ON THE ROAD AGAIN - AFRICAN ADVENTURE

Spent another week on the road. This trip was to Africa and then Bahrain. We started out with a four-leg flight to Djibouti via Dubai, Nairobi, and Addis Ababa. I will say that Kenya Airways is a really nice airline and they even had food I would eat. They did not try to serve us grey slop, the luggage was where it was supposed, the plane was not 150 degrees, and I did not almost end up in Somalia. Overall a good start.

Spent a couple days in Camp Lemonier, Djibouti with our Horn of Africa Detail. They are working all around the region with a couple projects close by and then more all over Kenya. We visited a school project in Tadjoura, Djibouti which was a three hour drive north from the Camp. It was some more work on a project Seabees in the past had worked on. The main focus was taking the current school and letting there be a male and female section so the kids had some privacy. They had just started so not much work had been done so far, but it will make a big difference when done. Driving there was an adventure as we crossed sections of the road that were washed out from a recent storm and saw Lake Adesa (I think) which was one of the lowest spots in the world. The terrain when from deserty to lava fields as we drove. They had another project in town which was to build a restroom for another school. This one had tons of attention as the kids lined up outside the fence to watch them work.

After Djibouti we headed to the Seychelles. They are an island chain WAY off the coast of Africa. The island we are working on is Praslin and our work is causing quite the stir. The arrival of a C-130 made the local paper and everyone new the troops as “those Americans working on the morgue and school”. They were almost like celebrities when they were out and about. The logistics have been a huge challenge there and they are living in a tiny cottage on the hospital grounds, but that is as bad as it gets. The troops are able to go to the beach on the weekends and play soccer with the locals at night. The beaches have gorgeous white sand and crystal clear waters. I almost felt guilty as I took a swim across this cove, body surfed in the waves, and drank a Seybrew beer at the outdoor restaurant. The only negative was topless older (much older) women and huge overweight men in tiny speedos. I am not sure at what point they looked in the mirror and thought they should be showing off that much skin.

Ended the trip in Bahrain where we have a couple troops maintaining some equipment and working logistics for projects around the area. They are doing fine, but the highlight was getting to see Erik Karlson. It even worked out where his wife, Kristin, called in on the webcam so I could see her and their little girl, Anna. It was so nice to catch up with each other.
I will throw some photos up later this week when I get my normal work computer.