Almost Washed Away to Sea

On our one-day weekend last Friday we decided to go camping on the beach. It rarely rains here but it had been cloudy and sprinkling for the previous couple of days. The beach is basically a river bed that flows out of the mountains. At about 6 in the morning it started to rain very hard. Almost immediately water started to accumulate in low spots on the beach. The tide was about midway so the water built up and burst the rocks where high tide reaches as you can see in the photo. A guy next to me had his car parked right next to that spot. He’s lucky this “dam” didn’t burst under his car or it would have become a nice addition to the coral reef.


The French Foreign Legion has a base just next to this beach. They drove up in one of their trucks and took any children that were camping out with their parents while we quickly tore down our campsites. We saw some of the Foreign Legion’s legendary “tough” characters, but they were very nice and didn’t have to help us but did anyway.

Check out the typical French uniform that the soldier on the left is wearing.

Cooler Times

The heat has finally broken and we are able to spend some time outside. Here's a shot of our terrace. We like to be up here in the mornings and late afternoons when temperatures are in the high 80's.

Keep your friends close...

This movie and part II have to be two of my all-time favorites.

The Godfather

SKI U MAH

Even though they are the worst of the best and the best of the worst there's still a big gap.
IAA AGame < IA DGame.
Better luck next time.

The BK did have a nice TD though.

2 Star Luxury

Yesterday I went to our luxurious Hotel Sheraton and parked behind a German Mercedes Benz jeep. The last couple of years the hotel has become a military installation for a handful of German military. They took up residence here because they were not satisfied with the barracks given to them when they arrived. So after a hard day of their soldiering duties they can come back to their rooms and order room service.

Cultural Jottings

Last night I broke the fast with several of the university professors and administration. We are in the last couple of days of the fasting month of Ramadan. Someone told me that the local grocery store sells twice the amount of food during Ramadan than the other non-fasting months. Most people spend a lot of time with their families eating literally all night long…

We get hassled a lot here everywhere we go by people trying to sell there wares. Today as I was waiting at an intersection I was accosted by a man selling baskets and other things. He assumed I was French as is normal here and tried to get my attention by saying “Vive la France.” I told him I wasn’t French. He asked me if I was German and I said no and just to see what he would say I said I was Israeli. His eyes widened and then he said “Allahu Akbar,” which means god is great in Arabic and something else I didn’t understand and then walked away disgusted.

Crouching Abdi Hidden Dragon

Recently our regular guard went to Ethiopia to see his family. He told us he will be gone for a month. He arranged a replacement for us while he is gone. He’s the guy crouching, leaning on the pole on the left.

These guys have their own culture. They all live outside, and sleep under the stars every night. They like to congregate together crouching down in the catcher’s position to discuss everyone’s comings and goings in the neighborhood. They way they crouch look to me like they are birds sitting on a telephone wire.

We don’t speak any common language with him. Tonight I questioned him about a problem with our water tank and had to first ask our Arab neighbor in English who then asked another guard in Arabic who then asked our guard in some strange Ethiopian language.

Les Chameaux

Today I drove by the port where several Ethiopian lorries carrying camels waited to unload onto a ship. The camels were tied down forcing them to kneel.

I think the camel is a beautiful animal but they have bad attitudes.

Six Saltines in Sixty Seconds

I tried unsuccessfully to eat six Saltine crackers in one minute.

Graffitied

Our house in the US was recently tagged by a group of community beautification volunteers.

Win Twins

Yeah Baby. Yeah.