Ethiopia 2011 - The Ides of March

Dear Dorothy

Tuesday - The Ides of March

How many times have I written that while on a trip ? At least half a dozen.
Back in Arba Minch, different hotel this time. Nicer room, great courtyard the view is lacking though. I'm not certain if the trade off is even or not. The view there is spectacular, this place has hot water .... when they have water. The town seems to be out of water so I guess it's a choice view or luxury, because they are both about the same price. $19 here vs. $15 there. It will be fine for 18 hours before Addis tomorrow. EXCEPT for the fucking nearby church. Some guy is yowling over loudspeakers and it is getting a bit bothersome.

The roads back there were the usual mix. Some good, some really good and some not roads. But I have said about all OK not quite finished about roads. We were coming down this hill to cross a bridge and ran into a Cow Jam. They owned the bridge at that moment so we just had to wait before bossy sauntered her bony asses across MY bridge. I asked driver if the farmers thought they or the cars own the road. He said they are equals. I guess if you flatten a goat you suddenly own a goat and it aint cheap. 6 to 700 Bir about $40. Considering the wage in Jinka was 400 Bir for a month for the waiter at the hotel, goats are gold. We did almost mash a Paris Hilton size dog I didn't ask how that much would have been. Maybe the owner would have thanked us.

Ethiopia 2011 - Lip plates with Corn Nuts

 Dear Dorothy

Monday - March 14 2011 - Jinka Ethiopia

End if the day and I'm a tuckered lil cowgirl. I didn't sleep all that well and lots of rough roads consisting of jostling and such. I didn't consider exactly how much work it is just sitting in a car and staying erect.

Today started at 7:30 take off for a visit to the Muri people. The first two reasons for coming to Ethiopia are in this order the rock hewn churches in Lalibea and the Mursi people. Both at opposite extremes in the country. The Mursi people are one of the iconic African tribes that I think about when thinking about Africa (that and the cliche' of Missionary in cooking post (which may not be that bad for the world)) The Mursi are the tribes that have the round plates placed in the women's lower lips. At the proper time, the guidebook says 20, the local museum says puberty, a hole 4 lower teeth wide is cut into the lower lip and a wooden plug is inserted. Then over time, my guide says 3 years, the museum says one year, the lips are stretched with larger and larger disks that look something like a rope pulley wheel. Some are plain and some are painted and some are etched. According to the guidebook the Mursi people didn't even know that Ethiopia existed until about 50 years ago, and I can see why.

The drive here from Addis is arduous trek in today's 4X4's and reasonably modern roads. Omce you are here in Jinka then you need to cross the mountains to the Omo valley. The road was mostly a graded road cut through the mountains. Only problem the last grading was in the Truman administration and the dirt has been packed down leaving only real sharp rocks pointing you. We were flying along at a breakneck 20 KMH (12 MPH ?) when we hit the straightaways. Of course we had to slow down for the hairpins and somehow make a 3/4 lane road into a 2 lane road when someone was coming the other direction. Fortunately for us there were guardrails at the places where the vehicle would cartwheel for miles if the worst happened. The guardrail consisted of a small and I mean small berm made when the last road grader passed through.

Dry rivers and creeks were no problem for the Landcruiser. The 4 Landcruiser long pond was worrisome for me. He kept it in 2WD and mushed through it with water splashing up onto the windshield and water about 1/3 the way up the door. The worst part was knowing we had to come back that way and how bad the water smelled. To put it nicely it was "wiffy". My imagination went on overdrive and started looking for a sharp knife to commit HariKari (Supoku ?) if we stalled on the way back. Better that than living with the aroma of fermented cow poop, insect larvae and mosquito piss - plus a few other things I'd rather not think too hard on.

Ethiopia 2011 - Coffee with salt and butter

Dear Dorothy

Sunday March 13 2011 - Jinka Ethiopia

Actually a very easy day. No eight hour drives through nowhere.

Well Let's start with yesterday from my notes. Never could take notes in school because "Me? Take notes? I'll remember it." I guess that is why I'm not a doctor now.

Evangadi Lodge - Turmi Ethiopia. The Best of the worst hotel in Turmi. No hot water, they store it in black iron tanks and the sun warms the water. The morning's water is too cool for my comfort, but the evening's water isn't all that bad. The electricity is on from 6pm until 10pm. The room is cooled by whatever wind or breeze happens to pass through. When the electricity is on it is just for lights. There are no electrical outlets in the room. No hair dryer, no computer charging, no hot coffee in the room even if my imersion heater was working.

All in all a pretty nice place. It is clean. Each unit is a separate bungalow. the room is very clean . The bedding is nice with the canopy bed mosquito netting. I will remember to bring a clock with me next time. This is the first time I can recall where no room has a clock in it.

Cattle blocking the road

Ethiopia 2011 - My $3.00 fit of anger

Dear Dorothy

Saturday March 12 2011 - 4 p.m.

Well I guess I'll start with the sour and with luck end on the sweet. One of those do you want the good news or the bad news first ?

The local guide.here in Turmi. Yesterday for an hour's time walking me through a Hamer village he charged 150 Bir. His guidemanship left a lot to be desired. He told me the absolute minimum that he was required to tell and maybe not that much. He was forever wandering off to talk to the people. Today we went to Omorate a village at the literal end of the road. The entire hour of the trip he didn't say a thing, unless I asked him a specific question. I would get the correct but most minimal answer possible.It was like I was paying him by the word

This village was the same as the previous one. "There is a house", "Those are ladies" well you get the idea.By the time we got back to the 4X4 I was steaming, but not terminally -- yet. Then off to the Saturday market. Repeat of the past, except this time he wandered off to find some water. I strolled around, pestering the people with questions I should have directed at him and then went back to the Landcruiser. We (the driver and I) waited and waited. We waited so long that a salesman finally accepted my low ball bid on a trinket. Then we drove around a little looking for him. It must have been half an hour before he strolled up and got in the SUV. When we got back to the town another outing was planned and when he got out I had him come to my window and told him we were done. In my best Donald Trump, I told him hes was fired. What do I owe you. 350 Bir ($20 bucks). I handed him 300 and told him the ride back cost 50. I be very happy he no carry spear, because the daggers from his eyes were menacing enough. He took the 300 and threw it back at me. He has a good arm on him too. Fine ! So now three hours later he comes walking up to me here at the hotel. "You owe me (unintelligible) and 20 for the 2 pictures at Omorade. That is right he did front me 20 Bir, because all I had were 100's. I got change and handed him 30, just to show --I don't know --- no hard feelings --- maybe it was a ""see I'm a bigger person than you". Truth be told that was probably a closer description of my intent. He looked at it and said you owe me another 40. WTF, Over ?!?!? I told him call the police. I'll be happy to explain to them my side. Finally after a few moments of ping pong bickering I took the rest of the Bir and threw it at him. Neener, neener !! I can be as childish as you. He threw a few choice words back at me but were lost in translation. I waved and with the most sarcastic smile and voice said "Have a nice day" Am I proud of myself? In retrospect, No. But it sure felt good at the time.

Ethiopia 2011 - Arba Minch

Dear Dorothy

Thursday March 11 2011
Arba Minch, Ethiopia


(I think that translates to a place in the edge of nowhere. Tomorrow we delve in to deepest part of the middle of nowhere)

450 km ( About 270 miles) over mostly paved roads to get here from Addis. Left about 8:30 and got here around 4:30. Had to shop for a hotel. The first one was kinda nice, but over priced. This one is a flea bag (I hope not literally) but really cheap. Under $20. A place to sleep and hopefully shower, if the water comes on sometime.

The first part of the trip was wide open well paved roads. I kept fantasizing driving a hot car, like a corvette or Porsche on them. They were virtually empty. I doubt we passed 50 vehicles coming to us or away in 2 hours. We were cruising at a comfortable 55 mph the entire time. Then the construction began. One mile of pavement, 2 miles of gravel. Sometimes the gravel was a better surface than the macadam. The roads were jammed. Not many cars, but cows, goats, small children, school kids, women carrying loads, men just wandering. One town we passed through had their weekly market. The line of people and goods reminded me of the photo I've seen of war refugees. Metal wheeled carts loaded tallre than a man pulled by a donkey or maybe a cow. Then individual people with packages of who knows what on their heads, or perhaps pushing a wheelbarrow contraption made out of lumber and rolling on the equevelant of a mettal skateboard wheel.

The scenery was really varied. Mountains, savanahas, banana plantations small subsitance farm. I/we passed through 2 good sized towns and a multitude of villages. the houses ran the gamit from near palaces, to mud huts, one cave and the ubiquitous Tina Turner thatch roofed round huts. There were monkeys, one big primate ( Baboon ? It had a long tail with an pom-pom on the tip. Raptors slowly circling on the thermals and a flock of cranes or storks. All at the same time as we dodged kids, bikes, and tuk-tuks.

Ethiopia 2011 - Seatac Geocache

Dear Dorothy

At SeaTac airport waiting for the plane to Amsterdam. Two and a half hours to go. I did the time killing eat breakfast thing. Wandered through the shops. Somehow missed out on the full body grope by TSA. They just required the usual semi strip tease, without the tease. Then came the hardest part of the trip so far. Finding an electrical outlet. My choice was to wait for 20 minutes before this outlet was free or it sit under the wall mounted drinking fountain. I was afraid that the water dripped from the lips above would short out the computer so I opted for the wait instead.
Tiffany gave me a ride to the airport on Sunday to pick up the rental car. A pack o f cigarettes, a lighter and the words "Make good choices" and she was gone and I was officially on my trip.

I stopped in Seattle and had dinner with Chris at the local cafe. We had everything except the hummus from the starters menu. New cook, food not as good as when they first opened. New bookkeeper, portions smaller than when they first opened. But it was cheap enough (Chris bought) and it was nice to see Chris.

Ethiopia 2011 - No electricty, but at least there's khat

Dear Dorothy

Friday March 18 2011
Lalibea, Ethiopia

What an expensive town and that isn't the hotel. That is the entrance
to the churches and the guide. $20 to look at rocks and $30 to be told
what kind of rocks I'm seeing. as an added bonus there is no electricity
in the town. I knew the infrastructure of Ethiopia was not
first world I didn't expect it to be whatever comes after third world.
Primitive is maybe the word.

At least the hotel takes Visa.

The churches are interesting, but difficult to photograph. They sit at
the bottom of a carved out 11 meter ditch and  there is no way to get
back far enough to get them in the shot. I've talked to myself about
getting a wide angle lens, this may be the catalist  for that purchase.

King Lalibea was one of eleven kings of the area. Four of whom were
priest kings. His granddad, his uncle, him and his cousin. Somebody had
the nerve to poison him and he went into a coma. Upon recovering from
the coma he had a vision where he went to Heaven and God told him to
get to cutting rock and build him some churches. There are five of six
churches depending if you count the one that is inside the other. One
really big 35 feet tall and about 100 long. Their Jesus mythology is
quite a bit different that the one that I know. like 120 people who
were followers, a handful of virgins, the twelve that we know and of
course the leader of the pack. So these are represented by the number
of pillars in the big church. Men's entrances and women's entrances and
one for mixed, including the priesthood. In mosques it is a sign of
respect to have your head covered, these is is opposite. My head is
about to explode from information overload. I think when I look at the
photos much of it will come back to me. This church was the second
Lalibea made.