Grizzly Bear

A Flight Lacking In Something... The flight from Addis to Sana'a in Yemen was quite short, so I didn't expect much. Then there was the wait at the airport duty free wasn't much to write home about (I later found out that the antique electronics they had for sale didn't actually work) and their version of a lounge was a couple of plastic chairs around a plastic table. There wasn't much in the way of air con either, ad it was around 40 degrees (the airport was in a desert!). Then on to the flight. I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't sit near James so I wasn't looking forward to being sat next to some one who I probably wouldn't be able to talk too. I was informed that we would be sitting in ... read more

The Sudanese Embassy. AGAIN I went down to the Sudanese embassy the next day too see if there was the remotest possibility of getting the visa that would allow me to continue up to Egypt. Unfortunately not, but Monday was looking good. I did speak to a couple of other travellers that were also waiting. One had his passport open and was looking lovingly at a page. He told me that he had been waiting 6 weeks and only got it by speaking to the ambassador, who issued one personally. He slowly reached out to caress the light blue sticker with the tips of his fingers barely able to believe he had it. There was a Japanese tourist who had spent the better part of 18 months travelling from Japan through China into Europe and then ... read more

I woke and started to pack. Mike had found that the Hotel Wutma had 2 single rooms for little more than we were already paying so across the road we went. Once that was out of the way we headed towards the British Embassy because we needed to obtain a letter of commendation before we went to the Sudanese embassy. A Brief Description of Addis Ababa Addis Ababa is Amharic for New Flower, and was built about a hundred years ago as a capitol city and is mainly a business and administrative centre. As a result there isn’t much there for tourists and most tend to fly in for a night and fly out to wherever they want to go, or once they have arranged a tour. In terms of entertainment there isn’t much either. Most ... read more

Now before I launch into a celebration of the fact that we had finally reached Addis let me remind you what has gone on. Mike & I had set off on Saturday Morning (I didn’t eat breakfast) They tried to over charge us in Lake Nivasha, and then charge us for our bags in Nairobi Saturday night was spent into Isiolo, we woke at 1.30 am to catch a truck at 2am Sunday was spent on a truck, in the back with the cargo. There was the episode during Sunday afternoon when I though my bags had been stolen Sunday night was spent sleeping on the back of a truck Monday was the bus ride from hell Tuesday is today and its early evening and I want a bed I have eaten 1 & 1/2 plates ... read more

Hello, I know its een a while since I've been in touch with every one, or since I last updated the blog. Lack of internet at home has been te main culprit, but I'm hoping to catch up with every one soon, or feel free to drop me line... 10 pm the bus arrived in a town called Hagar Mariam. It was time to find a hotel and some information on where to catch tomorrows' bus from. Unfortunately the english speaker I had met had got off at the last town. Fortunately he had asked that we be shown to a suitable hotel and where to catch the next bus from. The first place we went too looked quiet nice. The receptionist smiled and started talking in Ahmeric. Our guide (one of the people working on ... read more

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 had set off just before sun set. I took a look at the terrain on the way up it was this weird mix of highland plataeu surrounded by mountians and covered by low bush and grass land. There wasn't much out there. On the night drive itself I had decided to actually enjoy the experience rather than just sit there and wait for it too end. As a result I was looking all around, rather than try to get some sleep. In the dark you could see traces of some settlements, the odd building here and there and the occassional lantern in the distance. There were initially 15 other passengers on that truck. Most of them got off at a settlement of some description along the way. Others, however, seemed to get off in the ... read more

The lorry roled into a small, dry, dusty outpost of a town where trucks congregate to form a convoy before heading north to Moyale, as what lay ahead was bandit country and lorries are prone to being raided by Somali's fleeing the fighting in their own country and desperate to get anything they can sell on. This was also the place where they were assigned armed escorts (a guy with a sub-machine gun). If it wasn't for the African people, this could be a hollywood film set for a western. There were 3 blocks of buldings that were made up resteraunts, shops and pubs that had faiding paint and covered in the yellow dust that formed a gritty layer over everything including my clothes, face and hands. The town has about 3 small blocks of shops, ... read more

We arrived at the hotel at about 7pm, as soon as our bags landed on the floor we left again to try too sort out how to get to Moyale and some food. While wondering around trying to find some where that served chips (I didn't want to eat anything that could potentially upset my stomach) we were approached by some one who started talking to us. My normal course of action is to ignor them, people can see that your lost foreigners and think that your loaded. Mike, however, engaged him in conversation. After dinner we taked about him and decided that it would save alot of hassle on our part if we just let him do the work. I'm not sure if its his real name but he told us it was Carla. Half ... read more