Eritrea Log (Massawa and Asmara)
Wow what a place is all I can say...
Imagine a city (massawa) decimated by a war and a country that has been fighting off and on for years to
get their independence from Ethiopia. Now toss in the fact that Ethiopia lost all ocean ports in the
settlement and you have a recipe for one more major war.
Massawa is one poor town with just about every building having bullet holes or bomb damage. Somehow
not much of it has been fixed and the war has been over for a bit. It is also a town of very friendly folks
and just about everyone that can talk English wants something from you. They all have elaborate stories
of why you should give them money and the stories are interesting at times, but the concept of being a
walking breathing world bank for this country gets old. If you actually meet someone that just wants to
talk and be nice you are so jaded form all the other encounters it is hard to believe them.
The real impression from me and many other crusiers I talked with is this: Eritera is poor, folks want to
escape (thus the boat searches on departure for stowaways), they are poor (thus the boat robberies in
the night), begging seems to be an art form here, they don't want to sell fuel or water to boats because
they can't really spare it, they will totally rip you off on prices if you let them, the capitol (asmara is a big
city but has no real tourist value or anything interesting to see), the local pastries are terrible, and some
of the wines will have you seeing stars thinking you are drinking acid.
Now having said that it is still an interesting place. Massawa is a small interesting town and eating out is
fine and not too expensive. Alcohol is a bit expensive, but then at least they have some unlike the rest of
this region. The trip to Asmara has camels, baboons, and lots of bushes and cactus. Not much else...
The capitol really is just a city and has no real character or old town feel to it. People are nice, but
unfortunately you seem to attract the con artists who take major offense when you say no to funding their
non work habit.
I forgot to mention the whole police state thing. The president seems to be elected for life and the
government is fully in charge here. Just to travel outside Massawa requires a travel permit and this is
also needed to stay at a hotel, etc. The military is everywhere and there are road checkpoints to see
your papers. There is also a lack of middle aged men as they were all killed in the war or are now
serving in the military. Mostly you see the young and old on the streets. Everyone seems to hate the
government and you are not allowed to travel outside the country for fear you won't return. So they won
their freedom from Ethiopia and now what do they have?
Still it is a neat stop and if you only stay 48 hours it costs you nothing. If you stay longer then you will be
out 40 dollars per person for a visa good for one month.