No tour at Kagnew was complete without a trip to Massawa. If for no other reason than to ride down the escarpment on the Massawa road. Virtually carved into the mountain, the road was narrow and full of switchbacks. Lush tropical valleys 5000 feet below were an awesome sight. To make it more exhilarating there was only 3 to 5 feet of shoulder separating you from taking a long plunge into those valleys. At the foot of the mountain there was desert with temperatures reaching 120F. When you arrived at these flats you could feel the belch of hot air and you knew Massawa was not far away.

I made this trek down the mountain 7 times during my 18-month stay in Asmara. I took my first trip to Massawa in July 1967 after being in country for only 10 weeks. My NMSD supervisor Chris Bogart invited me to join him on the ride down the mountain. Chris had a new Alfa Romeo and wanted to test it out on the Massawa road and open it up on the flats. It handled the switchbacks with ease, although I must admit that I was a little apprehensive about our speed. We arrived in what Chris said was record time (about 5 beers each).

We booked a room at the TTU Hotel and adjourned to the bar for cocktails. Chris told me that there was little to do in Massawa during the day. Only mad dogs and Englishmen would go out in the afternoon sun in Massawa. That evening Chris took me on a tour of the bars of Massawa. We ended up on the rooftop bar at the Torino Hotel that was lovingly called the Four Floors of Whores. We stayed there drinking warm Melottis until closing time. As we walked down the stairs from the bar, women in the hallways chided and propositioned us. Chris told me that the price gets cheaper as you go down the stairs. We opted to return to TTU and get some sleep before returning to Asmara in the late morning.

My second trip to Massawa was full of drunken debauchery. By this time I was hanging around with the "Gross Guys". To become a member of this exclusive group you had to do something that the others would consider as being gross. We were in the second floor bar that was in the center of the Massawa Market Square. One of the ugliest Bar Whores that I had ever seen was sitting with us at our table. She was skinny and probably about 40 years old. I was provoked by the others to crawl under the table and put my head up her skirt. Which, as I recall, I did with great passion and vigor. After a few more Melottis and Zibibs I ended up going home with her. This was my initiation into the "Gross Guys."

My subsequent trips to Massawa were as, if not more, eventful. They included a trip up to Monastery Mountain. I was hung over and running on fumes and crapped out about 1/4 of the way up the steep precipice, therefore heading back to the car for a cold Budweiser. I gave my camera to one of the other guys so that I would have pictures to send back home. By the time they came back down, I had passed out and the next thing that I recall was being wakened in Massawa.

Another trip down the Mountain was a trick party on the beach. We pitched tents and built bonfires. We had two Special Services trailers filled with beer and ice. It was a challenge for us to drink the beer before the ice melted. Someone went into Massawa and brought back a couple of local ladies of the night whom left with a lot more money than we did. On this trip, I took my first Camel ride and swam in the Red Sea for the first time. Both are experiences that I will never forget.

My last journey to Massawa was my going away party, about four weeks before I was to return to the states. By this time all but a few of the "Gross Guys" had departed from Asmara. We spent most of the time on this trip at the TTU, drinking and talking about the old days. Some of the guys were just drinking Cokes and Iced Tea (keeping their hands over the glass so that the flies wouldn't dive in). Snorkeling and water skiing had replaced bar hopping and whoring. Bill Hunt and I visited a few of the nightspots in Massawa, but it just wasn't the same. What a difference a year makes!