Africa’s hidden secret- Somaliland.

Africa’s hidden secret- Somaliland.

July 21^st, 2013.

Hanging out in the caves of the famous Las Geel with my body guard, Mohammed.

I have spent many long weekends in different destinations around the world. From Portland to Toronto, from Cape Town to Istanbul, but none have compared to this weekend here in Somaliland, a place hidden to most tourists on the trail in Africa, and what a shame, it is a legendary land, just waiting to be re-discovered.

I made my way from Harar to the Eastern frontier city of Jijiga, from where I changed busses and made my way to the border, Wajale. It was here that I switched passports, changed gears and ventured into the unknown.

Border crossing with Ethiopia.

Somaliland, a self-declared Republic since 1991, split from Mogidishu, and the rest of Somalia during the civil war that was made famous in North America by the film, “Blackhawk Down”. It has been a beacon of stability, peace and tolerance in a country that has not had a central government in a generation, and has been overrun by warlords, Islamist insurgents and continuous droughts and famine.

A giant Tortoise? In Somaliland? And this guy was only half the size of the first one we saw.

Yet, here I am, in the capital of this Northern region, Hargeisa.  The biggest irony I found is that despite the poverty, the lack of roads, and the fact that “Officially” this is not even a country, I have the best internet of anywhere on my trip, here at the Oriental Hotel, in the centre of town.

Memorial to the Somalia civil war.

My first night in Somaliland, I went about exploring the capitals outstanding market places, went for dinner, and discussed with local Somali’s the state of their “country” and their southern brother. It made for a fascinating night, and the outward kindness, handshakes, hugs and questions from locals made this first night very memorable. It also dawned on me, I am the only tourist here, maybe in the entire country.

I owe the inspiration for this venture largely to my friend Devin Holterman. For it was during our countless lunch shifts together a few years ago that we would discuss African politics at length, our mutual love for the continent and for adventure, spurring each other on. I had the pleasure of visiting Devin twice this year in Toronto, and with each visit, my passion to return to Africa grew, and the temptation to go to Somaliland began to simmer over the top.

The fine locals of Hargeisa. Love me some Samosa too!

So cheers to you Dev! And thanks for the inspiration.

Now, back to business! My first full day in the country was as I just mentioned, about getting down to business. I had to first go to the Ethiopian embassy, and get a new VISA to re-enter Ethiopia. And secondly, I had to arrange for all the paper I would need to explore further afield beyond the capital, something I am quite well versed in after visiting Sudan.

The famed rock Paintings of Las Geel.

Guide describing the different animals and peoples on the rocks at Las Geel.

The beautiful countryside in central Somaliland.

The Ethiopian embassy was quite hard to find, hidden behind a few ruined buildings, down an alleyway teeming with goats, but I did find it after all. I have to say, it was a lot less busy that the embassy in Sudan, just myself and a few others. I got in and got my VISA pretty promptly, however, the confusion on the faces of the men their when they saw I had two passports, one from the U.K and one from Canada was priceless.

On top of the world with my guide and the soldiers of Somaliland.

 Once I explained to them that my mother is from England, and that Canada is part of the Commonwealth of Nations, they proceeded to lecture me about the glories of the Ethiopian democratic state, which includes only single nationality. They also managed to switch the discussion to how horrible the USA is, even after I mentioned my parents live there, and how Barrack Obama is a “gay lover” for his talk in Senegal about gay rights in Africa. I just sat, and kept my mouth shut, which is VERY HARD for me, my main motivation, if they deny me the VISA, I will be stranded in Somaliland, a country that does not officially exist, with a less than predictable security situation. Regardless, I got it and got out!

Gazelles in the Deserts of Somaliland. WOW!

Now, round two of business in Hargeisa, get permits. I organized a tour, visited the “ministry of tourism”, got a letter of passage, arranged for an armed escort and finalized all preparations for my transport tomorrow around Somaliland.

Look at the tusks on these guys!

The next day I awoke bright and early, 6 am, and set out of the capital just as the sun was rising to explore the ancient rock painting of Las Geel, and the port city of Berbera, where the Ethiopians exported coffee for hundreds of years all around the world.

The ancient port city of Berbera. On the Gulf of Aden.

The journey to Las Geel showed some incredible country side, beautiful mountains, valleys, dried river beds, and surprisingly quite abundant wildlife. I saw warthogs, Gazelles, large Tortoises, and the largest clan of Baboons I have ever seen. That combined with some of the best preserved rock paintings in Africa, discovered only in 2003, which depict the life of the early inhabitants of this region, a region not far from the cradle of humanity in the Great Rift Valley of Southern Ethiopia.

Hanging out on the gulf, they need a serious trash collection.

Berbera proved a tad less exciting than the rest of the trip, but staring out at the Gulf of Aden, knowing just beyond those seas lies Yemen and Arabia was exciting enough, and my guide and armed escort turned out to be quite the comedians as we drove, it could have been the large consumption of “chat” throughout the day that turned them around from being ultra-serious in the morning to downright hilarious by late afternoon.

A little road trouble on the way.

I sit now, back at my hotel, on my last night of this short stopover in Somalia, very satisfied, for I came here with little expectations, and will leave feeling for now that this may have been the high light of my trip to Africa thus far. I can only hope that in the future the rest of Somalia will find peace and prosperity, and will open up for the rest of the world to see.

Plenty of Camels to go around in the deserts of Somaliland.

Many believe that to be an impossibility right now, but I always mention that when my parents were my age now, Vietnam was a NO-GO, having just finished a war with the USA, Russia and most of Eastern Europe were at the brink of nuclear war with the rest of the world, Nepal was essentially a closed Kingdom, South Africa was still under Apartheid, Argentina was at war with the UK, and the list goes on. All of these places I have visited now, and loved them all. So I believe that just maybe in the future, Somaliland and the rest of Somalia may make it back on the travel map.

The largest pack of Baboons I have ever seen.

As for now, it is off to bed for this guy, I got to catch a bus early back to Ethiopia and onwards to Kenya.

Cheers to all, and thank you very much to all those that helped make Somaliland a reality.

Cheers,

William Delaney.