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August 31st 2011
Time to leave Azerbaijan and see what Georgia has to offer. Ilgar's brother in law had collected me from the bus station on arrival, but Ilgar assured me that is was an easy walk back. It was down hill, but when carrying about 20kilos of luggage, a 30-40min walk is a long way. I stumble across the bus station accidentally as the directions I was given were wrong. The next minibus to Balakan is not for an hour, and it says Zaqatala on the front. It means I get a seat anyway which is good, many people have to stand and I am too tall for these minibuses. Also means that my legs are too long too so the ride is uncomfortable whichever way I travel. Only two hours to Zaqatala, there is meant to be ... read more
August 29th 2011
Seki is in the countryside, 6 hours minibus ride from Baku. Not remote like Laza, the town has an old and new section and is surrounded by hills. Although even in the villages the men's fashion remains skinny jeans and thin striped shirts. They seem to look better than Western European men in skinny jeans, I think they are built correctly for the look. Older men wear black flat caps. I have to resort to much persuasion to get to Seki in a day from Laza. The big 2pm bus from Baku is full and there are many people waiting to buy tickets for the 3pm and it's only just gone 1. A minibus is almost full and has a space for me but not with luggage. I decide to wait around anyway and finally the ... read more
August 28th 2011
As usual the taxi to the bus station costs more than the long distance bus. There is a new bus station in Baku so luckily buses for all destinations leave from the same place, much less confusion for the non-Azeri speaking foreigner. The taxi drops me off outside so I enter the building at the ground floor and navigate my way through the aisles of shops to find the stairs to the second floor where the buses are situated. There are numerous doors leading to a few buses in each section, no sense of order so I just try the first one and am in luck. There is a minibus for Qusar and it's almost full. I get the last of the fixed seats, I always hate those flip down seats as they are not well ... read more
August 25th 2011
Time for a trip slightly more off the beaten track, mainly because I had airmiles to use :) Transport The amusing start to my visit to Azerbaijan starts on the airport tarmac. Usually the pilot is told a gate number then follows the numbering system of the airport lanes and turnings. In this airport, those signs do not exist so a small Lada turns up with large yellow lighting on its roof, flashing FOLLOW ME. It then drives around the airport twice as we follow in the plane. Interesting. Turns out that the majority of people drive Ladas. On the surface you'd think that Baku has a structured traffic system. The roads are paved, multi lane motorways in places, street lighting lines the roads, lanes are clearly marked and there are numerous road signs. This does ... read more
January 4th 2011
Another flight, this time slightly longer and a drink refreshment, but once again delayed due to late arrival. These passengers are all foreigners and many Rastas, these are the first I've seen, I expected more visiting the motherland of their faith. They are all American and Caribbean. The town is about 30mins from the airport, down a very windy yet paved road. The road is lined with over 30 buses which have been bringing pilgrims to the town all week. When we reach town, there are people everywhere. I am staying at the Bete Abraham which is a brand new hotel, my guide is late so we start into town immediately to see the rock hewn churches and I bump into Scott and Sarah on the way so they join my tour. Entry is 350Birr for ... read more
January 3rd 2011
A lay in for once! And I've now read that the iphone alarm should be working for today, temporary glitch... Not reassuring! Today my guide is collecting his sister from the airport having not seen her for 3 years as she's been working in the Arab States, so I have a back up guide. He seems ok, but it eventually turns into lost in translation. First we drive to the Yeha Temple, which is about an hour from Aksum and past the town of Adwa. Up until Adwa there is only dirt track road so another dusty slow journey. We make one stop to view the Adwa mountains where the battle with the Italians took place . This was the biggest colonial defeat and took place in 1896. Strange place for a battle, but terrain like ... read more
January 2nd 2011
Well iphones have gone even lower in my opinion, not only can it get no reception in the whole of Ethiopia, now the alarm has broken! So I overslept by 45mins and had a mad rush to the airport without breakfast. The streets are filled again with women in shawls off to church, not sure what the men do. Another day, another saint, I later find out that it is Saint Tekla Haimanot day. He is the man that stood praying on one leg for 7 years until the other one fell off, urgh! He was made a saint and given 3 pairs of wings. Luckily, as I'm very late, the airport is as relaxed as Bahir Dar so we aren't even allowed through security until 10mins before the plane arrives, Security is slightly less strict, ... read more
January 1st 2011
Planned an early start, breakfast at 6, leave at 6:30, it's a 3/4 hour drive to the Simien Mountains, so it needs to be early to fit it in a day. I did not realise it was St George's Day though, as it's in April in England, so the church started blaring music and sermons around 5am. Even with ear plugs in, it woke me with a start! My 4WD driver arrives and off we go, the town is heaving with people in white robes heading to the church for the saints day, amazing at such an early time of the morning. As we reach the edge of town I realise why 97km will take so long, the tarmac disappears and gravel and dirt track mark the rest of the way :( We pass many hills ... read more
December 31st 2010
Another chaotic journey on Ethiopian Airways, it hardly seemed worth the trouble for a 20minute flight time. Check in opened late, 20minutes before boarding time, but not a problem as the plane was late arriving. It was the same plane I had disembarked here, it flies Addis, Bahir Dar, Gonder, Axum, Lalibela. Security was the strictest I've been through yet, perhaps because there are so few people they have the time for it. I have to get out all of my cameras and my laptop and turn them on to prove they are real, then the woman wants to look through my large lens! All pointless as there is no safety actually on the plane, people keep their hand luggage out rather than storing it and one person even smokes! Insane! At Gonder airport, I quickly ... read more
December 30th 2010
9am start for a boat ride across Lake Tana, there are numerous islands on the lake and 39 monasteries. We visit 3 of them and the names given by my guide are slightly different to the spellings in my book, so I'll go with his. It seems to be the norm over here, many road signs have incorrect spellings, even my boarding pass spells Bahir Dar as Bahar Dar! The first monastery is about 40mins by power boat, we see a few papyrus boats along the way, mainly transporting fire wood. This can take the rower 4-5hrs to transport across the lake in good weather! There are also 2 smaller versions of the papyrus boat, the smallest is for fishing and the medium sized for transporting people. They last about 3-4months before a new one needs ... read more
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