Blogs from Ethiopia, Africa - page 5

Probably every traveler who has been outside their own country more than once has discovered that counting the countries they have visited is another way we humans have found to rank ourselves amongst our peers. Travel is not really a competitive sport but people will always have a necessity to compare themselves to others, no matter what the endeavor. Eventually, most travelers will come across websites with a list of recognized countries and what they have determined actually constitutes an official visit to a country. Like rules to any game we have created, we must set requirements to actually keep score. Some sites suggest that you must spend at least one night or must spend money or must at least leave the airport, cruise ship terminal or transit facility to get credit. Some sites make an ... read more

Erta Ale was to be the highlight. I’d previously been to one of the other seven “permanent” lava lakes – Volcan Masaya in Nicaragua – but didn’t see any lava due to excessive smoke, steam and gases. The documentaries I’d seen of Erta Ale made me think this one was more guaranteed as you can get up close and watch the miniaturised and sped up plate tectonics on the surface of the bubbling magma. Well that was the case until Erta Ale erupted in January 2017 and since then the lava level and activity has declined. Again, I didn’t see a thing due to excessive smoke, steam and gases. They saw it last week. I’ve started to take this personally. Two of the remaining lava lakes that haven’t refused me yet are on Vanuatu. Perhaps these ... read more

The rock hewn churches of Lalibela are considered to be Ethiopia’s number one tourist attraction. They are also on a suitable circuit for us to travel in the relatively short time we have here. Most tourists choose to fly to Lalibela from Addis Ababa as by bus it takes a day and a half. We decide, of course, to go by bus. Lalibela is not much of a town, but for some that’s part of the appeal. The churches are tourist sights but they are also places of active local worship and it you are here at the right time you witness some extraordinary gatherings. Though these are Christian churches, it’s also Orthodox Christianity and is a very different style of worship to what we in the western world are used to. On one of the ... read more

The flight from Dubai on Ethiopian was surprisingly comfortable plenty of legroom reasonable food and beverages and good entertainment if only my fellow travellers weren't so over the top it would have been pleasant. I find the Africans I meet extremely friendly almost overly friendly which leads to suspicions that may be totally unwarranted, but I am more cautious than I would like to be. Getting through immigration was easy and Nur and I were soon heading for our hotel transfer vehicle and our hotel located in the Bole area of town. After check in we walked to the Black Rose to meet his mate who works as a correspondent for Reuters. The bar was quite nicely set up and the booze is cheap, we then moved further down the road to the Piano bar which ... read more

Most of us are so fortunate, either already retired (like us), or working in a good job. But have you ever stopped to think about people in poor countries? Take a look at these: The average income in the world is about $10,300 per year, per person. But can you believe there are many countries where the per capita income is less? Let's see if I have visited any of them (two only). Tanzania has a per capita income of only $900. But it does have domestic and political stability. My visit there was primarily focused on two safaris, one in the Ngorongoro Crater, and the other on the Serengeti. At Ngoro, we stayed in a better than average safari resort, and on the Serengeti, in luxury tent cabins. Though gold is their top export, they ... read more