When one thinks of the tiny African country of Djibouti, what comes to mind in general - if not "whose booty?" - is hardly paradise. When one has to live there for an extended period of time, however, it is rather necessary to find the bright spots. The literal sense is easy - it is about 11 degrees north of the equator and not terribly green (shades of brown, really), so the whole place is pretty blinding. What I'd not have imagined is that the first place I got to swim with dolphins was in this tiny pacman-shaped place (and I lived in Hawaii for two years).
This was the sight off Moucha Island, a wee strip of coral island about ten miles out of pacman's mouth (in the Gulf of Tadjoura, if you're big on details). Just a swift splash of ocean away from being underwater, it is a sort of gem in a place decidedly lacking in same.
Really. Look at that water. If there only were more trees, this could be the West Indies (can we still call them that?).
Wikipedia's entry re: this place is described as a stub; rather appropriate, as the island itself is stubby. And looks a bit like southern Idaho (but the sandy stuff is just big hunks of broken shells).
Little guy can move.
In a heat-stroke-induced near-death delirium, I collapsed after enjoying an unhealthy dose of searing and dehydration.
But it really was rather pretty...
Gahhahaha! I'm nine again! They are dolphins! DOLPHINS! Magical, marvelous, mystical, DOLPHINS!
Wikipedia's entry re: this place is described as a stub; rather appropriate, as the island itself is stubby. And looks a bit like southern Idaho (but the sandy stuff is just big hunks of broken shells).
Lots of fauna call this stubby bit of coral home. Some are people (who don't really stick around all the time). Some are birds (who obviously can bugger off back to real land anytime).
Some are tiny wee hermit crabs.
But it really was rather pretty...
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