Back Ed his impression of Djibouti 2007-03-14 Impression of our stay in Djibouti. 14 till 17 March 2007 written by Ed: Wednesday: arrival Djibouti Thursday: chaos Friday: relax day Saturday: departure Massawa/Eritrea 400 nm 13 February departed from Phuket/Thailand via the Maldives/Male in 4 weeks to Djibouti, quite tiring and then the thought of being able to relax in Djibouti but it ws quite different like you can read below. Car writes the journal the crossing Maldives to Aden and I got Djibouti. Wednesday : Ashore with the captain of a Jongert: Columbaio, the yacht which was in the neighbourhood during our trip through the Golf of Aden. Leaving me behind in a giant port between camels and goats, which are waiting for shipping or were unloaded and so you must find your way where you have to go to like port control, immigration, police, customs and harbourmaster! Found Port control and the people mentioned that I had to go first to the police Two fat Somalis, dressed as police, stamped and put a postage stamp in our passports and that should it be if I should give 2 t-shirts and some cigarettes on my return for checking out. Back to port control, 3 shouting officials (to each other) did not really know what they had to do with me , they deal with the real big ships and where should be my agent?! Oh, I am my own agent and I asked for the necessary amount of fuel needed for Boléro for that was our priority with only 40 litres in the 1000 litre tank left. One of the officials led me to a pick-up, which looked like if from 4 sides had been shot by a gun. The bullet hole in the windscreen was sealed up. With the 3 of us in the front, the driver, me and my new ‘self appointed’ agent! Later on it seemed to be that we also were escorted by a scooter. On his way the agent gave me the offer to bring the 840 litres of diesel in jerry-cans to Boléro because after a couple of phone calls, the truck was not available for only 840 litres. Problematic, I had to bring, 40 jerry-cans with each 22 litres in our 3.10 m dinghy to Boléro. And I did not have our dinghy with me because that other boat had brought me ashore. I thought, I take the 8x25 litres so well that’s that I have those and I see later on what will be next. On our way we had to buy 8 jerry-cans and of course the diesel as well. Driving into town, suddenly I saw on a crossroad, a big group of people yelling and gesticulating by running through each other, more and more people came. What seemed: right in front of us a coca cola-truck was crashed and T-boned by an incoming cross 4wheel Ford against a tree! Against the wall a moaning man and his driver’s mate of the coca cola-truck strangely enough, was lying under the truck and one was still sitting inside, coca cola all over him. 5 Policemen almost did not nothing and the screaming crowd tried to get to car loose, by using electric cables, the truck from the tree or anyway to free the driver and his mate. Our car, on the first row, was sent away and so we came away from the chaos. Further along chasing… jerry-cans and diesel. On a narrow road a donkey-cart came around the corner and its driver did not want to give us any space for passing our car. He told us; when I pull the donkey backwards than he goes forwards! It is a donkey. Okay, we return. Along a sort of highway, every 50 metres a group of women, who tried to sell all of them a great amount of palm-oil 25 litres cans, I bought 8 for 10 dollars. By now only the diesel at the fuel-station and this odd job is done Back to the port, which is completely fenced and heavily under guarded, our admittance was denied by acting on our own initiative to buy the fuel outside the complex. So now I was sitting in a heavenly damaged pick up with 200 litres of diesel, a scooter companion and two other assistants and no dinghy, only I got my VHF handhold with me and with that I could reach the other ship to pick me up at a certain place. The solution was the entrance of the fishing-port where we could drive into it after a lot of conflicts and right away a number of ten beggars and a group of very annoying, screaming boys were surrounding the pick up. Everybody clamoured for the jerry-cans, to take them to the meanwhile waiting dinghy of my friend, of course in return for a reward! Happily for me that the skipper of the other boat had found me and with a lot of noise the boys dragged the jerry-cans to the dinghy. A great help! Until a man with a badge and VHF broke out the crowd and said: Police! He asked me to come with him because there was a problem. In the office it became clear to me that I had done something wrong; illegally unloading the diesel and if I should pay just 1500 dollar!! My by now helpful agent said; this is crazy and walked away. Outside he asked for the effort 50 dollar, 30 for the driver and 30 for the scooter! Thieves! I gave him half and I was so glad that I could leave. No thus….near the dinghy with the diesel, a number of 30 boys were waiting to collect their reward. I could not leave without paying them. They sat on the mooring-line and jumped on the edge of the dinghy, reasonable quite threatening. Meanwhile I had folded some one dollar notes and gave one to the one, who was sitting on the mooring-line and pushed him away, untied the line and tried to go. Two did not have this and jumped into the dinghy, they also got their folded one dollar note and jumped like a dolphin, completely dressed, overboard, chaos! So carrying some diesel and half cleared in, back on board. In the afternoon back ashore where I got to know that we were allowed to stay for 3 days and I was able to clear out and pay the charges to a lady, dressed into a very long yellow shirt. In the port, you are walking between camels, goats, cows and sleeping workmen, who were loaded and unloaded in/out the ships from far before the war and every one tries to sell you something or earn something on you. At the end of the day, on board Boléro we drank a beer with our ship-neighbours, who helped me carrying the diesel. The skipper told me that he had arranged via, via a truck with diesel for the following day and if I want to participate in my remaining 700 litres!? Yes please, of course! Later in the evening in a quick rush to the agent and he thought that the following day at 07.00, we had to be there at the Total fuel-station. Why so early?Thursday : The next morning at 07.00, we gathered on the quay and by car, which seems to be fished out of a ravine, we went to the office. Diesel, no problem! At first a controller should come on board to check if the tanks were empty or something like that???? After that the diesel truck should be at the quay at 11.00 o’clock. But first money; 310.000 djibouti moneyiets = 1500 euro. Just to pay in us dollars, which I had but not the Jongert skipper so….we had go to town to exchange the euro’s. Again into that fished out the ravine truck to the town. In the centre, very dirty small streets, in the morning at 09.00, we drove along several street corners where some middle aged ladies were standing with big bags on their tummies, what represent this? May be, old whores? But no, it seems to be all decent ladies, who were carrying their offices on their bellies because they are money-changers. Our truck stopped close to one of them and via the window there was negotiating about the rate, 1000 euro was changed in local money for 200.000 dji, too less? Okay 2.5000 more, quick deal and we went off. After the coffee, we went back to the Total fuel-station. On me, the cashier lady did not accept a note of 100 and one of 50, they were from 1996 and those should be base coin. Happily I had other years on me! During the street money-change, the Jongert skipper had received a base coin 5.000 dji note but we managed otherwise! Quickly back to the respectively yachts, anchor up and to the quays where the diesel-truck should arrive. Everything organized via an ‘agent’, this one was quite known by the Jongert skipper! As first Boléro should moored to the quay and then Columbaio beside us because her draft is more than Boléro and there was just enough water under the keel. Not the ‘agent’ and the diesel-truck were waiting on the quay but the harbourmaster! Who told us that we could moor here? Our agent! Agent? Who, which agent? Our ‘agent’ seems to be illegal and was not allowed to do any business in the port area. After many excuses, we were allowed to stay. But the following problem appears which was much worse! Boléro was aground while our ‘agent’ had said: this is the lowest water level! Yet checked by myself and double checked via the harbourmaster. Not in that way! The water should get lower another 1 metre! Accompanied by the friendly harbourmaster to the office, to look for a new berth and hurried back to the ’hanging to one side’ Boléro. Our neighbour with the big Jongert (35m) had to pull us away from the quay. Ups, just in time! On another quay, on another berth, we were waiting and waiting if the already paid diesel should come. And yes, a big fuel-truck, out of the ’30, drove alongside with no count-mechanism and with a much too much wide diameter hose. The man had bought, somewhere along the road, our total together the 3.500 litres diesel. Boléro moored as first and if we should have really full tanks when we had fuelled the ordered 700 litres, that should be the measuring-rod for filling up our tanks so we should not get too less or too much with regards to our neighbour. In the meantime Carla accompanied by two crew of the Jongert to the veggies and fruit-market and meanwhile both skippers and one other crew should fuelling. I was a bit fearful for the speed of the outflow of the diesel regarding the diameter of the hose (15cm) and the ½ meter funnel, which was very, very dirty with oil…..great for our teak deck? Not at all! I had to fill up three diesel-tanks of 220 and two jerry-cans. It became a total disaster and chaos, the funnel got off my tank because of the high speed of the outflow of the diesel, diesel everywhere on the deck and the sail-cover and even I had a ‘diesel’ shower for a short moment because by panicking, I had opened the cock………….horrible! At the same moment a man arrived, who should accuse me because I had polluted the Gulf of Aden with diesel and that should cost me at least 1000 euro. It was great that Carla was not there because she should have got a heart attack. Anyway filled up and paid off the man with a ten dollar note. After fuelling the Jongert went right away, the skipper had had it completely. Carla, after her arrival, regained her consciousness ;) and back to the anchorage where we have been busy the whole afternoon by cleaning and soaking the whole lot and the sun will do the rest of this big odd job! Car liked to show me the other part of Djibouti, the market with the beautiful Ethiopian women but I have had it here completely, get away from here, from the corruption mess! Friday : The whole day just doing nothing and recovering of a very energetic stay in Djibouti. At night all our hatches were closed, alarm on. Our neighbours had an intruder on board during the night before but later on it seemed to be that he only wanted to sleep, he was sent away and he climbed onto another boat where again he was sent away after which he swam back to the shore. Saturday : Away from Djibouti, away from the pirate-area and through the Red Sea to our next destiny via Eritrea, a night- stop in Sudan to Egypt there where the Gulf of Suez starts