Blogs from Ethiopia, Africa - page 98

So we got on the bus at 10.30 got overcharged and were sat there waiting for it to fill up before leaving and it got under way at 11.30. There were alot of people and luggage on that bus, but even then the conductor put his head out of the wndow and started shouting out the destination in the hope of enticing more people on. The bus then abruptly did a u-turn and went back to the pickup point. People got off and we waited abit more. And waited. And waited. When I asked what the hold up was no one understood. This is rural Ethiopia, its probably a matter of education and resources was my first thought. So we waited. And waited. And waited... Eventually an english speaker got on the bus ans we started ... read more

We want to say thank you to everyone who has written to us and added comments to the blog. It is so great to here what happening while we are away. We wish we had time to respond to all of them, but internet here is by the minute and remember dial-up? Well even that technology has not arrived here yet! But we do appreciate it! Also we have to say Happy Anniversary to my Aunt Norma and Uncle John. 56 years right?!? We are thinking about you!! Just incase we don?t have internet access an early Happy Birthday to my Dad! I know its a few weeks early, but I have to take my chance to say it when I get it! Our African Saga Continues After five months of African travel we can safely ... read more

Text to follow, I seem to be having problems with texts right now? D ... read more

Northern Ethiopia is all about living history -- mostly the ancient living history of Orthodox Christianity. We made a big bus loop through the north visiting all the main hitoric sites. The roads are horrific and the buses are hot, slow, and unreliable, but it is well worth the hassle. Here are some of the key stops. The Islands of Lake Tana Lake Tana is the source of the Blue Nile, and home of the most gargantuan pelicans you've ever seen. The lake is dotted with lush little island peaks, each one with its own ancient monastery. Most have been in active use for the past 5 or 6 centuries. Each island has a tiny community of monks and a priest who keep the place running, study their Ge'ez (Ethiopia's equivalent to Latin), and show tourists ... read more

Our second time in Addis Ababa, we met a German aid worker and stayed at his apartment inside the guarded USAID compound. Henning showed us the city as he knew it: the local shiro restaurants, the decadent diplomats, and his views on the city's political turmoil. Together we celebrated New Year's at a classy party held in a mansion-turned-art-gallery overlooking the city. Our backpackers' attire of t-shirts and tennishoes set us apart from the crowd of rich Ethiopians and ex-pats, but that didn't stop us from feeling welcome and enjoying the dinner, drinks, and dancing. The Embassy workers who gave us a lift spent the 20 minute drive complaining about the lack of intelligence in Ethiopia, but that didn't stop them from going home with Ethiopian women, leaving us ride-less at midnight. We just laughed it ... read more

From Lucy, to Haile Gebreselassie via women with lip plates We also travelled before we joined TravelBlog. We have started to digitalise photos from those pre-TravelBlog trips and we are planning to write about some of them. We will write when we have the time and time is usually scarce so these blog entries will be far in between. As of now we have been averaging one per year. This blog is from one of the last journeys we made before we got our first digital cameras and started blogging about our travels. It's about a trip we made in Ethiopia in 2005. All photos we have here were taken with reversal film, also known as transparencies or slides. Much of the original colours have been lost in the years from when they were taken until ... read more