Some vids from the traditional Hamer coming of age ceremony I went to near Lala... read more

Some vids from the traditional Hamer coming of age ceremony I went to near Lala... read more

Some photos from my time in the Omo Valley with the Dasanech and Hamer Tribes, including a Hamer 'Coming of Age' Bull-jumping ceremony up in a village in the hills near Dimeka ... read more

Hi all! This is just a brief blog about Rwanda to bring my East African account to a close! I am actually back in sunny Shropshire, UK, at the moment, gearing up for my year of work in Human Rights in Mexico. I set off April 20th. I hope to keep the blog going out there! One thing I've decided to do in future is to list my location as the most appropriate for the blog I'm writing. ie. I am not in Rwanda at the moment but have listed my location as Rwanda as that is where I'm writing about, if you get me! So don't be surprised when I put some more Ethiopian photos on here later and my location is listed as Ethiopia. I'll still actually be here in Treflach! So, anyway, I ... read more

More to come! ... read more

Hello from Kigali! We've been in Rwanda a few days now and are finding it an absolutely beautiful country. However, I wanted to post a quick entry about our time in Uganda, and then I'll post a better one about Rwanda when I'm back home next week! Our first journey in Uganda was one of my favourites of the trip. It set the standard in terms of drives through Ugandan countryside, as our surrounds seemed immediately more lush, more overgrown and a deep green contrasting the red soil. There were banana trees everywhere, and the roads were home to far more bicycles than I've seen elsewhere. The countryside certainly felt more populated than it had done since Northern Ethiopia, as we passed through consecutive small villages where men sat around in the late afternoon sun, ... read more

Hello! Long time no speak! I am now in Kampala, Uganda, having arrived from Kenya just over a week ago. Uni friends Alex and Suzie have been traveling with me since December 28th, though Alex flew off to Ghana yesterday leaving me and Suzie with a few more weeks to explore Uganda and Rwanda. I get home February 15th! Kenya was great, and whilst I didn't feel as though I really got 'under the skin' of the country as much as I had in Ethiopia, I had a lot of fun. After a very hot and sweaty Christmas in Mombasa, it was great to relax on the breezy beaches of Lamu - a ramshackle island village on Kenya's north coast, not far from Somalia. After a few days kicking back, we headed for Nairobi, via a ... read more

Merry Christmas! Hi all, I just wanted to quickly wish all my friends and family a very Happy Christmas and a cracking 2009! You're a great bunch and I'll certainly be thinking of you all today here in Mombasa. Lot's of Love, Ben ... read more

Hello from Nairobi! Well I made it to Kenya! But not before a couple of fabulous weeks in the South of Ethiopia… My time in and around the Lower Omo Valley was nothing short of incredible, and certainly my best of the trip so far. My time in Ethiopia was fascinating in general, but if I was going to return to the country then I’d head straight down to the South. The sheer number of different ethnic/tribal groups in such a relatively small space is breathtaking. I made my way around the region for 5 days in a hired vehicle with three other guys, including Woodser. I saw plenty of nice scenery, and interesting Wikipedia-worthy tribes including the Hamer, the Banna, the Dasanech, in the burning hot lowlands near the Kenyan and Sudanese borders, and the ... read more