Blip-wrecked

I have been meaning to 'do sunrise' the whole time we have been in Djibouti. But I realise there is a clash between my exercise and photography. For the past few days, the daily run has been more important than the photo. But today, the last day of our visit to Djibouti, I was determined to make it work. I had asked for the car keys yesterday and woke early this morning. I was set! By 5:45, I was out of the room.

The first hurdle was getting out of the hotel. The two doors at the entrance were locked. I couldn't see any keys on the inside but I could see that the guard was fast asleep outside. I rattled the doors long enough for him to wake and open for me. I quickly ran to the car and proceeded to hop into the ... passenger seat! Oh, ya, it is a left hand drive, here they drive on the right hand side of the street and I haven't done this in over 20 years. But I was determined to make it work and so off I sped.

There is a small hill outside of town where I had wanted to perch myself and then wait for sun. But by the time I got there, I realised there was simply too much hustle and bustle to bring any joy and so I continued to drive to the port where I had jogged the past few mornings. I parked, got out of the car and tried to figure out night photography. But what an interesting scene with the large ship and the full moon and lights dancing here and there. So I plonked my camera on a bench and started taking photos.

And then this guy came running up to me making all sorts of noise. I tried so hard to listen and understood ZERO. "Je ne parle pas Francais," was all I could sputter. He proceeded to show via sign language that under no circumstance should I take photos of the port. I realised the value of this picture just went up! I left dejected but apologetic.

The sun was still not fully up so off I went to the other side of town where there is a beach facing east. Perfect! I found parking behind about seven taxis. Taxi drivers tend to sleep on the beach in this section of town...we stayed in a hotel here one visit so that is how I know. I opened the door and started to walk and I am immediately accosted by someone introducing himself as Mohamed. He smells more like Jack [Daniels] and still has bits of green khat stuck in his teeth and in the corners of his mouth. Yuk! He offers to take me around the beach at which I stare at him blankly. He then offers to watch the car...he could even wash the car. I finally agree that watching the car is the best option and off he goes. Yes, his English was broken enough for us to have this full conversation!

But my joy is now gone. I have now peace, there are no spectacular colours and so I decide to go back to the hotel and pack my bags (we leave this morning to Addis Ababa). As I move past Mohamed and quickly enter my car, I close the door creating a welcome barrier to what I perceived to be great conflict. Obviously Mohamed expects some money for watching my car (for all of 2 minutes?). But shock on me - I cannot find the bloomin door lock fast enough! Mohamed takes advantage and opens the door and stands in my face looking at my camera and then demanding his pay. I smelled his breath and saw the look in his eyes and realised I either had to cough up some money or hit him very hard and take off quickly. It was a most tension filled moment!

As I am not a violent person, the money was the preferred option so hesitantly I gave him 2,000 Francs which is about one dollar. He was so happy! And he attempted to demonstrate this to me with an embrace. I dodged that, smiled, closed the door...and found the door lock. I sped off, heart beating a bit faster than normal and then had a good chuckle.

Is blip really worth all of this? Oh, ya! So although the photo is not award winning, the experiences gained by trying to get the blip are worth more than a thousand words.