Advertisement
Published: March 19th 2007
Official Tour
The sign in the front of the bus was essential before we left!22 February - 1 March 2007
On Tuesday there was a rumour that the College was going on Tour! But nothing was confirmed.
On Wednesday, I was told about the Tour and that we were leaving that afternoon! I went home to pack and phone VSO (I’m going to be away from Robe for more than 24 hours … Where are you going? … I don’t know…. How long will you be away for? … I don’t know!).
We eventually left on Thursday. Everyone got on the bus at 11.45, then it was decided that we needed a sign in the front window. We left the College at 11.50, stopping four times before the roundabout to pick up people or luggage. Then, the cry went up… “What about lunch?”
So, we stopped in Robe for an hour, for lunch.
This set the standard for the Tour. It was a great experience! 58 College workers (not just teachers - a real cross section) arriving in each place, with no accommodation booked, and a meeting on the bus every morning to decide the programme for the day. As the meeting was in Afaan Oromo, I simply waited
Happy travellers!
Lots of singing on the bus. for someone to tell me what was happening. The Tour went from Robe, to Assela (we didn’t actually get to Assela before dark, so stayed in Bokoje - which is apparently where most of the famous Ethiopian athletes come from. From there, we went to Adama, Debre Zeyit, Debre Berhan, Addis Ababa, Kotebe, Shashemene, Awasa and back to Robe.
I had a great time - there was singing on the bus (my favourite was Hayee, hayee as it was the only song where I could join in the chorus) and my colleagues looked after me all week - making sure that I had a nice room and inviting me to join them for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
We returned to Robe on Thursday - after a bus meeting - as some of the people on lower per diems had run out of money.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.092s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 12; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0659s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
David Burgess
non-member comment
I'm jealous
This sounds like a wow of a journey,.I know all the places and have fantastic memories of the region. The best way to experience the country is with the locals and it was done so democratically.