Ethiopia in sight!

Ethiopia

We got through Ethiopian immigration okay. They have state-of-the-art Dell computers but still write all the details in a book. They actually asked us for our Vaccination cards, that's a first. Customs was another story with Mr. Officious-and-rude on duty. He took ages to get to us, filled out a new customs form for us and then wanted to inspect the vehicle, another first. With that behind us we went to Birruk's house to exchange cash. We had decided not to take a guide into the Omo Valley with us as we were only planning to visit some of the towns in the valley and not venture into either of the national parks, so Birruk was quite disappointed. We also thought we'd rather use that money to upgrade our accommodation in Addis if possible.   

By now the day was drawing in (about 4pm) and we'd decided to push onto Yabello, another 220 kms. One thing in our favour was the fact that it was a tarred road, albeit a pretty narrow one.  We rolled through the countryside on the right hand side of the road feeling a lot younger. The Ethiopian calendar is a bit different to ours and they are in December 2000.  That means that Rebecca is yet to be born, Kaz and I are nearly 8 years younger!

 

It was already dark when we rolled into the Yabello Motel for the night. We were shown to the campsite, well, the grotty bare patch of yard already occupied by a donkey and a couple of cows. We then ate in their restaurant. Kaz and Rebecca had pasta (spaghetti bollonize and spaghetti nappollonize)and I had my first taste of classic Ethiopian fare. It was injera and all sorts of different sauces, marked on the menu as "local verities dish". Injera is a large grey pancake, quite rubbery and rather tasteless. It serves as a plate for the sauces and also a spoon as you break a piece off and then scoop up the sauce and pop it all in your mouth. I don't really see it making the big time.

 Tooth fairy hits Ethiopia

The next day (30 August) Rebecca lost her second tooth and, yep, she swallowed it again!!! This time we suspect on a piece of French toast. Luckily we moved straight into a well practised drill. Write letter, carry it around the car a couple of times, pop it under the pillow and hope for the best. The next morning the letter was gone and a 5Birr note was found in its place. A miracle!! 

 How green is my Omo Valley
Before heading off for the Omo Valley, we wanted to have a drive through the Wildlife Sanctuary to see if we could spot 2 endemic bird species that occur in this area. Never mind spotting the birds, we couldn't even find the sanctuary! We were spotted though, by some customs officials who pulled us off the road to check our customs declaration form. We called it quits and headed off for the Omo Valley. Most of the roads are being worked on and are tarred in parts or being prepared for tarring which means loads of diversions; as if the roads aren't windy enough!

We planned to head for Turmi for their market day on Monday. Unfortunately Tracks4Africa had a Turmi and a Tumi, We headed for Turmi and ended up in the wrong spot. Turns out Tumi on Tracks should be Turmi and Turmi should be "only they know". It was too late in the day to get to the real Turmi so we headed for Key Afar, the closest village. We are very glad we did as our experience there turned our preconceived views of the locals on its head. There was no "you!, you!, you!" we were told to expect. Instead it was; "do you need a campsite? I'll show you where". When we found the spot they directed us to, it was to be our first night of wild camping and in Ethiopia of all places. We were in a clearing between some mango trees just off the Jinka road. We got our camp set up with about 12 or so very interested onlookers. Kaz couldn't help as she had 2 little kids holding her hands the whole time. We started the Jiko to cook some pasta and one of our ringleaders ran home to bring us more charcoal, another went to bring some burning coals and then one of the girls took up a position fanning the fire. Not once did any  begging hand come out so our preconceptions went crashing out the window and we then realized that we were directed to Key Afar for a special reason. No doubt we'll get to see the other side too but this was a nice intro to the country. The next morning we headed off to the Real Turmi and found a great camping spot at Kaske Campsite on the banks of the dry Kaske riverbed just outside the town. We visited the market and had lunch in town before retreating to our campsite.

The Omo valley is really beautiful and the people are very different. We didn't venture too far into the valley as we were guideless but our time there was really special. The Hamer and Banna people were predominantly the tribes we saw as they live around the Turmi and Key Afar region. After 2 nights at Kaske where we also met an American doctor, Rose, travelling alone and an Italian couple, we headed out of the valley to Arba Minch. Rose has had a tough time travelling alone as she was always mobbed by the villagers and then charged spurious entrance fees which we didn't really experience at all.

Sitting out around our fire that evening with Rose after our macaroni & tomato sauce/baked beans on toast meal, we suddenly heard water running! We got the maglite, looked out and the Kaske River had started running! We couldn't believe it. The catchment area must have been up north because the Omo Valley was pretty hot and dry.  It was still running in the morning but not so much that Tom Cruiser couldn't deal with on our way out.

Omo to Arba to Awasa

Leaving the beautiful and remote valley, we received a text message letting us know that Kaz's aunt in Manchester, Pauline, had died. Devastating news. It is at times like these that we feel so helpless and isolated from everyone. We wished we could have been closer and able to play a more immediate supporting role. We sat at dinner that night overlooking the lakes and drank a toast to Pauline and sent love to all the family through the ether. After a long days drive to Arba Minch, we camped at the Bekele Molla Hotel overlooking 2 lakes Chamo and Abaya, still part of the Rift Valley. We ate in the hotel and had an early night. Nothing really to keep us in Arba Minch so after breakfast again at the hotel (splashing out here!) we set off for Awasa. This was a monster drive of about 280 kms and on these roads quite a challenge for Tom and his crew. Most of the early driving gave us some good views of Lake Abaya, it is massive and a reddy-brown colour which looks quite strange. It I caused by a high concentration of ferrous something-or-other. OK enough of the technical details. In Awasa, also on a lake, yep Lake Awasa, we wanted to stay at the Adenium campsite but unfortunately it has closed as the German proprietress and her Ethiopian husband have gone back to Germany. No other camping options presented themselves so we have taken a room at the Hotel Pinna. It seems to be a favourite with the tour operators and while not "The Grace" it will do for the night.  

 Ethiopia so far

Some things that stand out for us after being in the country for a couple of days. These are:
Roads are not for cars…don't be silly, they are for cattle, goats and people. Even the ones being constructed in the Omo Valley are well used even before they are finished.
Ethiopian coffee is fantastic and soooo cheap. A coffee or really the equivalent of our espresso costs about R1.50.
Food is cheap. Bowl of spaghetti bolognaise is about R18 and really good.
Italian rolls and nice bread has made an entrance. Probably the best rolls since we left Mocambique.
Kids do a stupid dance on the side of the road and then expect to be paid?? Who stops to give these kids money or stuff for this? Someone must otherwise they wouldn't do it…would they??

Well, that's it until hopefully another update when we get to Addis.