Blogs from Southern Nations Region, Ethiopia, Africa

Our third tribe visit took on quite a different approach - it was predominantly a photo stop. The Karo tribe live in a very isolated settlement overlooking the east bank of the impressive Omo River, with the 2 hour drive from our lodge at Turmi through pretty rough terrain and not passing through a single village or settlement. The main crops grown by them are sorghum, maize and beans. But their main claim to fame is their heavily painted bodies and faces, which was quite a change from the previous two tribes we visited, who had basically become westernised in their respective wardrobes. They prepare for ceremonies by painting themselves with chalk, which is mixed with yellow rock, red iron ore and charcoal to make its various colours. Face masks are worn occasionally as are clay ... read more

We had some good fortune on the flight from Zanzibar to Addis Ababa. The scheduled four hour flight landed 55 minutes early (did you hear that, Qantas?). Despite the fact that we were seated half way down the aircraft, on landing we were required to catch a bus from the tarmac to Immigration and we just managed to be the last couple to squeeze onto the first bus. Now last on means first out, so we headed the queue at Immigration and given we had already obtained e-Visas, we went through pretty quickly. And lo and behold, guess whose bags were first off the conveyor belt? Add to that that the taxi office jumped us to the head of the taxi queue and we were in fact delivered to our pre-booked airport accommodation long before our ... read more

Stigao sam u Megu. Grad se nalazio u sjeni dva brda i sastojao se od praktički 2 ceste i par uličica. Još uvijek sam se nećkao dal želim ostati ovdje pa sam se krenuo raspitivati ako mogu odmah dalje za Moyale, ali nitko nije bio siguran. Jedan „Big Taxi mi je rekao da sjednem na suvozačko mjesto, pa kad se skupe ljudi će možda krenuti za Moyale. Ostavio sam manji ruksak (s bitnijim stvarima) neoprezno na suvozačkom mjestu i stao pored taxija zapaliti cigaretu. Oko mene se skupila grupica mladića koji su znali ponešto engleskog pa smo se bacili u razgovor i sjeli na obližnji zidić. No u jednom trenutku pogledam i vidim kako moj taxi odlazi prazan. Trčim za njim, ali već nestaje s mojim ruksakom. Trčim nazad do dečkiju koji kažu da poznaju vozača ... read more

Resumo: 7 dias de viagem, muitas imagens, muitos sentimentos, exaustão, estou bem. Um dia peguei um ônibus de uma cidade para outra aqui na Etiópia (Ziway a Sheshemene) e percebi que existia durante quilômetros diversos vilarejos. Pensei como seria bacana apenas andar por horas e horas e dizer “Salam!” (Olá!). Neste instante surgiu a ideia de fazer isso por alguns dias. Gostaria de compartilhar isso com alguém. Lembrei da frase “Happines only real when shared”. Neste outro instante pensei então em doar o presente de aniversário que ganhei de alguns amigos do Brasil ($). Eles disseram para eu gastar em algo legal para mim. Isso seria algo legal! Decidi realizar esta viagem na semana do dia 25/Junho. Neste dia eu comemoraria 1 ano de viagem. Parti com o intuito de comprar coisas de pessoas/comunidades simples e ... read more

The minibus from Awassa to Dilla took about 2 hours, but seemed a lot longer with it seeming to stop every 10 minutes loading people on and off. The conductor didn't seem to have a clue what he was doing and tried to charge me double, saying I had to pay for my bag. This had been tried on me before and after calling him a thief enough times he gave me the correct change back. Matt met me off the minibus in Dilla, where he is working for the Peace Corps. Dilla is a town of about 80,000 people and he is about the only faranji living there. He was certainly something of a local celebrity as everywhere we walked there were people shouting his name. It was Ethiopian Easter today, which, I am told, ... read more