Blogs from Amhara Region, Ethiopia, Africa

My next adventure with Trekkup was during our week-long Eid al Fitr holiday. This was kind of a bucket list of Ethiopia adventures, starting with Lalibela, which is known for its World Heritage Site rock hewn churches. I have wanted to come here for years and it was finally happening! Flight from Dubai to Addis Ababa was fine, very crowded. I have avoided Addis Ababa airport for the last few years because there is always something that happens to me there. At least on this connection, it was ok, just had trouble finding the domestic terminal, which was about a 15-minute walk away. They are clearly doing a lot of renovations on the international terminal there, which we were able to see on our way home. For now, it was just to get through customs and ... read more

19 mars "Après que la hyène est passée, le chien aboie" Proverbe Éthiopien Dans une mini-van privée, en matinée, je quitte enfin Mékélé pour rejoindre Lalibela, village situé au creux d'une route mal de coeur en angle sur les hauts-plateaux. C'est avec une famille d'espagnol que je partagerai le prix du véhicule dans lequel je prend place. Assis tout à l'arrière, les 9 heures de manège presqu'équestre me secoueront profondément l'estomac. Endroit le plus visité d'Éthiopie, Lalibela demeure un petit patelin d'agriculteurs en altitude, pauvre et loin des routes asphaltées (la Chine n'a pas d'argent à faire ici). La journée complète de transport m'essouflera, particulièrement les trois dernières heures de gravier, qui solidement réussira à m'aveugler de ce panorama imprenable sur les vallées et les montagnes de l'Amhara. ... Une pluie soudaine c... read more

7 mars "Un homme affamé n'a souvent qu'à se lécher les doigts" Proverbe Éthiopien (Toujours à Bahir Dar) Il est 9h00AM et je quitte mon auberge pour rejoindre la station de mini-bus de Bahir Dar. C'est un 20 minutes de marche qui me sépare du chaotique enclos à transporteurs. Malgré que je sois sur la route historique et que les villes que j'ai prévu à mon itinéraire sois aussi les arrêts prévilégiés de la majorité des touristes en Éthiopie, clairement, encore peu d'entre-eux osent sortir de leurs tours organisés. On m'offre beaucoup d'attention sur le chemin de la station. Les regards se tournent vers moi et me fixent sans gêne comme si j'étais infecté par une quelconque maladie de peau. Les passants, les shoe shine boys, les vendeurs de montres ou de lunette-soleil bas de gamme, ... read more

Bahir Dar effectively completes our short circuit of northern Ethiopia. From here it's a direct, but full day by bus back to Addis Ababa. The city is a regional capital so is a sizeable place with a few decent sights so is a fine place to stay for a night or two. The main attraction here is Lake Tana, one of the largest lakes in Africa and the source of the Blue Nile, though the lake is certainly not blue but a disappointing dull muddy colour. On the lake there are quite a few islands some of which have historic monasteries. These are some of the oldest and most important in the country and are known for their impressive murals. As we can't visit all of the monasteries - they are well spread out - we ... read more

Ethiopia is a bit of a weird place. Amongst the things (and there are a few) that make it odd is the calendar. They use a different month system (13 months), but this can normally be ignored if you keep to short timescales as the years are the same length. More surprising is the year. New Year’s Day is September 11thand the calendar is either 7 or 8 years behind that used in the Western world so we are now early in 2011. We first realise this as one brand of beer we drink has a New Year competition (which we don’t win!). Another slightly odd thing is the widespread celebration of St George who even has a beer brand named after him. St George is worshipped in every church we visit here. We decide to ... read more