Blogs from Addis Ababa Region, Ethiopia, Africa - page 28

Took us days to cross into Ethiopia, going through semi arid desert landscapes and passing through frontier towns Marsabit and Moyale in Kenya. We have to pick up 2 armed guards to protect us as we drive towards the border town of Moyale. Immigration processing was a bit slow and a laugh and a half for all of us, after getting stamped you go to this next person who manually writes infos from the passport, when it came to occupation he spells almost all wrong, he writes what he thinks sounds like and so lab tech came to be "lap take", we just let it be so we can get to it and leave! Srove through a very green countryside, rain is threatening, cold and a bit windy, we found a bush camp amidst dense bushes, ... read more

The 10 hours I spent out of the airport in Addis Ababa on the way to Ghana were absolutely amazing, thanks to Dad’s hotel points. The hotel was like a palace (and I’m pretty sure it’s not just because I was out in the bush using a pit latrine and showering with a basin and cup for 1 month). When we pulled up through the gated driveway into the hotel, it took a lot to contain my excitement. I was in the Sheraton van (might I add that it was clean, not about to fall apart, and not crammed with 20+ people) with a bunch of business people so I think they may have found it quite strange had I squealed with joy. The hotel room was pretty spiffy and high tech - I’m sure some ... read more

March 18, 2008 Flight: Bahar Dar (BJR) to Addis Ababa (ADD), Ethiopian Airlines 121, F50, Economy Flight: Addis Ababa (ADD) to Washington DC (IAD), Ethiopian Airlines 500, 767, Economy, miles earned: 7195 (LH) Our last day in Ethiopia, we had an early flight out this morning back to Addis. We ran into the American family again in the hotel lobby, they were going to Gondar today. It's a 17 minute flight or 4 hours in a bus. Checkin at the airport went quickly and we headed upstairs to grab breakfast when I heard my name called on the loudspeaker. I went down to find out they wanted to examine D's bag, he had bought a souvenir cross in Lalibela and they were just making sure he wasn't trying to steal a real one! Early morning is ... read more

Yeah we have our temporary passports, and new 48 page passports are on their way.... Some of you already know about the stress our passport issue has caused us. But I'll explain a little of the history for those that may not already know. It started in West Africa, as we were crossing several borders, and entering several countries requiring full passport page visas. It was when we exited Nigeria, when we realized we wouldn't have enough passport pages to get us all the way through into Kenya. The standard issue Canadian passport is only 24 pages, of which only approximately 17 pages are usable for visas/entry/exit stamps. Apparently Canada does offer a 48 page passport, but you have to specifically request it, as it is not given as an option on the current passport application. ... read more

Well it sounds like I picked a good time not to be in MN right now from everyone's comments about how cold it is back there. For the most part it starts out a little cool in the mornings here and then by the afternoon it is sunny and in the mid to high 60s. I was over at the hospital this afternoon and I got a chance to just hang out with some of the women (girls really when you figure that some of them are as young as 13 or 14!). In Ethiopia there are close to 80 languages spoken so as you can figure there was quite a bit of a language barrier for us. However one thing is universal for them and that is pictures. I brought out the Christmas card that ... read more