JimmyandPatti’s Weblog

……to the list!   

 I have been looking forward to this trip to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for quite a while – Africa is so diverse (plus the airmiles earned are a pretty good bonus!).  It has been over a year since my first trip to the southern part of the African continent and I was excited to see the eastern part.     

My flight out of DC was on Lufthansa Airlines and it was very nice – comfy seat, good food, and a short nap or two along the way.  It always amazes me that an airplane of this size actually flies.    

During my last flight through Frankfurt I had a short connection time and the planes were late (both outbound and returning) so this time I purposely booked a later flight with ample time to transit the airport.   That turned out to be a great plan and I was well rested for the second leg of the trip from Frankfurt to Addis Ababa.    

 Addis Ababa is the capital of Ethiopia and is home to more than 3 1/2 million people.  The streets are very busy with cars, buses, walkers, hawkers, and one gawker (me).  There has been a lot of growth and construction in Addis over the last few years.  It’s actually a pretty cool place – elevation 8000′ plus, mild weather, and friendly people.  The air quality is a bit rough due to the vehicle exhaust. Getting stuck behind a herd of blue donkeys can be brutal.    

     

 After a long (and jet laggy) first week at work I was ready for the weekend.  Saturday’s plan included a drive up to the hillside overlooking the city, with a chance to see some wild hyenas in their den.  The drive was refreshing, it was nice to escape the busyness of the city and enjoy some fresh air.  The drive became pretty rugged and I was glad our driver had a 4WD.    

 As we parked we were greeted by some children from the local area.  They were very excited to have company and ran along with us as we hiked to the hyena overlook.  The children loved to have their pictures taken and laughed every time they saw themselves on the camera screen.    

     

The hyenas were apparently resting inside their dens today – so no great pictures of the wild animals of Africa.  It kind of reminded me of going to the zoo – the animals only come out after closing time!  Even without the hyena show, it was a great drive through the Eucalyptus forest and we even had to dodge the local herd a time or two. The forest smelled great, just like opening a new bag of throat lozenges! Very refreshing.    

     

Driving down the mountain road we saw nearly a hundred women who were taking their daily load of firewood into the city.  In talking with our driver, he said that the bundles of sticks weigh about 100 kilos (220 pounds) each and they sell it for about 30 or 40 birr (the local currency) – that equates to about $2.50 for a tough day’s work.  I got the feeling that for many people, life is lived on a daily basis.    

 After the mountain drive it was time for lunch (at the Lucy Fast Food) and then into the Ethiopian National Museum to learn about Lucy, the fossilized remains that are touted as the oldest human ancestor.  It was a small museum and I enjoyed seeing the collections of old tools much better than the old bones (which are replicas of Lucy, she’s actually on a road trip).    

One thing I discovered in Addis Ababa, is there is no such thing as “fast food”. Going out to dinner was usually about a 2 hour event, although we did finish our lunches at the museum within an hour….so I guess that does at least qualify as “faster” food.    

 Coffee is a very big deal here – the story goes that it was actually discovered here when a young goat herder saw his goats “dancing wildly” after snacking on the coffee berries.  He took the branches to the local monks who promptly threw them in the fire to get rid of them.  The aroma that ensued from the “roasting” process piqued everyone’s interest….and the rest is history.   

On Sunday, we changed directions and headed downhill into the lower (and warmer) areas – destination…the Portuguese Bridge.  The drive was reminiscent of eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, eastern Montana, etc.  Oh yeah….it’s a dry heat!!    

   

 The view from the Portuguese bridge was nice and reminded me of the many hours at Creationfest in the Gorge amphitheater in George, Washington.  It wasn’t as hot as those mid-summer bakes in eastern Washington, but the sun was plenty hot and I took home a few reminders on the back of my legs and neck (yes…I had sunblock….in my backpack).  Next time I suppose I should actually use it!).    

   

After the hike and cooling off at the gorge top restaurant, we drove a few kilometers to the Debre Marqos church.  This area has a lot of history and I enjoyed a reasonably priced guided tour. My guide was very friendly and I enjoyed hearing about the history of the church.     

 I also took a quick sprint up to the mountain top cave where the priests go to pray.  My guide carried a whip in one hand and a rifle over his shoulder – not sure what our potential adversary would be (man or beast) but I did my best to keep up with him on the hike up the hill.  I think he personally enjoyed the fact that he was breathing normally while I was gasping for air – the guy was a hiker!    

 It was a busy weekend, but at least sleep was coming a bit more normal.  Before I knew it Monday morning had arrived and it was back to work. I did enjoy some great company and new food with coworkers.  We dined on Indian cuisine (a couple times), Korean, Pizza, and even some traditional Ethiopian injera.    

It took me a while to decide on what to do for the second weekend. I had read (and heard from many coworkers) about the rock-hewn churches in Lalibela, a village approximately 200 miles from Addis.  Traveling by car isn’t an option, the roads are pretty rough and it would take about 10 hours.  Ethiopian Airlines has a milk route they fly twice every day which takes (on paper) about 2 hours, which includes a couple quick stops at Gondor and Bahir Dar.  After discussing the trip with some people at work (who recently traveled to the churches) I decided that it was a must see and booked the trip, traveling with my coworker from DC.   

   

It was soon apparent that this was a different side of Ethiopia. Very drier, very much rural, and definitely old school.    

    

We jumped right into the tours and started with a short PowerPoint presentation about the history of the churches, their names, and their significance.  Although I had read a lot about the stone churches before I got here….all I can say is “incredible”.  Two main thoughts came to mind as I toured the churches.  The first was the incredible amount of work that completed, not by slaves, but by the local people. Secondly, and probably more intriguing was the concept to “carve” the buildings out of stone rather that stack the stones in typical building construction fashion.    

At one point in the tour, when we were traveling through a short (in height…not length) tunnel, it got to be pretty dark.  Our tour guide only had the light from his cell phone so it was “duck your head and walk slow” time.  I felt like I was on the set of Indiana Jones : )    

The Mountain View Hotel was a pretty good deal at $48 USD per night and I enjoyed the very peaceful view.  The bed was a bit Spartan but served the purpose and I enjoyed waking up to the sounds of roosters crowing in the morning from the surrounding homes.  It brought back a lot of memories from eastern Oregon and was quite different from the wake up sounds we typically hear in DC.   

The 3-legged flight from Lalibela to Gondor to Bahir Dar was rearranged a bit due to weather and we were diverted to one of the airports to sit out the passing thunderstorms.  I arrived back in Addis about 4 pm and it took no time to be back in the hustle/bustle of the city.    

 At times it seemed like I had been in Ethiopia for a long time – the jet lag, long days at work, and long dinner hours – but just like that the trip came to a close and it was packing time again. I considered this trip to Addis a true blessing and learned a lot about the country, the culture, and the wonderful people.  It was also a good reminder that happiness is not wrapped around the things we have but the people we are with (and coffee of course).