"GOAT IS DELICIOUS!"

I wanted a skull.  I have no idea where I first learnt that the “must have souvenir” of the small African nation of Djibouti was a salt-crusted animal skull, but once I did…it just got stuck in my head…I needed to have this prize on my shelf.  My true purpose for this journey didn’t come forthright to my travel mates until after a few drinks at our hotel on night two.  Spent after a day searching for whale sharks in the clear waters, I confessed my true rationale for wanting to trek over to Djibouti. 

Our hotel concierge was more than willing to set up the standard day-tour for us to Lake Assal.  My guess is that most people reading this are unfamiliar with this location, I had never heard of it.  Lake Assal, is a crater lake that is the lowest point in Africa and the third lowest point in the world.  The salinity is actually greater than that of the Dead Sea and only the salty waters of a pond in Antarctica beat it.  I came to realize my favourite difference between the Dead Sea and here while I was effortlessly floating in the warm waters…no tourists.  We drove right up to the shores and hopped out into the water.  No resorts, no spas offering over-priced beauty products, not another foreigner insight.  At one point, I appeared to be the only person in the entire lake.  But there was one gentleman on the shores…the very man I had been dying to see…

Displayed on overturned crates was a small selection of selection of salt rocks and a few random trinkets next to the piece de la resistance…the salt crusted skulls.  I will admit, selection was limited.  I had my choice between a massive full bull cow skull or a smaller, more manageable goat skull.  Never have I been sadder about carry-on luggage restrictions.  But, a skull is a skull, and after parting with just a few dollars I wrapped my prize in a scarf and set off with a giant grin on my face – goal fulfilled!  The challenge it turns out was a few days later. 

People in the Djibouti airport with these skulls causes no alarm.  People arriving in foreign port with a skull in their carry on it turns out can cause a bit of a stir.  I was counting on the inattention of security to slip effortlessly through Dubai International Airport but thwarted by an attentive young officer who immediately noted the unusual shape.  He kept pointing at the screen and demanding to know what it was…but as much as I tired to explain…I don’t know the Arabic word for ‘goat’.  A bilingual guard jumped into assist and I was able to explain my unusual souvenir, and while giving me a funny look, she explained it to the guard.  “Ahhhh…. for eating”, was his reply.  Thinking that this was clearly forbidden, and certainly not possible given the state of my goat, I explained that no, it was not for eating. 

Do you ever have those moments where you are surprised what some people choose to care about? 

“GOAT IS DELCIOUS”, he shouts at me, his English making a miraculous return.  “My family eat goat, goat is good, goat makes you strong, you should eat goat”.  WTF.  To recap, I am standing at airport security, with a salt-crusted goat skull and I am being lectured by a traditionally dressed Arab on the benefits of eating goat by a man who couldn’t speak English 2 min ago.  Knowing that the explanation of ‘somebody did enjoy the goat in question before the crusting process’ would be futile, I simply nodded and agreed with him.  No longer concerned that I was a threat, and confident that I was headed home to prepare a delicious goat dinner, I was permitted to depart…skull tucked safely under my arm. 

I guess my advice, if you are going to try and bring one of these skulls home, back it with a cookbook to throw off suspicion.