More Xmas Holidays!

So in Eritrea, I had to work Christmas Eve and New Years Eve and there were not many holidays in December, but in January we have had plenty and last week we celebrated yet another couple more Xmas holidays, to celebrate the Epiphany(an Orthodox holiday) and Muslim Xmas Eid Mubarak. So with the last couple days I will get off as holidays until International Women’s Day on March 8th, me and Vadim took advantage and went to the beach on Thursday. We took a mini-bus to Massawa, leaving the station downtown around 11am and arriving in Ghinda(the half-way point) around 12noon. In Ghinda, I made friends with some of the beautiful Saho girls who were hanging around the bus station, and I took their photos. From Ghinda down to Massawa there was thick fog, as below Asmara its now the wet season and it was mostly raining. So contrary to what I was telling Vadim the weather in Massawa was not super hot and unbearable, but raining and cold. When we got to Massawa we settled into Central Hotel, as with the rainy weather the cable TV the hotel offered was a major selling point for us. I have never been so excited to watch CNN.( In Asmara, we don’t have a TV, and in general I barely ever see any cable English TV). However, unfortunately for us it was George Bush’s inauguration, and so on CNN we got to see it LIVE from Washington DC and then again and again, while the commentators continually emphasized how his administration will focus on Freedom and Liberty-whatever that means!?! Anyways after enough CNN brainwashing we toured around Massawa in the mud and found a good restaurant which was owned by a Canadian-Eritrean. He told us he has a restaurant in Toronto and it was always his dream to open a restaurant here in Eritrea.

The next day the clouds cleared up a bit and we decided to try a different hotel out of town a little ways, on the beach. It was a funny place, as you could tell that back in the day the place was a very popular beach resort, however, somehow it was not well maintained and now it looked a little rough, but all in all a good place to stay. We swam in the water and hoped the next day would have better warmer weather, and in fact, the next day was a beautiful day 30 degrees Celsius and so we got on our suits and suntanned a bit. I even took a camel ride down the beach and dressed as a Rashida Girl. We were also invited for some delicious coffee by a Rashida family who had made a trip to the beach to celebrate Xmas!

We could have stayed another night, but Vadim didn’t want to get more mosquito bites, as the night before they nearly ate him alive, I managed to stay under the little net we have – but Vadim had troubles, and was covered in bits and of course he worried about the possibility of Malaria... So we hoped back on the bus and climbed mountain after mountain until we reached the top- where Asmara lies 2400m above sea level.