Ana_Ethiopia (Day 7-10)

Day 7(June 14)
We had breakfast with Nirr one last time. Nirr was flying back to Addis and then home, Israel. I had the usual mango juice with some bread. It was weird saying goodbye it always does. You get to meet people all the time but then you get to say goodbye. Weird!

The trip continued the three of us Santi, Tim and mua. We decided to add two more days. We weren’t sure at first but it was recommended to do 10 days instead of 8.

Side Note: Just got up to go to the bathroom at the internet café here in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania). SO STINKY! YUK! The smelliest bathroom yet! Anyway back to writing…

After dropping Nirr off we went to the local museum in Jinka. It was really interesting they did a good job of showing some of the artifacts of a few tribes including the Hamar and the Mursi tribe. Also they had really cool boards explaining the role of the woman among several tribes. I can’t remember all the name of the tribes but bottom line the women do all the work – they cook, get the firewood, provide for the family and have kids. Also the girls get their clitoris sliced when they get their period. OUCH! They just do it because their mom’s did it and their grandma’s, it’s just part of the culture. They don’t question it. It’s what they do, part of womanhood. Also another interesting fact that I remember is that some of them don’t talk with their husband until they’ve 2 or 3 kids. They’re real shy. I can’t imagine that. Tim started joking with me and telling me “don’t talk to me.” I just told him “shut up!”

Last thing I remember, if the first wife can’t have kids then the husband has kids with the second wife but she has to give the kid back to the first wife when she is done breast feeding. Interesting?

After the museum we went back to Konso. We had some lunch at the hotel restaurant this time I had super spicy spaghetti. It was fasting day. For orthodox Christians fasting days are Wednesday and Friday. I can’t believe I ate so much spicy food. No choice.

Our next site was to the famous nearby landscape scene called New York, from far away it looked like a city carved from the mountains and someone just started calling it New York. I didn’t see the resemblance but OK! It was beautiful but man you couldn’t see the site in peace. I was surrounded by people asking for money. The worse I encounter in Ethiopia. They just wanted money. They kept saying “give me money.” Later Tim read in the guidebook this place was suppose to be the worse for hassling you. I can see why.

We did go to one more village before going back to Konso. Interesting but my least favorite village. But this time I think I was getting village-out. We did pay to go into one of the compound. They live within a gated community, within a family. The entourage of kids we had following us was a bit annoying; you couldn’t take a picture without them wanting to see the picture. A lot of the kids had really bad teeth. It was sad to see, they’re so young.

We got back to the hotel to relax. Took another cold shower!


Day 8 (June 15)
This time we left the city of Konso for good. It seemed we kept going back to that city. Our next destination was Yabello near the border with Kenya.
On the way we stopped in Finsha town to see another market. The Borona people dressed really colorful. The woman had this vivid dresses and head wraps. The houses also very colorful. The driver, Bahilu, told us these people are really cool with faranji’s and that we can take pictures freely with being harassed for money. Bahilu had someone local show us the way around the market.

We did too have an entourage of locals, mainly kids following us around. One of the teenage guys was acting really weird. Kept getting really close to me and grabbing my arm. Later we found out he was a little crazy. Tim was ready to punch him. He wouldn’t leave us alone.

In the meantime I was holding hands with the cutest kids. There was one in particular was just so happy jumping up and down. His smile was just so darn cute. Some the kids just had a special glow to them. The wanted their picture taken and then they loved looking at themselves in the view finder. It was refreshing to just be with them. I felt like a kid too.

We made it to the town of Yabello. The motel we stayed out the rooms where decent but the bathroom sucked! Not a surprise. The worse was the smell by the kitchen which so happens to be right next to the bathroom. I didn’t even want to think about it because we ate there for lunch and dinner. YUMMY! My mentality on this trip on food is if I don’t see it, it won’t kill me. I rather not know how some of the food I’ve been eating is made. As long as it taste good and I don’t get sick – NO PROBLEMA.

After just bread for lunch, I was not hungry for some reason, we went drove south for two hours to the salt crater. The drive there was also very scenic, more of dry and lush desert. We saw camels along the way.

To actually walk down the crater we need to pay for the entrance and a guide to walk us down. The total price was 300 birr. I thought it was a little much for what it was. Plus you’re the one that has to hike your little butt down the mountain. Anyway we were there so might as well do it.

It was interesting to see this big crater with dark murky water. Hard to understand where the salt was. Walking down was more of a challenge than I thought. It was very rocky and steep. The guide, very annoying by the way, was going super fast. I was afraid of going to fast, knowing me I’d probably trip and twist an ankle. Tim kept telling go at your own pace. SO I DID! Forty minutes later we made it down to the bottom. I kept thinking going up is going to be a bitch. Along the way we saw the locals herding the donkeys up the mountain. The donkeys had big bags of salt on their backs. Poor thing, they looked tired. The locals kept singing along the way. They stopped when they saw us, but continued after. Very beautiful voices. I didn’t understand a word but it was so nice to hear in the background.

The bottom of the crater was bigger than I thought. Some of the locales were still working away. Of course we couldn’t take pictures of them without paying like 10 birr per picture. So we didn’t! We felt like we paid enough to actually walk down. We just walked around. The water looked black from up close. Not my favorite thing to see. It was OK!

Going up was tough. The first five minutes I was puffing like crazy. I felt my face really red. I was taking my time. The guide took off and didn’t wait for us. I let Santi go in front of me. Tim stayed behind me. I had to take few breaks in between. It seemed that I was never going to make it to the top. I felt so out of shape. My knees were shaking! Towards the top our annoying guide was waiting for us sitting on a rock. Then it pissed me off he started laughing at us because Tim and I were all red. At that point I was trying so hard not to show him I was exhausted. I felt like punching him. I couldn’t understand what he was saying to the other local kids trying to sell us some sodas. We made it though! I was so glad to leave that stupid place!

As we drove away Bahilu noticed his cell phone was missing. He stopped the car and we all started looking for his phone everywhere in the car. He was pretty sure somebody in the village had stolen it. So we drove back. Sure enough, he got off the car and started asking the locals who had his phone. He finally got it back, after paying 50 birr. What a bunch of jerks!!!!

That night we stayed up watching the soccer match England vs. Trinidad & Tobago at our motel in Yabello. We had good rice and veggies. It was nice for a change!



Day 9 (June 16)
We started heading back to Addis Ababa. We drove north to Awasa. For lunch we stopped at this quaint restaurant and had spaghetti – SPICY! This was super spicy. It hurt to swallow almost. I was hungry so I ate must of it.

We arrived in Awasa in the late afternoon. The place we stayed out was cozy and it was right by the lake. The only down side was the bathrooms were NASTY and no running water. It started raining so we just sat by the bar and had a coke. The lounge area was neat – outdoor with big bushy trees as the roof top.

Saw another soccer match Argentina vs. can’t remember. Argentina won. After the game we walked with Santi along the lake. It was still gloomy, but it had stopped raining. The lake was the local hang out for the locals too.


Day 10 (June 17)
Last day of trip in the south and our 1 Year Anniversary – Que romantico!

We stopped by the local fish market in Awassa. Lots of locals selling all kinds of fish. It was funny to see pelicans all around the shore smelling the fish. They looked hungry.

We walked around the market and also around the lake. Saw the coolest looking monkey – the collobus monkey. It’s black and white. The tail it’s hairy and furry and super white. The hair is flat on top. It looks like the actually had a haircut, it’s perfectly flat on top. Cute monkeys! We even fed them some bread!!!
Before leaving the market Bahilu invited us for some raw fish with potatoes. NO THANK YOU! Tim tried it, but I didn’t it. I bought some avocados and was waiting for breakfast after the market. While we waited for Bahilu to eat his breakfast Tim did the magic trick with his index finger and soon enough we had a crowd of people requesting for him to do it again. One lady screamed when he did it. I think she really thought his finger came off his hand. TOO ADORABLE!

We arrived in Addis around 7ish at night. We talked about doing eating somewhere nice. The only place that came to mind nearby was eating at the Sheraton. It had several restaurants inside. So we hurried up took a shower and taxi over there.
I have to say it was nice to just get away from everything. Being inside the hotel I felt I was back in the states. The food was OK. Nothing especial but better than we’ve had. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US!!!


Last Days in Ethiopia...
We basically did nothing, just walked around the city and took care of any details before heading down to Tanzania. It was nice just to relax. We did have to run around the last day, since at the last minute we found out we needed the Tanzania visa before arrival. Luckily we got it! Didn’t have to change the flight to Dar es Salaam!!!

I really enjoyed my time in Ethiopia. =)