Pretty Nasty

We have thousands of blogs up here talking about all of the wonderful places we have been.  Let's do something a little different.  Many of us have been somewhere that we would never describe as wonderful.  Let's talk about them.  In 1984 and 1985 I was unlucky enough to make a few trips into the country of Djibouti’s capital (only) city of .......Djibouti (how original). If there were any such thing as a fourth world country, Djibouti would be it (along with neighboring Somalia, which I also had the displeasure of visiting a few times).

Djibouti was pretty much primitive, filthy, and most of the people there were living in squalor.  Most lived in little shacks made of corrugated tin, really no more than lean-to’s.  The streets were mostly dirt, mud, or something I couldn’t (and didn’t want to identify). We did chance upon a club or two, with dirt floors, co-op bathrooms (just a room with dirt floors and trenches dug in them). The air was horrible. 

With that being said I do remember the people there being friendly enough.  But that was 23 years ago and I am not sure that if I went over there today I would get the same reception.

At any rate Djibouti gets my vote as the biggest crap-hole in the world.  If you are reading this and are from Djibouti I am sorry to offend you and hope things have improved in the last 23 years.