there are two Marriott hotels and one is across the street from the beach… guess which one we were booked in…..
So the inconvenience of not being on the beach wasn’t the only trouble… we had been booked in the very last building in the back of the resort and the accommodations were not quite up to expectations. After a day of shopping the junk shops and some pool time the hotel did move us to decent rooms. After moving I got cleaned up and headed out to dinner at an Italian place over on the beach.
That was about it for the day,,, tomorrow is going to be a beach day and then we are headed out on the bus for Mount Sinai around 10:00 at night to hike to the top and see the sunrise and St. Catherine’s Monastery. I’m not so sure about that whole deal but since this will be my only chance to do all of that stuff I’ll go with the flow. I’m still loving Egypt and the people

Cairo - Day 2

Ok,,, the 0600 wake-up call came entirely too early. I was exhausted but here I am and I’ll deal with being tired once I return to Djibouti. Another huge breakfast at the Marriott with most anything a person could want. Back to the bus and off we went again.
The first stop of the day was the Citadel which was a city fortress. It also contains Mohammad Ali’s mosque. I got tricked into a photo opportunity by the Tourism Police who invited me behind some ropes and then of course the smile and extended hand to accept a tip came out….. I had to laugh again and gave up a couple of bucks. Evidently the incomes of Egyptians are not all that great so it appears they make the best of every opportunity to make a dollar or pound or other currency.
Back on the road we went and headed from Cairo to Giza, a short commute. Seeing the pyramids was a great experience and going into one was something to remember as well. There really wasn’t much to it but I can check that box that I’ve done it now. So three pyramids, a camel ride and seeing the Sphinx was another good portion of the day.
From the pyramids we went to a typical open-air Egyptian restaurant that was much like a tapas restaurant with several small plates and flat bread and then half of a char grilled rotisserie chicken. The food was good and I have been trying local flavors and enjoying them… I even ate beets at lunch and some meat and rice thing in a grape leaf. I’m not certain I’d order them again but they were interesting.
We were supposed to go to a coffee/tea house for an afternoon tea but I looked at my watch and told the tour guide we needed to get to the Museum of Antiquities instead of stopping for coffee. Our person from Camp told the tour guide and I’m not so sure the tour guide was happy since it appears there is a pretty good kick-back plan going on here. Anyway, we skipped the coffee/tea and got to the Museum and had about two hours there. Most of King Tut’s artifacts were on display as well as a lot of other artifacts. It was like an Indiana Jones/Mummy day but in real life instead of the Hollywood big screen version.
After getting back I found myself back at the pool/fitness center complex then met up with Taylor for some quick shopping then a bite to eat for dinner. Now I was all ready to sit down at the hotel and get something of a local flavor but T had it in his mind to go out and get something American…. So where do we end up???? One of my least favorite restaurants, which can be attributed to Pearl Harbor incidents, Chili’s. I have to say that place is garbage even in Egypt. I won’t be eating that garbage again while on vacation when there are different things to try… I need a little more adventure than a chain restaurant.
So that takes us up to midnight. I’ve finished packing since tomorrow is another early wakeup. Heading to the airport for an early flight around 0900 to Sharm el Sheik in the Southern Sinai area on the Red Sea. I know everyone has been concerned about me over in this deployment but don’t be worried, I’m managing to get by. There’s a great breeze out on my 16th floor balcony overlooking the Nile and a constant stream of traffic 24 hours a day and a constant honking of horns,,,, like it helps that traffic to blow the horn. I’ll enjoy this beautiful weather because I know this time next week I’ll be sweating buckets in my DCU’s again.

Cairo

Ok,,, the 0600 wake-up call came entirely too early. I was exhausted but here I am and I’ll deal with being tired once I return to Djibouti. Another huge breakfast at the Marriott with most anything a person could want. Back to the bus and off we went again.
The first stop of the day was the Citadel which was a city fortress. It also contains Mohammad Ali’s mosque. I got tricked into a photo opportunity by the Tourism Police who invited me behind some ropes and then of course the smile and extended hand to accept a tip came out….. I had to laugh again and gave up a couple of bucks. Evidently the incomes of Egyptians are not all that great so it appears they make the best of every opportunity to make a dollar or pound or other currency.
Back on the road we went and headed from Cairo to Giza, a short commute. Seeing the pyramids was a great experience and going into one was something to remember as well. There really wasn’t much to it but I can check that box that I’ve done it now. So three pyramids, a camel ride and seeing the Sphinx was another good portion of the day.
From the pyramids we went to a typical open-air Egyptian restaurant that was much like a tapas restaurant with several small plates and flat bread and then half of a char grilled rotisserie chicken. The food was good and I have been trying local flavors and enjoying them… I even ate beets at lunch and some meat and rice thing in a grape leaf. I’m not certain I’d order them again but they were interesting.
We were supposed to go to a coffee/tea house for an afternoon tea but I looked at my watch and told the tour guide we needed to get to the Museum of Antiquities instead of stopping for coffee. Our person from Camp told the tour guide and I’m not so sure the tour guide was happy since it appears there is a pretty good kick-back plan going on here. Anyway, we skipped the coffee/tea and got to the Museum and had about two hours there. Most of King Tut’s artifacts were on display as well as a lot of other artifacts. It was like an Indiana Jones/Mummy day but in real life instead of the Hollywood big screen version.
After getting back I found myself back at the pool/fitness center complex then met up with Taylor for some quick shopping then a bite to eat for dinner. Now I was all ready to sit down at the hotel and get something of a local flavor but T had it in his mind to go out and get something American…. So where do we end up???? One of my least favorite restaurants, which can be attributed to Pearl Harbor incidents, Chili’s. I have to say that place is garbage even in Egypt. I won’t be eating that garbage again while on vacation when there are different things to try… I need a little more adventure than a chain restaurant.
So that takes us up to midnight. I’ve finished packing since tomorrow is another early wakeup. Heading to the airport for an early flight around 0900 to Sharm el Sheik in the Southern Sinai area on the Red Sea. I know everyone has been concerned about me over in this deployment but don’t be worried, I’m managing to get by. There’s a great breeze out on my 16th floor balcony overlooking the Nile and a constant stream of traffic 24 hours a day and a constant honking of horns,,,, like it helps that traffic to blow the horn. I’ll enjoy this beautiful weather because I know this time next week I’ll be sweating buckets in my DCU’s again.

Made it to Cairo

So we rolled into to Cairo on Monday morning and got taken to the hotel. We had a little while to get settled so most of the folks went to shower or nap but I made my way to the pool and fitness center for a little sun and pool time after a late breakfast. After everyone had gotten settled and cleaned up we met and headed out into Cairo. Our first stop was the papyrus factory where I picked up a couple of pieces of Egyptian art.
The next stop was the Bazaar and that was an adventure. The tour guide told us we would only have 1 hour and 15 minutes to shop and you know that wasn’t enough time for anyone. So off I went with my battle buddy and we managed pretty well but ended up separated at one point halfway through the shopping. The salesmanship of the vendors is pretty good and I’m sure they’re used to hooking the tourists….. I enjoyed the haggling experience and spent too much but I had fun in the process of bargaining.
So evidently when you have bags demonstrating you are a purchaser the intensity of the sales pitches picks up. My second vendor even went as far as to walk me to his friend who had even “more special” stuff. I know I overpaid but it was a fun experience to do the shopping with the vendors who were just trying to make a living so it was worth paying too much for some souvenirs.
So the tour guide says 1 hour 15 minutes and you know that I’m pushing that to the last minute…. Big mistake! So I find the minaret of the Mosque and head back toward the bus where we’re supposed to be meeting. Of course in the process, I was getting molested all the way by vendors trying to make that sale before a customer escapes. Well I look at the bus and it starts pulling away… Please don’t ask what words got mouthed and I hope nobody could read my lips…. I did manage to catch them before they left.
The Security detail saw me and stopped the bus however it turns out the guides didn’t bother to do a head count. Needless to say head counts started after that. My roommate did note my absence and he told me that bus wasn’t leaving the area without me on it… Thanks Battle Buddy… I’m glad someone was paying attention.
The time at the Bazaar/Market was rushed because we had a dinner cruise to get to in the evening. So back to the hotel, a quick change and back out the door to dinner. In addition to our security detail there was another one there since the Prime Minister of Kenya was having dinner right next to us. As far as the dinner was I have to rank it as good for dinner cruise food. It was a variety of dishes on a salad type of bar for the first course with vegetables, hummus, and different salads and then the basic chicken, veal or fish for dinner choices. Dessert was something like a spumoni ice cream.
So after the main course was served, the boat headed down the Nile for the cruise and some nice views of the city and other boats. During the cruise there was a Turkish male dancer who I think actually may have been a whirling dirbish. After that there were a couple of belly dancers so the entertainment lasted until the boat returned. So after dinner we returned to the hotel which is a nice 5 star Marriott which the main part used to be a palace. Hit a couple of the shops and then the health club before racking out. I’m sure that the next day will come all too early at 0600.
To sum it up, I love Cairo and could actually see myself living here. The food is great, the weather is great and apart from the language barrier I can’t find much that I don’t like. The language barrier isn’t too terribly bad here in Cairo however since it’s such a tourist spot and they’re glad to take my American money or any other currency for that matter.

Sitting in Dubai

Finally made it out of Djibouti and sitting in the airport. Had some middle eastern food and have no idea what it was,,, probably some kind of lamb and chicken but who knows.... Headed off to the Dubai Mall to kill some time before heading to Cairo. Pictures are on the page of the largest aquarium.

It finally looked like Africa on Sunday

So on Sunday we loaded up and headed off toward Somalia. Before you get to Somalia there's an animal refuge that supports African wildlife. The refuge has baboons, ostrich, cheetahs, an eagle, a falcon, wild asses, gazelles, turtles, a zebra and some other cats.

The landscape is free from trash and looks more like I would expect the country to be. I never thought I'd be inclined to stick my hand in a cheetah's fence but they were like big housecats. It was good to get away from the base and see something a little more authentic over here.

Still behind on posting..

Last Friday we made it off base to the Kempenski for a night. It was a welcomed break from the routine and a good night to let off some frustration and eat some non-institutional food. Hopefully it'll happen again soon.... but the big rumor is that drinking out in Djibouti is now going to be prohibited,,, it'll be curious to see how well that instruction gets followed.

Back to normal again...

So it has been a while since the last post because things have been very busy. I've finished the April Board and don't have that to do again until August so it'll be downhill for a few months. I did make it out on the helicopter again and that was a good trip to see Lake Abbe. Not much else to really talk about as far as whatnot going on around here since it's fairly routine. Things are starting to heat up a bit and I'm sure it will be 140 degrees before I know it.

Another Sunday flying around....

So I was in my office until 3 a.m. working on next Saturday's Board presentation. Writing a report and working on PowerPoint slides is not what a person should be doing on a Saturday night but it was a practical option so I could go out and have some fun on Sunday instead of working..... and yes, I'm the one who swore to never use that PowerPoint crap but unfortunately the Navy and everyone else is addicted to that stupid crutch.

So after a generally bad week and several instances of nonsense, I got to have some quality time with friends today. he day started with some time at the pool and a little sun. Then a brief visit to the office after which our favorite new pilot took us out and about again on a flight across Africa and we saw some new sights. Amazingly nobody on the flight manifest got sick this week... obviously we were disappointed not to see that scene.

So now it's an evening at 11 Degrees North while I wait for my clothes to dry... and I had to rewash my uniforms because the cheap Government ink pens will explode if you wash them in your uniform pockets..... First order of business tomorrow will be to throw away all of those cheap things so the next time I leave one in my pocket it won't ruin my uniforms again.... I'm hoping the re-washing takes the ink out but it looks pretty hopeless.... I'll claim it's part of the camouflage patter I suppose.

Sunday Helo trip

So we headed out today on a helo with Major Fuentes. Trulea and I got hooked up on a ride and some of the folks from my office rode along in order to get some overhead photos of some construction projects that are going on at Camp Lemonnier. We headed out around 1:00 this afternoon and had about two hours of flight time.

I think three of our passengers ended up getting sick so I'm not sure how much fun they had. We got to take different positions and hang out on the back of the aircraft,,, fortunately we were tethered just in case we fell out. Hanging out the back over the desert was definitely a good time.

We also headed out last night to the French Market for some dinner at La Pergola and shopping at the market. We also went to the Super Marche and I finally got a lamp and extension cord. Another good night,,,, I hope the good week continues

Thursday Moving Day!

So on Thursday I got the keys to my new trailer. It was a good day when I got the news and got my key around dinner time. I didn't waste any time flying across the base on my Kawasaki Mule utility vehicle to see my new space and start the packing.

I got to the new place and took one look at the mattress and chair and wondered what had been going on in there before I took occupancy. The mattress looked like there were a few springs with some dirty fabric stretched over them and the chair was filthy. The Chief had warned me about the mattress and offered to have a new one delivered on Saturday but I opted to take care of it myself. I put the old mattress and chair in the mule and drove them across base to my old CLU.

Once the door opened the frenzy started and in a short time I was packed. I loaded up my sea bags and threw the mattress and good chair on the mule and headed across base..... it was a cross between Sanford and Son and the Clampets.... no doubt a sight to see since the mattress was two fee wider than the mule on either side. It took two trips to get all my junk across base.

A good scrub of the new spot and I was unpacked quickly. The bathroom was scrubbed down and I have an Air Force Master Sargent on the other side of the bathroom that we share. So now I'm settled and I have trees in my gravel front yard. Life is good today.... and still not getting shot at.

Easter Sunday

So after 20 days without a day off I managed to escape for a night. I got one of the base vehicles which was a Toyota SUV, stick and diesel so driving was not the normal vehicles I'm accustomed to having. Needless to say, anyone who know me can guess what happened on the way out.... I got lost and I suspect that I ended up in one of the Red zones where we're not supposed to be. I can't confirm where I was but let's just say I'm not too interested in going back there anytime soon if I can avoid it.

So we made it to the 5 Star hotel in this Fourth World country and it was nice to get back to some civilized conditions.... just laying around on a comfortable bed and having a bathroom that doesn't have to be shared with the general population was good.

So the evening consisted of the Sky Bar, the casino and the night club. It was a good time being out with the gang and just relaxing away from the Camp. Sunday was a good day after waking up and taking some aspirin we headed out to the pool; it's a great infinity edge pool right on the edge of the Red Sea. For being forward deployed to a combat zone,,, this is a pretty good deployment. Next Sunday should be a helo ride with the Marine Expeditionary Unit.

Not much new to report....

So the tension has definitely picked up here. It's a pretty busy time for this contract business I'm tasked with and I seem to be having alot more collateral duties than should be attributed to my billet. We're going to have to take a look at some things and re-delegate duties back to the folks who should be doing them. I haven't had a day off since the Sunday before last and I have to work this Sunday as well so it looks like 20 days without a day off..... I know I didn't sign up for that nonsense. No pictures to post really since I haven't had much time away from my office.

The good news is I think I'll be going to Egypt for a week at the end of May. It should be a good trip with 30-35 of us going for some R&R,,, we'll see if that happens or not and if I can get a reservation on Monday. Still haven't made it to "town" outside of the prison gate here to shop for anything off of the base,,, thank goodness for Amazon and Wal-Mart.

Mousha Island - It was a rough day at sea....

Sunday was a good day. Not much of consequence was going on so I made it out to Mousha Island with the group from the Wardroom. There ended up being a dozen of us that went and the weather was ideal for spending the day on the beach of a small island off the African Coast of Djibouti. I didn't realize however how close we were to Yemen.

The day was good and relaxing and got to watch the dolphins on the way to and from the island. The sunset was nice even though the air is polluted and generally full of haze here.