Addis and South

After Lalibela, I braved the shocking (but soon to be improved) road south to Addis Abeba. The 'New Flower', as Addis Abeba would be called in English, is certainly no rose. That said, it is quite a nice city by African standards: very safe, a pleasant climate and reasonably clean. With a population of about 3 million, it's a comfortable size as well.

One noticeable feature of Addis is the thorough mixing of rich and poor. There do not appear to be rich suburbs and poor suburbs - everything's jumbled up together. This makes for some interesting juxtapositions - the Hilton is surrounded on 3 sides by a slum, for example.

I had a parallel experience to this when I got hungry one evening and popped into an Italian restaurant for dinner. I was unshaven and dressed in some pretty rough threads. I could tell the reception was reluctant to let me in, but eventually I was given a little table to myself in between two banquet tables. On one banquet table was a large group of Europeans; on the other table a large group of very well-to-do Ethiopians. While I waited for my spaghetti with truffel sauce and a glass of red wine to arrive, I listened in to the conversations around me and realised I was in the esteemed company of the US Ambassador to Ethiopia and his entourage! So there I was, a slum surrounded on 3 sides by Addis Abeba's elite.

As a tourist, you are exposed to Ethiopia's poverty on a daily basis. Perhaps only India is on a par with Ethiopia in this regard. It is very 'in your face': nobody hesitates if they want money from you - they just come up to you and demand it. Not only children but also unemployed or even employed adults. I think even the toughest of travellers eventually get a bit worn down from being constantly treated as a walking bank. Partly because of this, I decided to move on from Addis and head south to Kenya. Looking back, I really enjoyed Ethiopia, but at the time, three weeks were enough.

On the Trail of St George

The legend of St George slaying the dragon is one of the most well-known in Christianity and is beautifully honoured by the rock hewn church of Bete Giyorgis in Lalibela, Ethiopia. Built in the early 13th century by King Gebre Mesquel Lalibela of the Zagwe Dynasty, it is hewn directly from the rock in the shape of a St George cross. Although smaller than I expected, it is perfectly formed. Inside are several paintings depicting the legend and a monk to watch over things. Although there are several other churches at the Lalibela site, all pale in comparison to Bete Georgis. It was a long and tiring voyage to get here from Gondar, but worth it.

Trekking in the Simiens

In a sudden burst of coincidences, I met 6 of my fellow passengers from the Wadi Halfa ferry in a matter of hours. On the bus from Tis Abay to Bahir Dar, I met the nameless Japanese guy - I kept my distance though, as he was suffering from a bad case of bedbugs. When we arrived at Bahir Dar bus station, the three South Africans were there. And they put me on the tail of Dominik and Marianne, who I tracked down when I arrived back in Gondar 3 hours later. These coincidences happen so often that I start to wonder whether 'coincidence' is really the right word!

Anyway, Marianne and Dominik and I decided over dinner to go trekking together in the Simien Mtns. The Simiens are a 4000m+ massif a few hours drive north of Gondar. They are famous for the spectacular views where the land suddenly drops away 1000m to 2000m into the valleys below. Sort of like Rigi on steroids, for anyone who's been to this famous Swiss lookout point. There is also wildlife to be seen: baboons and ibex are the most common.

The climax of the trek was my ascent of Mt Bwahit at 4200m. It was the highest peak I've ever climbed, and good training for my planned attempt on Pt Lenana on Mt Kenya later on in the trip. On the final day, I decided to hitch a ride with the locals on the back of a truck. I was tired of walking and it was a quick way to get back to the start of the trek. Bouncing along at breakneck speed on dodgy roads with a cliff on one side and a steep drop into the valley on the other is always a good way to remind yourself that you're really living!

Substance Abuse at the Blue Nile Falls

Arriving in Gondar was like arriving at an oasis in the desert. Sudan was great, but it had a been a somewhat desperate existence: snatching a quick and secret drink or bite to eat out of sight of other people so as not to offend anyone during Ramadan, and no chance to party or to drink a beer. Ethiopia is completely different. Beer is cheap and good, there are cafes everywhere where you can find some cake and coffee or fresh juice, and the people love their music. Reggae, specifically Bob Marley and Lucky Dube, are favourites on the stereo.

After a couple of days of rediscovering some of the little pleasures of western culture, I made my way south to the town of Bahir Dar on Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile. It's a beautiful lake, with a few islands and lots of Christian monasteries to be explored. Not far away are the Blue Nile Falls. These were once one of the most famous sights in all Africa, but the diversion of a lot of water to a nearby hydroelectric powerplant has significantly reduced their impact. Nevertheless, I was pretty impressed.



I ended up staying the night in Tis Abay, a nearby village. I got a lot of hassle from the touts but two boys were particularly friendly and they ended up being my hosts for the evening. We bought some qat, a bitter-tasting leaf which you chew and keep in your cheek. It is popular throughout the region, and as far away as Kenya and Somalia. It is supposed to give you a mild buzz, but I guess I was not doing something right as I ended up bits of leaf all through my mouth and no noticeable buzz. Hmmm. At the same I took a few shots of the local brew and also 3 cups of Ethiopian coffee. As you can imagine I was pretty wired after that and had some trouble getting to sleep!

Sometime during my evening of mild substance abuse, I mentioned I was an electronics engineer. That triggered several guys to rush off and fetch their electronic appliances that weren't working, and suddenly I had a lot of work to do. I called for a multimeter, thinking that would put an end to things but it didn't: someone conjured up a multimeter and in virtual darkness before a group of about 10 men, I was expected to fix two VCD players and a TV. Under quite a bit of pressure and with a not-so-clear head, I found the problem with the first VCD player in a matter of minutes. The static suddenly changed to pictures and music everyone broke out singing and dancing. It was a great moment. Unfortunately, the other two devices had much more serious problems and with such simple tools I couldn't do much. I felt my star fading a little, but it was still a nice feeling to have been helpful.

The Ethiopian Experiment

I'd never intended to go to Ethiopia, but because of the heavy flooding in southern Sudan and Uganda, it started to look like a good idea. With an Ethiopian visa in my pocket, there was nothing left to detain me in Khartoum. I decided to head east to Gedaref and Gallabat, on Sudan's border with Ethiopia.

My first taste of Ethiopia was the bus ride from Metema at the Sudan - Ethiopia border to the town of Gondar. It was a very enjoyable ride climbing up through fertile, hills and leaving the desert of Sudan behind me. The temperature dropped to something more comfortable and for a few minutes it even rained. I leaned out of the window to touch it and to smell it, the first rain since leaving Europe. The children were friendly, the scenery was beautiful and I felt excited to be entering a new country.

The Pyramids of Meroe

My Swiss friends Dominik and Marianne from the Wadi Halfa ferry showed up at the Blue Nile Sailing Club and so we decided to visit the Meroe Pyramids together. They are situated about 3 hours drive north-west of Khartoum on a hilltop, looking much like a row of crocodile teeth. The pyramids are in fact a royal burial ground dating from the period800BC - 280BC built by the Kushites. Meroe was the southern capital of the Kushite Kingdom. They are smaller and more numerous than the Egyptian pyramids, on which they are based.

We arrived in darkness just after sunset and walked in what we hoped was the right direction until we found a suitable place to camp on top of a sanddune. It was a perfect, warm, cloudless night and before getting into my tent, I took great pleasure in staring up at the Milky Way - looking like a big smudge across the sky. We guessed the pyramids were somewhere nearby, but it would not be until sunrise that we would find them

Sure enough, the sun rose and we spotted the pyramids about 500m away from us. We spent the next few hours playing Indiana Jones. It really felt like that, as we had the entire site to ourselves. Afterwards, we headed to the main road and flagged down a bus back to Khartoum.

Roadtonairobi Returns!

After a long absence, roadtonairobi returns! In fact I was always here, but African internet speeds got the better of me. I hope I still have some loyal readers left!