Ethiopia Part 1 (a little late)

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Dear All,

Ethiopia has been interesting. I regret that my last blog entry was written on my first day in this country, and now, I finally write again on my last day. I (inshaallah - if god wills it) will catch a pick up truck south from Moyale on the Ethiopian-Kenyan border. Today I spend my last night in Ethiopia at the fanciest hotel in town, clocking in at a whopping $6.50 (I splurged for a shower in my room and a toilet I can sit on).

Where to begin? I headed north to Bahir Dar from Addis Ababa at 5:30 in the morning. The bus was standing room mostly but since I got there early I had a prime seat. I curled up in my sleeping bag (I boarded the bus around 4:45, it was FREEZING), and woke after a few hours to find my eager seat-mate dying to talk to me. He spent the next 10 hours expounding on the importance of Tupac in the formation of a vibrant west coast culture (more literally, “Me, I like the west coast too much. I think it is better than the east. Jay-Z, he is from the west, no?”). My responses were mainly stunned silence as I sat brooding over the most influential export from America in Africa, gangster rap. Once the boy had chosen a side he informed me his main goal in life was to move to America to become a gangster. I asked him how he felt about getting shot in the head, he laughed. Half way to Bahir-Dar a loud hissing sound announced we had popped a wheel. I debarked from the bus with a mixed feeling of annoyance and relief. The air on the bus was stifling (Ethiopians refuse to open windows on buses, they have some weird superstition about cold air mixing with hot air that no one seems capable of explaining. It makes long Ethiopian bus rides some of the worst in Africa, despite more comfortable seats), but we were already a lot later than I’d been expecting. I decided to embrace the fresh air and we all sat in the shade of open woodland surrounded by grazing cows.

Bahir Dar boasts a dirty lake dotted with beautiful tropical islands which house a number of 15th and 16th century monasteries and churches. I took a hired boat with three other tourists around the lake, at one of the monasteries a funeral was being held for a young woman from the island. She had apparently died earlier that day and was the mother of three children. A large group of women sang wailing in a large cluster, the monks stood to the side banging ritual drums. They did not enter the church and while our guide described the paintings on the inside, their songs seeped through the bamboo lined halls.

Next stop on the tourist route is Gonder, a city ancient enough that I occasionally mistook bureaucratic offices for tourist attractions. Actually, I’m still quite sure that a number of Ministries of (something boring here) were in fact old castles as they were indistinguishable from the castles charging entrance fees. It was a city worth wandering through, with massive stone walls protecting seemingly alluring enclosures at every turn and large stone steps leading to different tiers of the town. In one nook I discovered a castle being used for HIV and health related NGOs (this is where TTAF should be looking for new offices) with a wide shaded garden full of college students studying! I thrilled in the opportunity to (for probably the only time in my entire stay in Ethiopia) sit outside in the shade and read, surrounded by other people reading quietly to themselves, completely unhindered.

The next day I take a short hike (more like a walk) in the Simien Mountains with a woman I met at my hotel in Gonder. On the way back we wave down the bus to Debark and I board despite the fact that the bus is entirely full. I stand awkwardly at the front for roughly 30 seconds before a young man jumps up offering me his seat. I struggle to the back of the bus where I sit down quite squished (I’m pretty sure my tush is rather wider than the man’s who vacated the spot) between five other people in the last row. The road is in horrendous condition, eroded with huge ruts which people place large rocks in to try to delay the erosion. The landscape, described as “magnificent” by all the guide books reminds me distinctly of New Mexico with slightly darker people and leaves me wondering why I always seem to travel to the other side of the world to find home. When the bus stops, vendors crowd around selling roasted corn and bags of nuts. I am too far from the windows to buy anything. A young woman buys a large roasted corn; she gives a piece to her child, a piece to her husband and starts offering pieces to me. I take a few kernels and attempt to practice my pathetic Amharic on her. She is thrilled; throughout the ride she continues to offer me food. The dust rises around the bus, we all fly off our seats in unison and (strangely enough) fresh air flows freely through open windows.

More later I think, so you don’t all get too bored…maybe I’ll be caught up to Thanksgiving by Christmas!

Happy Holidays!

<3
Andrea

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Comments

[Ali]

Questions!!!
Hey Andrea! Great blog! I am thinking of travelling around Ethiopia in March, but am not sure what it would be like as a solo woman.... Are you travelling alone?? How have you found that?? It sounds perfectly safe, but I wasn't sure whether the buses/ backpacker hotels would be there to support travelling on your own... I much prefer doing it alone than being on a tour, and I really want to see Ethiopia, so any help/ hints/ tips you can provide would be great! Happy travels! Ali