Geo: 9.02274, 38.7468This is my first entry for our travel blog. I'll attempt to maintain the same lofty standards as Carole.I've moved base camp from the luxurious Hilton to the pretty basic Itegue Taitu Hotel in the PiazzaDistrict. What the hotel lacks is more then compensated for in being located in the older main district of Addis Ababa....lots of shops, activity...feels vibrant!The Ethiopian government has changed the rules for tourist visas, a 90 day version is no longer available upon entry to the country. But today I have the visa extension in hand the, after a 3 day effort. Yesterday was my 'interview' process, conducted by 4 different government officials. Apparently I must have said something funny to the first person, and she noted, in Amharic, what I had said. Each official then added their own ... read more

Geo: 13.4967, 39.4753We traveled by land from Hawzien to Mekele - and easy 2 - 2 1/2 hour drive on mostly paved road. Mekele is a very new city relatively speaking and it is very progressive. You can see and feel the difference from where we have been as soon as you reach the outskirts of the city. Instead of dusty, rocky streets congested with sheep, cattle and donkey traffic, it was paved and looked very industrial. The first thing you see is a huge cement plant and then a truck assembly factory and then as you get into the city itself it is obvious that things are different here. Men in business suits, women dressed for the business world (not carrying anything on their backs or their heads), clean children and no one yelling 'farengi, ... read more

Geo: 14.1297, 38.7158Ethiopia is way ahead of the western world in conservation!The housekeeping staff is very careful to provide only the amount of toilet paper that might be needed in one day (it's a good idea to have a roll with you - just in case). The towels are carefully rationed and controlled based on the number of beds in the room. If you have a room with two beds, you get two towels. But, if you have a room with one double bed, even if two people are sharing you only get one towel. We asked for an extra towel at one hotel, which they gave us - no problem. We left both towels out to dry when we left for the day and when we came back we only had one towel! Since then ... read more

Geo: 12.6, 37.4667We spent 3 days trekking in the Simiens with Alebachew Abade, a guide we had read a lot about on Trip Advisor and personal travel blogs. He turned out to be great. Alex picked us up at 6:30am (farengi time) at our hotel and we drove to Debark which is where the permit office is for The Simien Nation Park. The drive is about 2 1/2 hours on a typically dusty and often a bit rough road as there is construction along the way as well. With permit in hand we then drove to Sankabar which is the starting point of the trek. We watched Alex work through the details for a scout and pack animal arrangements and then we headed out ahead with Mamo-Alem our armed scout. The scouts are former DERG militia ... read more

Geo: 12.6, 37.4667This entry will actually cover the last few days. First, thanks everyone for all the birthday wishes and the Christmas greetings. Even though Ethiopians don't celebrate Christmas (Leddet) until January 6/7, many children and some adults wished us Merry Christmas as we were walking around the last couple of days.Dec. 24 was spent getting to Gondar - via the usual local mini bus transport. Always an interesting experience but this trip was relatively uneventful - no flat tires, no need to change transport to a beer truck etc. Our young guide arranged even arranged for the van to pick us up at the hotel although we did make a stop at the bus station where there was much haggling and scouting for more people going to Gondar. We were finally on the road and ... read more