Blogs from Ethiopia, Africa - page 5

Ethiopia is a bit of a weird place. Amongst the things (and there are a few) that make it odd is the calendar. They use a different month system (13 months), but this can normally be ignored if you keep to short timescales as the years are the same length. More surprising is the year. New Year’s Day is September 11thand the calendar is either 7 or 8 years behind that used in the Western world so we are now early in 2011. We first realise this as one brand of beer we drink has a New Year competition (which we don’t win!). Another slightly odd thing is the widespread celebration of St George who even has a beer brand named after him. St George is worshipped in every church we visit here. We decide to ... read more

For once it’s obvious which title I should use for my blog entry. Perhaps the standout attraction of Addis Ababa is the Ethiopia National Museum which houses the skeleton of Lucy, a well preserved 3.2m year old fossil, considered to be an early ancestor of man. It was discovered in 1974 in the Afar region of Ethiopia and has been described as simply one of the most important fossils ever discovered. At the team campsite after the skeleton was discovered the lead scientist played a Beatles cassette and the track “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” came on. They already thought that the skeleton was female so the name seemed appropriate and stuck. The real Lucy skeleton is securely locked away in a vault, but if you didn’t know that you wouldn’t realise. There is also ... read more

Arrived 10th Feb Saturday morning in Gondar, one of the ancient capitals of Ethiopia, developed in the 16th cent up to the 18th.After two hours sleep on the plane I could do little more than have a juice drink (layered mango, guava, avocado and pineapple) before I had to lie flat and close my eyes. Saturday evening meal was a buffet in a local restaurant which was as lovely as the food in Iran (my favourite world food). Even the carbohydrate staple, injera, which I’d heard was as inedible as nsima (Malawian staple) was ok. Slightly sour as it is made from fermented tef flour (a type of rye grass) but a most unprepossessing colour – a sort of grubby dishcloth shade. It is made into a pancake which can wrap around meat or veg, or ... read more

Journal scribblings: 24 Dec 2014. "In a cafe in Dubai waiting for my camera to charge. My flight left Seattle, 14.5 hours later I rolled across the Arabian Sea and into Dubai. The people sitting next to me were great, a guy of East Indian descent who lives in Lynnwood going to India to pick up his surrogate child which a woman in India bore for he and his wife with their sperm and egg when they couldn't conceive. The reason his wife wasn't with him to pick up the baby, amazingly, right after the surrogate child was conceived, his wife in Lynnwood got pregnant naturally. So, they will be brothers, incredible. He was so happy. Also on my flight, an East Indian woman who lives in Vancouver BC, going with her 4 month old baby ... read more

January 15, 2015. What a splendid time it has been in this "country" of Somaliland. I could have easily stayed a few more days but with one week before I flew home, there was time left for one more grand adventure. I have itchy feet today, time to move. I'm at the airport in Hargeisa, trying to get standby ticket back to Addis Ababa. The airport staff were all very encouraging, told me that I had picked the right day. And just like that, I got a ticket, waved goodbye to this most amazing place, jetted to the West and in an hour was on the ground in vibrant Addis Ababa. At the airport (ouch) they made me pay for another visa, as I had traveled "internationally". At the domestic airport, as I feared, I discovered ... read more