My Ethiopian Adventure: The Great Rift Valley and Awash National Park

December 14, 2014December 14, 2014 / Juliana Lightle / Leave a comment

My friend’s parents live in Nazret or Adama, depending on which Ethiopian language you speak. Nazret is the Amharic name and Adama is Oromo. After relaxing a couple of days there, we headed toward Awash National Park for a day trip. What a contrast to the previous part of our journey. Intense green and cold totally gone. What we saw here probably fits more with what most Americans picture when they hear the word Ethiopia.

On the way out of town into the country, we passed fields of various crops including this sugar cane field.

We also saw fields cultivated for sowing teff. Since I had seen teff fields previously in the green, high mountain country, I came to the conclusion that teff successfully grows in a wide variety of climates and altitudes.

This is volcano country. Although most are extinct and have not erupted in hundreds to thousands of years, at least one in sight of the highway has erupted within recent history.

Throughout the trip we saw small villages of traditional round houses with thatched roofs, most with rock walls around them. These walls provide protection from predators such as hyenas. And then suddenly we were there, a place I so wanted to see, the Great Rift Valley, the place where the oldest totally intact hominid skeleton was found, Lucy.

The Great Rift Valley goes for thousands of miles from farther south in Kenya up through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. I was very surprised to discover they grow grapes here in Ethiopia and produce wine. We decided to try it; the merlot was good. A series of unique lakes lay in the valley. I would like to go back and visit all of them. Some are filled with so many chemicals, you cannot drink the water and no fish live there. An example is Metehara Lake. The fish are delicious, but the water cannot be safely drunk. The most amazing thing about this lake is that it grows approximately four inches annually. In the last few years, the road had to be relocated because of it.

First glimpse of the lake. Then we had a flat tire which delayed the trip a few hours because not only did Dino and his dad have to change the tire, but we had to stop in the town of Metehara to buy a new spare which entailed bargaining and more bargaining. Dino’s mom hiked down the road to get rocks to keep the vehicle from rolling. If I had realized what she was doing, I would have done it myself. She is in her 70s.

A little adventure occurred here. First, while they were working on the tire, a man came along and offered to help. His truck (this is a major highway between Adama and Djibouti) had broken down nearby. Then an Afar teenager came along and looked around, saying nothing. I realized he had a dagger in the back of his clothes when he walked off. Finally, an Afar man, maybe in his late 40s or 50s came along. The Afar are a nomadic people who have lived in East Africa for thousands of years. The men are noted for their ferocity. Their lifestyle has changed little; instead of spears, they now carry assault rifles slung across a shoulder. They herd cattle, goats, and camels. He walked around the vehicle and came up to me. Neither of us knowing the others’ language, the tiny conversation consisted of gestures. Dino suddenly told me to get in the car. At first I ignored him. A couple of minutes passed; he loudly repeated the order. I got in the car, wondering why. When I asked, he told me one never knows what the Afar are going to do and pointed out just how close the man had stood. I never noticed; I have no personal space.

Tire changed, we drove toward the town close to the lake.

Crossing thèse lava beds would be difficult. As we dropped lower, we drove on the new road by the lake. You can see the old road crossing the middle of the photo below. It is nearly covered with water.

We missed the entrance to the park, realized we had gone too far, turned around, and headed back. The entrance to the lodge is more like what most people think of when they think of Africa.

This was one of my favorite places: it was warm, almost hot. I saw lesser kudus several times, but they seemed so ordinary to the others that no one stopped so I could take a photo. The lodge was delightful and the shiro some of the best I had. Loved it. I even asked for the recipe. The resident ostriches, however, looked rather pathetic.

Here the Awash River is full of crocodiles. Our first glimpse was through binoculars from the lodge restaurant.

Dino’s mom posed with me while we waited for lunch. Then we hiked down to the river and the falls where we saw even more crocodiles.

The falls are so large that I could take a photo of only a portion of them at the top where the hike down begins.

The green between the two sections of the falls was totally covered with water a few weeks later when Dino’s brother travelled there with his family.

I loved walking along the river banks, careful, however, because of the crocodiles. They may look slow, but they can really move rapidly when they choose to do so.

Crocodiles like basking in the sun.

Along the highway, camels graze, boys herd large flocks of goats, and a totally different species of acacia appear.

If you look at the background of the photo below, you can see long lines of corrals–for camels to export to Yemen and other areas where camels are eaten. If you live in Amarillo, Texas, and order in advance, you can eat camel at the Somali restaurant on Amarillo Boulevard.

Unlike most of Ethiopia where we had previously travelled, here we saw fences especially around villages. They bring the livestock in for protection from not only hyenas but also lions. Yes, lions live here. I asked if they ever see them. I was told, “No, but you sometimes hear them roar at night.” They also told me that the lions like to go down to the sugar cane factory, but no one knows why.

When I want an Ethiopia “fix”, I listen a audio/video of Awash Falls.

Talapia with Beets, Red Peppers, Swiss Chard and Bebere

November 18, 2014November 18, 2014 / Juliana Lightle / Leave a comment

This recipe makes good sized portions for two people.

2 talapia filets

1/2 red onion, coarsely chopped

1 red bell pepper chopped into bite sized pieces

1 medium sized beet, thinly sliced

2 handfuls Swiss chard–if large pieces, take a knife and separate the middle spine from the leaf part

Chop the spines and add to the onion

Olive oil

Cover the bottom of a large skillet with olive oil. Add the onions, chopped Swiss chard spines, and beets–I cut the beet slices in half. Saute until the onions are somewhat caramelized and the beets almost tender. Add the peppers and 1-2 tablespoons bebere or to taste. When the peppers are half done, add the filets. Sprinkle extra bebere over the filets. When they are almost tender, add the Swiss chard and sauté until the Swiss chard wilts. Serve over rice.

Note: I grow my own Swiss chard in a large pot in the house. This enables be to have my own supply. However, the leaves are tiny compared to the large leaves in the market, making it unnecessary to cut the green leafy part away from the center spine. Bebere is an Ethiopian spice which is slightly hot; it has a wonderful, unique flavor. You can use whatever spices you prefer.

My Ethiopian Adventure: On the Road from Debre Markos to Addis, Crossing the Nile Gorge

November 16, 2014November 16, 2014 / Juliana Lightle / 3 Comments

Once again, we drove through rain and clouds and endless fields, some of which had been cultivated ready to plant and some all green and growing.

I realize this is not what most people in the United States think when they hear the word Ethiopia. I kept thinking of photos I had seen of Ireland.

The ancient grain, teff, produces extremely tiny seeds which are ground to flour to make injera, an Ethiopia staple. It is used much like people in India use chapatis or like people in Mexico use tortillas. However, it looks nothing like either of these. It is thicker and a bit spongy like crepes but huge–more than a foot in diameter. The man in the photo below is sowing teff.

Teff fields stretch almost as far as the eye can see.

Villages are frequently set along side the good highways.

Major highways are excellent. The only really bad road we traversed was in Simien Mountains National Park where they keep the road that way on purpose. Well, that and the streets in Addis.

As we came closer to the Nile Gorge, it became more mountainous again.

First sight of the Nile Gorge.

All major bridges seem to have a resident guard. Unlike the guard at the bridge in Bahir Dar, this guy told us we could walk around and take photos.

If there is a guard, he has to have a guard house.

And a house.

Even though by this time I had not only floated down the Nile but also crossed it in a boat a couple of times, I remained entranced. We walked across the old bridge built in 1948. Actual traffic now crosses the new bridge built by the Japanese.

Personally, I did not see anything wrong with this old bridge and wondered why they thought they needed a new one.

A couple of signs written in several of the languages spoken in Ethiopia commemorate the old bridge.

As we climbed out of the gorge, we saw common baboons begging. They are neither as pretty nor as friendly as gelada baboons.

I could not resist taking a variety of photos looking back down into the Nile Gorge.

Dino could not resist stopping for one long, last look at the Nile.

When we asked the name of this waterfall, we were told that it was just an ordinary waterfall and had no name.

The final switchback before we became immersed in the clouds.

My Ethiopian Adventure–Gelada Baboons

November 3, 2014 / Juliana Lightle / Leave a comment

The last of the grass eating primates–all others are now extinct–gelada baboons are found only in Ethiopia above 1800 meters. The first I saw ran up and down the cliffs at Menelik’s Window. Because the people in this area use large tufts of grass to make house roofs, boys patrol the area, attempting to keep the baboons from eating this particular type of grass. Perhaps because of their experience being chased persistently by humans, these baboons were hard to photograph up close because they ran off. The boys who guard the grass pass time by making hats and other items out of the grass the baboons want. If you look closely at the following photo, you can see a couple of baboons running up the slope. Although you can see gelada baboons in several places in the high mountains of central Ethiopia, their major sanctuary is Simien Mountains National Park. Here they are protected from hunting. Unlike those at Menelik’s Window, these did not run off especially if one walked along quietly or stopped to watch. Unlike other species of baboons, these are not aggressive. The males may appear to be boss because of their big manes, red-hearted chests, and size, but such is not the case. In the world of gelada baboons, females rule. Females even choose the one male that shares up to six or so females. The male may try to fight off contenders, but in the end the females choose. Because I found many of the 2000 feet cliff drop-offs a bit daunting, on the hike I chose to go higher with the guide. A fortuitous choice for sure. We found ourselves surrounded by a huge troop of peacefully grazing baboons complete with babies playing in the trees. Gelada baboons spend their days sitting on their fat humanlike buttocks eating grass. Except for humans they are the most terrestrial of all the primates. They climb down the steep cliffs at night to sleep in tight groups. This helps them escape predators, e.g. leopards and hyenas. Probably their safest habitat is Simien Mountains National Park because to enter the park every visitor has to sign in. Everywhere you go, an assigned guard with an assault rifle accompanies you. Because of the rainy weather, he slung his assault rifle over one shoulder and held his umbrella in the opposite hand. We did not see any more gelada baboons until several days later on the last day of our road trip when we stopped to visit a sort of inn/hotel owned by a German woman. Experts estimate only one to two hundred thousand remain. Habitat loss and hunting males for their manes threaten their survival. They are listed as a threatened species.

My Ethiopian Adventure: On the Road from Bahir Dar to Debre Markos

October 18, 2014October 20, 2014 / Juliana Lightle / 2 Comments

After coffee and a walk around the grounds at Kuriftu Resort and Spa on Lake Tana–see last photos of previous post, we headed south. This was not the kind of trip where I could stop whenever I wanted to take photos so many of the photos you see on these Ethiopian posts were taken from a moving car. A typical house along the roadside. Eucalyptus may be invasive; nevertheless, its uses here seem endless–the house, the fence. A new housing development along the road all framed in eucalyptus. In fact, nearly everything is made from eucalyptus except the metal roofs and the final coats of mud on the outside. I wondered about the advisability of the modern use of metal. Since no one heats or air conditions, metal can be both hot and cold whereas the traditional roofs act as insulation. Of course, they take a lot more work for upkeep. The land immediately south of Bahir Dar is flat. Farmers grow eucalyptus commercially. They use irrigation canals and grow onions and tomatoes as well as other vegetables. If you want to drive in Ethiopia, you must learn to dodge people and animals because the highways remain the primary transportation routes for everything, not just modern vehicles. Although the houses may be mostly mud plastered with dirt floors, nearly everyone has electricity. So many rivers nearly overflowing during the rainy season, it is hard to keep track of which one is which. Even the official map does not contain all the rivers we crossed. This one is often referred to as the Little Nile (Lesser Abay). Some even claim it is the real beginning of the Nile (Abay) because this river feeds into Lake Tana from which the Blue Nile flows. However, the Lesser Abay is not the only water input into Lake Tana. Few overweight people can be found in Ethiopia. Why? They walk; they carry heavy loads. Bridge over the Little Nile. For most of the day we drove through heavy rain. This huge rock suddenly appeared, sticking up among the grass and fields. Except for water everywhere, it reminded me of things one sees in the western United States. When I tell people that I have never seen so much green and rain or experienced so much cold in a three week period in my life, they seem amazed this occurred in Ethiopia. We stopped at this lovely lake, not only because it is beautiful but also because Colobus monkeys live here. I tried to photograph them and gave up; they fly through the trees with incredible rapidity. Lake Zegena between Injibarra and Bure at 2529 meters altitude. Here it even rains during the dry season. The incredible number of plants and mosses growing on the trees made me think of Costa Rica where as many as 150 different species of plants can grow on one tree. Dino and Alemu appeared very excited to see this for sale. Yes, it is edible–tiringo. They cut up slices and ate them with big smiles on their faces. I tried it; too sour for me. The flesh is somewhat like an apple but tastes more like lemons. However, I am not a fan of citrus fruit–these are a type of citrus–so was not surprised to find I could do without this one. In this area charcoal is made and sold commercially everywhere along the road. We stopped to buy a bag of limes from these girls. Most of the day we drove through lush agricultural country. We arrived in Debre Markos in the perpetual rain. Although the hotel where we stayed was only two months old, not everything functioned. I had to change rooms and even then, the bathroom door would not shut and a tile was missing just above the door. By this time, I had come to the conclusion that the really old things in Ethiopia, not unlike elsewhere in the world, were better made than new construction. The 1000 year old churches in Lalibela still function perfectly. This hotel definitely will not last 1000 years. Like everywhere in Ethiopia, no heat existed anywhere in the hotel. Aesthetically, the hotel received a very good score. Beautiful linens, lovely decor (everything had been painted by Dino’s sister’s company with the exquisite paint she imports from Italy), a well stocked bar. I hung out in the bar a while with Dino drinking sambuca romana trying to get warm. It failed to work. Sleep seemed impossible–too cold. Finally, after lying in bed cold for over an hour, I arose, put on two pairs of socks and tried again. Finally warm enough to sleep. The view out my hotel room in Debre Markos demonstrates a typical Ethiopian city view–the contrast between the new and luxurious and the elemental.

My Ethiopian Adventure: the Monasteries of Lake Tana

October 9, 2014October 9, 2014 / Juliana Lightle / Leave a comment

Of the 37 islands on Lake Tana, 20 shelter churches and monasteries, very old monasteries, many of which remain in use today. While some are closed totally to women, we visited Ura Kidane Mihret with no problem. It is part of a larger complex, the Convent of Mercy founded in the 14th century. Various buildings date from that era to more recent times. To reach the monastery you have to climb in a boat and ride across Lake Tana to the Zege Penisula. We boarded our small boat at the far end of this garden at the hotel–there were four of us and the helmsman–and headed across the lake. On the way we passed a number of fishermen paddling their papyrus boats. We also sailed past a couple of islands like this one where one monk lives alone. On another island lives a priest. Women are not allowed except on one, just at the edge near the dock. We did not go there. Once you arrive at the dock you hike up a hill past various vendors selling everything from religious paintings to hand woven scarves. This young man used all natural materials to paint small replicas of the paintings found in the monastery itself. In retrospect I wish I had purchased at least one; I never saw anything quite like them again. Like most religious buildings in Ethiopia, all the buildings in this complex are round. The only place in Ethiopia where I saw rectangular churches was in Lalibela. Every piece of space on the interior walls is painted with religious scenes from the Bible and Ethiopian religious history. The current paintings date from 100-250 years ago when, as the paint began to deteriorate, they used a special process to repaint them. This particular monastery is noted for these incredible paintings. The tops of all the buildings are adorned with different symbols for peace. Sometimes they also represent the disciples of Jesus as well or other religious symbolism. A new visitor center remains under construction; it seemed nearly complete. The visitor center is the rock building on the left, the monastery the building in the rear. On the path back to the boat dock vendors sell scarves and jewelry. I bought several scarves, one of which was totally different from any I saw anywhere else. If I had only known just how unique it would be, I would have bought the other one–she had only two. These scarves are hand loomed and in some cases the yarn is also hand spun. Finally, back near the dock we stopped for coffee, indulging ourselves in the totally Ethiopian experience of their coffee ceremony. You have not truly sipped coffee until you participate in one of these. There is nothing anywhere quite like it.

My Ethiopian Adventure: Lake Tana, Where the Nile Begins–Part Two

September 29, 2014September 29, 2014 / Juliana Lightle / 4 Comments

As the sun set and the moon rose, Lake Tana glittered.

The hotel, known for its gardens, provided lighted pathways for evening walking. The next morning as we sat on the patio for breakfast, company arrived.

We crumbled toast to see what would occur. These weavers loved the treat. A hotel employee, viewing them as pests, ran out and drove them into a nearby tree.

Fisherman still use the same papyrus boats used during the time of the pharaohs. The pelicans at Lake Tana display snow white plumage.

These fisherman customarily row two hours out into the lake to fish and when finished, two hours back. Yes, I said row, no motors. Talapia is the primary catch. After boarding at the hotel dock, we made our way across a tiny portion of the lake in a relatively small boat powered with a motor.

Lake Tana is huge. The ferry that crosses from Bahir Dar to Gorgora takes ten hours. When we boarded the motor boat, it never occurred to me that we would actually go to the place where the Blue Nile begins, but suddenly here we were. Just thinking about it as I write this makes me shiver. I am here again, where the river of all rivers, the Nile, actually begins.

And suddenly we are on the Nile, no longer in Lake Tana.

The light colored objects along the river bank are papyrus boats.

The tall plants in the background are papyrus. In Addis I saw them used as ornamental plants in the gardens of the Sheraton. Here they grow wild along the Nile exactly as they have for millennia.

Just past this point, we rounded a slight bend in the coastline. A naked man bathing in the water quickly scrambled up the bank and pulled on a pair of pants.

We zoomed here and there so rapidly that at times I remained uncertain as to whether I was in Lake Tana or the Nile. No matter, it was warm, the company was stellar, my body smiled. What could possibly be better than this!!!

My Ethiopian Adventure: Lake Tana, Where the Nile Begins–Part One

September 22, 2014September 22, 2014 / Juliana Lightle / 5 Comments

From Gonder to get to Lake Tana, you must retrace your route to go to Bahir Dar, the largest city on the lake. The road around the west side of the lake is not a major highway so we traveled back past the Finger of God, past my favorite castle, through the valley with miles of rice, through Addis Zemen. Altitude declines the closer you drive to Bahir Dar. Although Simien Mountain National Park remains one of the most scenic places I have ever visited and Gonder is a city filled with unique history and beauty, I felt happier and happier as it became warmer, more tropical. In keeping with the previous week, the emerald landscape continued.

Here cattle grazed in the seemingly endless pastures. As usual, livestock walked along the road. The species of livestock varied with altitude and locale.

When you drive through towns and even larger cities, expect to dodge people and animals. Even in Addis, we saw goats.

These intensely yellow flowers in the foreground grew everywhere. No one seemed to know their name.

Dino wanted to buy the hat so we stopped to talk to this boy herding his animals along the roadside. He told Dino he spent two days making it. The hat along with baskets and other items bought on the trip took one and one half months to arrive in the US after being shipped from Ethiopia.

In this area, these same yellow flowers appeared everywhere and in some places so close together as to make a fence. Upon detailed inspection, I concluded they are some type of thistle. Later, we learned they are poisonous to the touch and cause massive swelling. And to think I seriously concerned touching them. Finally, we arrived at Bahir Dar and drove onto this street.

We reached a promontory overlooking the Nile. The Nile!!! All my life I have heard of the Nile.

Here below me, flowing out of Lake Tana, the source of civilizations thousands of years old, the Nile begins its long journey to the Mediterranean Sea. We drove further down a dirt road to this overlook.

Unlike the previous point, no one was here except two youngsters and us. We watched cattle graze along the Nile, a couple walk on a pathway along the river, and a hippo cross from the near bank to the larger island, but too far away to capture with my iPAD. Even now I can feel the emotion, an overwhelming, indescribable sense of amazement–the Nile, river of rivers, laying there below me.

I stood spell bound for a long time, watching, feeling, thinking: I cannot believe this, I am looking at the Nile. Later, on the way to the hotel, we crossed a bridge over the river where hippos lounged. We stopped, hoping to take photos, but the river guard said no. We could look but no photos–he explained it is a strategic bridge. We checked into our hotel on the shores of Lake Tana.

Still, now, writing this, I feel the magic, the mystery.

My Ethiopian Adventure: The Fasilades Bath Palace and the Church of Debre Birhan Selassie

September 7, 2014September 7, 2014 / Juliana Lightle / 2 Comments

Gonder’s treasures take time to explore because there are so many of them. Although the Fasilades Bath Palace remains empty of water most of the year, a huge crowd appears during the annual Timket (Epiphany) baptism celebrations when it is filled with water from the Gaha River. The area around the church fills completely with water and people. I saw photos with thousands of people in the water. Since we were there in July, the area around the church remained dry except for puddles left by recent rains.

Obviously, given the manner in which it was built, the priest stands on the balcony when the bottom is full of water and people. On the wall around, huge fig trees grow.

Zuriash and I could not resist a photo with these incredible trees.

The area around the Bath Palace creates a bit of green paradise with grasses, trees, and wildlife thriving in profusion.

One rarely sees a horse so revered that his owner creates a special tomb just for him. However, King Fasiledes owned just such a horse. The building in the photo below illustrates how much King Fasiledes loved his favorite horse, Zobal, who saved him in battle. This Tomb of Zobal awaits restoration.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church thrives in this area of Ethiopia. Young men continue to desire to learn and become priests as illustrated in the photo below showing a large group of young men training for the priesthood.

The grandson of King Fasiledes, Eyasu I, built this church. The name means Trinity Mountain of Light. Famous for its ceiling, it is the only church in Gonder remaining after the siege of Gonder in 1888, when the Mahdist Dervishes from Sudan invaded the city. They burned down all the other churches. Legend claims a swarm of bees descended on the church compound and the Archangel Michael stood at the gates with a flaming sword to protect the church. Notice the spelling in the sign differs from the spelling I have used for Gonder. Since Amharic is a totally phonetic language, it cannot be translated directly into English. Therefore, spelling sometimes differs. I use the spelling from the official map printed for Ethiopian tourists.

The compound around the church is large, green, lush.

The concept/symbolism of the Lion of Judah shows up everywhere. Here on top of the arch is the tail of the lion. Its head is toward the front of the church. We saw so much so quickly that sometimes by the time I grasped what I needed to photograph, we had passed it. Other times we saw things totally unexpected, like the buzzards in the tree below.

The church decorations barely moved in the little wind. The guide informed us, a special celebration would soon occur.

Like many Ethiopian churches, this one is somewhat circular with a hall around the entire church between the outside and inside walls. The paintings inside left me totally awestruck.

The ceiling for which this church remains especially famous is detailed, colorful. Every picture tells a specific story from the Bible or Ethiopian Christian history.

As in the other churches we visited, ornate draperies cover the areas where the sacraments are kept where only to priests may enter.

When you walk through the church gates, you face this scene: one giant tree. Yes, just one tree.

When lunch time arrived, our guide on the left in the photo, took us to the Four Sisters Restaurant. The ceiling here duplicated the ceiling in the church. The food as well as the decor was fabulous. The guide and Alemu ordered a plate with a little of everything on it. By this time on the trip I had acquired a taste for a favorite food, shiro. The rolled up tortilla like food on the plate is injera, usually made from the grain teff.

The guide decided I needed an Ethiopian name so he gave me one as illustrated above with Amharic on the top and my name phonetically written in English on the bottom. It means Good Gold.

Zuriash decided she had to have one of these big baskets even if they were not for sale. We stood around while Dino bargained. The hotel where we stayed had a wonderful view over the city and, as I previously noted, a great shower. The two nights we stayed there (not in succession) a nicely wrapped tooth brush and tooth paste lay beside the sink. I brought the tooth brushes home with me rather than using them there. What a mistake! The best tooth brush ever, no kidding. My teeth were never so clean as they are now and to get more, I guess I will have to go back to Gonder.

My Ethiopian Adventure–The Roof of Africa, Part One

August 23, 2014August 23, 2014 / Juliana Lightle / 1 Comment

Initially, we had planned to go no farther north than the city of Gondar. However, in the pretrip planning, I came across photos of Simien Mountain National Park and knew I had to go there. I told my friend Dino to take a look; we went.

The road from Gondar to Debark, the city where one gets the pass, the guide, and the guard to go into the park is typical of the Ethiopian highland country, high, wet, and green.

We kept saying things like “Are you sure we aren’t in Ireland?” Nothing seemed to fit the stereotype everyone in the US seems to have of Ethiopia.

Acacia trees like these out the front window must surely be among the most picturesque trees on the planet.

Fences are relatively rare in Ethiopia. Usually, animals are herded by boys and girls rather then enclosed by fences. To get into Simien Mountain National Park, you must stop, sign in with your name, age, address, and passport in Debark. After you do this, your party is assigned an official guide and a guard. Yes, a guard. These two men stay with you everywhere you go except your room and when you eat in the dining room at the only lodging inside the park.

My room at Simien Park Lodge with traditional Ethiopia textiles for curtains and bedspreads. This lodge resides at 3260 meters (nearly 11,000 feet) above sea level. There is no heat in the rooms. To keep warm, each guest receives a hot water bottle to put in bed to keep warm. I piled on two blankets and crawled in, but before doing so…

I tried a new drink, Romana Sambuca, here in the highest bar in Africa. We were told that normally, when the British owner is here, the locals, the guides, guards, drivers, etc. are not allowed either in here or the dining room. We were glad he was not there so everyone could hang out around the fire together. Even with this, Alemu could not eat with us in the dining room. Such rules made us quite unhappy. This sort of elitism seemed totally inappropriate and insulting, especially since this is their country.

Knowing all I would have to keep me warm at night would be the hot water bottle and blankets, I felt reluctant to leave this fire in the bar.

After checking in, we headed out for an afternoon hike.

The hiking was relatively easy, not too up and down, but in places very wet and slippery.

Our guard carried an umbrella (we all did and had the opportunity to use them) and a Kalashnikov and never let us out of his sight. He spoke no English so only Dino could actually chat with him. He seemed very nice and helpful. Yes, it was cold. I wore four layers.

Finding familiar plants in a different form fascinated me. This plant, a type of thistle, bristles with thorns both on top and on the underside of its leaves. Herbs grow everywhere.

And then the cliffs and vistas overwhelm. I have been all over the Rockies in the US and some of Canada, have driven through some mountains in Kashmir, and flown in and out of Nepal with a view of the highest mountains in the world. Nowhere have I seen mountains like these: endless cliffs falling thousands of feet, endless vistas, and endless emerald green.

Frequently we walked or drove above various bits of clouds. Sometimes the fog became so thick we could barely see where we were going. I am moderately brave regarding heights but it was wet and slippery. Sometimes while the guard and my friends climbed right on the cliff edge, I chose to go higher with the guide. In at least one instance, this strategy really paid off because we walked right through the middle of this huge group of gelada baboons.

These baboons exist only in four places in Ethiopia. I travelled in three of the four places. The males have a big red heart on their chests and heavy lionlike manes.

The views never failed to astonish me.

After five o’clock the baboons disappear, climbing down the cliffs into caves to protect themselves from predators–leopards and hyenas.

Michael, the guide on the left, and the guard, fearless–these drop-offs are routine.

The heights did not bother Dino. He scared us with his ability to walk right up to the edge except in one case where he and Zuriash decided it was even too daunting for them.

writingontherim

wondering the world with fun, food, travel, poetry, contemplation

Ethiopia

My Ethiopian Adventure: The Great Rift Valley and Awash National Park

Talapia with Beets, Red Peppers, Swiss Chard and Bebere

My Ethiopian Adventure: On the Road from Debre Markos to Addis, Crossing the Nile Gorge

My Ethiopian Adventure–Gelada Baboons

My Ethiopian Adventure: On the Road from Bahir Dar to Debre Markos

My Ethiopian Adventure: the Monasteries of Lake Tana

My Ethiopian Adventure: Lake Tana, Where the Nile Begins–Part Two

My Ethiopian Adventure: Lake Tana, Where the Nile Begins–Part One

My Ethiopian Adventure: The Fasilades Bath Palace and the Church of Debre Birhan Selassie

My Ethiopian Adventure–The Roof of Africa, Part One

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