A Discovery of Djibouti and Lake Assal

For our full day in Djibouti, we set out on an excursion to Lake Assal.

Our destination is Lake Assal about 130 km to the north west of Djibouti about 153 meters below sea level. The locals look at us like we are crazy when we tell them that we are heading out there. That we should be warned, the temperature is near 60, and I'm not talking Fahrenheit, but Celcius!

As we head to our destination, we are caught in a unique traffic jam with thousands of loaded trucks heading in the same direction towards Ethiopia. 

The large country of Ethiopia is searching for a change in its infrastructure and with no sea harbor, uses Djibouti as their entry point for their needs.

Certainly a display of necessities on this road, from construction material, to water trucks, fuel trucks, oil, etc. You name it and it is traveling on this road. The line of trucks is never ending and with only 2 lanes, we are in for some exciting driving.

The road was in good condition, thank goodness, since the route that was supposed to take us 90 minutes actually turned out to be 180 minutes! but we made it.

What a sight...

After the usual photo ops, we head for the salty water of the lake and take our swim. The water is the most salted on earth and are reminded by our guide to keep our heads above water and to not get any water in our eyes.

What an experience.

The photos might remind you of the sight of Ilulissat in Greenland, but the heat is there to remind us that we are definitely not in Ilulissat, Greenland. No sweating since our water (sweat) evaporates very fast. When we switch hands for photo op, we find our cameras smoldering hot and our iPad’s keep shutting down due to overheating.

These salt formations remind us of the icebergs in Ilulissat. The main difference, as mentioned before is the temperature...we are talking 60 degrees centigrade here...did I mention it's hot? We need plenty of water to stay hydrated.

 

We have happy campers with us

A very fun experience and better than the one of the Dead Sea, I must say, since we are alone in these waters and the bottom is crystal clear.

Look mom no hands...

A few notes on Lake Assal: It is the lowest point on land in Africa at 155m below sea level (509ft) and with that elevation, makes it the third lowest land depression on Earth after the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee. Lake Assal is a crater lake with no outflow and with the high evaporation from the heat, the salinity level of its waters is 10x that of the sea. It is one of the most saline lakes in the world and is the world's largest salt reserve.