Djibouti – 153rd Country.  To see where I have been so far, check out my map as I count down the final 93 countries on the road to all 193 UN countries.  Djibouti is my 153rd country.

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Djibouti is a small country of one million sitting on the Horn of Africa on the Red Sea.  This sea passage is one of the most critical transportation junctures in the world.  The Americans, Spaniards, French, Japanese and Chinese all have military bases.  Man has roamed these lands for 1000s of years and in more recent times ruled by the Afar, the Somalis and regional sultanates.  The Ottoman Empire moved in from the 16th to the 19th century until the French made their way to the region.  This Islamic nation gained their independence in 1977.

I had three aborted attempts to Djibouti until I made it on my 4th attempt.  The first two I canceled out of protest of the crazy prices that they charge tourists.  My third attempt was foiled after Djibouti refused to issue me a visa for a typo on my application and ignored all of my email follow ups.  But as they say, the fourth time is the charm.  Djibouti does not have a cornucopia of charms but it does host Lac Abbe, an outer-worldly landscape on the Ethiopian border.  I had seen photos for years and was always keen to visit.  It takes a better part of the day to reach this area including several hours of 4×4 driving on a non-existent path.  I caught sunset and sunrise staying in between at a tented encampment.

Djibouti – 153rd Country

Djibouti is my 153rd country.

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