Photos part 5: Simien National Park

Simien National Park is home to peaceful Gelada baboons. I was surprised at how close I could safely get to a mother suckling her child. Then again, whenever the baboons had a problem with me they would just move away.

The park is also home to ibex and foxes, among other wildlife, but the easiest thing to find is a view which reminded me at the time of the Grand Canyon. Except this one is greener.

The park is also the traditional home of people living in agrarian conditions. The people are friendly and quick to offer you their wares; I was only too happy to pay for a couple of photographs.

Photos part 4: Debre Birhan Selassie

On the roof of the church you can see ostrich eggs affixed to the cross. The guide said this is because when ostriches are laying eggs they crane their necks around to look at the process, and that this is symbolic of how God watches us from the very beginning.

The other direction shows you the gate with its style of architecture. Space inside churches is limited and often attendees will experience mass from outside.

The place is lined top to bottom with artwork in a traditional style. The colour scheme, as far as I know, comes primarily from what pigments you can generate with local natural sources.

Photos part 3: Fasilidas Baths

The Fasilidas Baths are a more popular attraction during the Timkat festival, but the grounds afford plenty to see at an off time of year. I like how ficus and banyan trees tend to have their roots extending down surfaces and walls.

A river can be diverted to fill the sunken area with water. A drainage system allows that water to head back out again.

 

There is also a building which presently serves as a memorial for a most beloved horse, one belonging to a king.

Photos part 2: Fasil Ghebbi

This was the first attraction I toured in Gondar. There are seven castles in the compound and this was the first most prominent one I saw.

This was called the Lovers' Window because the benches could allow two lovers to sit opposite each other by the window.

There are a lot of different angles on each accessible room and area in the full set from which I bring these images, but as for the post, I would like to finish a thought. If you recall, the first photo post ended with me spotting Fasil Ghebbi from the hotel where I was staying.

Well, there's my hotel, as spotted from Fasil Ghebbi!

Photos part 1: Hotel lookout in Gondar

The Goha Hotel is perched up a mountain with a great view of Gondar. What you also get are a lot of larger birds-of-prey flying fairly close.

In addition, you also get a long-distance view of the Fasil Ghebbi castle compound. More images, mostly test shots and landscapes, are available in a set by following this link.

Day 13: Entoto (March 24)

Since my departure is at 10:15 PM, this became a thirteenth day of sorts. The B&B manager, same person that I met on Day 1 (same B&B), was kind enough to let me stow my bags in a locked room while I went to visit the Entoto Highlands and the palace of Emperor Menelik II. The Highlands offer a great view of Addis Ababa.

She also gave me a big piece of help which I will try to pass on to you. Sadly, I don't know the minibus system in Addis well enough to give you a comprehensive guide, so all I will do is illustrate exactly how my journey went.

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It was a four-stop system. Minibuses travel in one direction along a particular stretch, and once you hit the destination you switch to another minibus. Each leg of the trip costs between 2.5 to 3.5ETB. In my case, to get from Wollo Sefer/Bole Road up to Entoto, there were four stops:

1. Arat kilo
2. Sheromeda
3. Gusukame
4. Entoto

For the trip back home afterward, subtract Entoto, reverse the order, and add Bole/Wollo Sefer as the fourth step.

So, let's say it averaged out to 12ETB each way. 24ETB round trip. The transport is shared so you are sitting with eight to twelve other people at any given time and it stops to pick people up or let them off. If you're okay with the lack of privacy, then you can save hundreds of ETB.

If I had figured this system out on Day 1 instead of giving up, I could have reached the National Museum and the University on a similar fare schedule, except those destinations are both closer than the Entoto Highlands. I used private taxis. Those are okay in the sense that they make things simpler for you, they get you to the destination without having to change vehicles a lot, and you get privacy. They might do that for 100ETB, 150ETB, or 200ETB depending on the destination.

It's the same for private transport between cities. You can get it public, and slower, for a much lower rate; I note that getting to Wolisso and back was 72ETB round trip. Take a guess at how much that would have been with private transport. I can't answer, because I went public that time.

It figures that my first tour guide preferred to arrange private rides with affiliates. His motto was "Don't worry about the money". That's a perfect motto to use on tourists who have a lot of money but never spend enough of it to enrich markets; might help free up some capital, bit of economica, who knows? It also probably helps build affiliate networks. I also noticed an expectation that tourists would use taxis, not minibuses; nobody in the minibus industry had anything against accepting my money, but everyone involved was curious at the sight of me.

I'm not the kind of tourist that guide would hope for, though. I would be well off if I lived in Ethiopia and kept my Canadian income value, but that says little about what that income means in Canada. I'm going home to a heap of work and probably won't think about flying anywhere international for a year and a half at least, even if my book does better than I imagine it will.

I finished my editing sweep. OpenOffice pegs the word count at 83K, so I expect the material should hold up well to the "adverb cleanup" editors will no doubt commit. I may yet have to take out a couple of flashback scenes if the ideas didn't work, but that alone would still leave it above 80K somewhere.

Now I get to relax for several hours in the common lounge of the B&B before heading to the airport, having spent much less than I thought I would today.

D. Madeley

Day 12: A night in Addis (March 23)

There isn't much to say for today. I am back in Addis, in good shape and with all belongings intact. I am quite ready to go home and I am a bit apprehensive about any possible baggage fees. The way I am playing things now, I expect a particular cost for the shuttle from Dulles to Reagan, but that's all I can assuredly ready myself for.

I should hope that one bag which is not particularly heavy, and which only needs to be checked because it contains souvenirs made of metal, will not incur a particularly hefty fee. If it weren't for the souvenirs this could be carry-on luggage; that's what it was on the way to Ethiopia.

(Funds from two different sources would subsequently hit my accounts and ease my anxiety.)

D. Madeley

Day 11: Public Transit Musings and the Hornbill (March 22)

Ah, public transit: something I should have experienced sooner if I wanted to spend wisely. The cab driver gave me a quick primer. The bus station is a busy place, so always securely watch your bags and pockets (less worried about money, pickpockets would have to get under my shirt to snag my money belt and so would have to be a bit more committed to robbing me). There are people everywhere, and look for people repeating the word "Wolisso" to find the right bus.

Day 10: From Lalibela to Tazina (March 21)

Today being a travel day, I discuss catching critters in a hotel room or lobby. I also have an evening of traditional entertainment at Yob Abyssinia, and then I consider my current lodgings.

Day 9: Mule ride (March 20)

It isn't even noon as I write this; I returned from my excursion in time for breakfast. The day is just beginning for most people, but I already feel like most of one has elapsed.

At six in the morning, I met my guide and my ride. It looked like I was being offered a choice of mules, but when I tried to go with the pretty black one I was strongly advised toward the other. For probably the only time that day, I swung myself up in the saddle with little assistance. I was headed for Asheton Mariam, the church of St. Mary, which is nestled up a mountain.

Day 8: Social experiences and the churches in town (March 19)

My morning plans changed; the trip to the churches in town would have to wait for the afternoon. In the meantime, I did have a short experience which illustrated an unfortunate truth: people will try to rapidly befriend you in order to get something from you. Expect all contact to be purposeful, even if it appears accidental.

Day 7: Travel day & ponderings (March 18)

Today has definitely been a travel day: I departed Bahir Dar at 6:58 AM and made it to the Roha Hotel (another Ghion property, like the Goha in Gondar) after noon. There were a couple of slowdowns along the way: more rough road and a flat tire. Fortunately, the driver had a spare tire in the back.

Day 6: Bahir Dar day 2 (March 17)

It is a lovely day in Bahir Dar. People tell me it must be hotter than Gondar; it's always hot here, compared to the March temperatures I experienced in Toronto, but in any case it doesn't [i]feel[/i] hotter. I suspect it's because I have spent more time walking or in a tiktuk[look up spelling] (think of an auto-rickshaw) here, while in Gondar I spent a lot of time in cars. I have experienced a good wind and plenty of shade.

Regarding cars, and this is a tangent, there's a "window" game. A driver taught it to me purely by example. If you see a large dust cloud coming toward the vehicle, you roll up your window. If all is clear you roll it down again. Unless you visit this country during a wet season, you can expect a lot of dust to come from the wheels of large vehicles heading in the direction opposite yours. It's not fun to inhale it or get it in the eyes. To make the game easier, don't even watch for clouds: roll the window when the driver does, and always in the same direction.

Anyway, enough of that. This post will talk about amateur bird-watching on the patio of my B&B, my experiences on Lake Tana and in an island monastery, and also the reality of travel budgets.

Day 5: First day in Bahir Dar (March 16)

The post for today will involve packing a travel first aid kit, a short review of Goha Hotel and first impressions of B&B The Annex. I did also spend time touring the trails around Blue Nile Falls.

Day 4: Mentewab's Palace and the local market (March 15)

This day was less epic in nature, but I was happy to see some things and then enjoy a lot of leisure time. If every day involved long drives and trekking in national parks, I might not last.

Day 3: Simien National Park (March 14)

On a side note, the photos which help tell the story will probably have to wait until I get home. I may have already mentioned the bandwidth issue. It takes long enough to upload them on a comparably super-fast connection in Toronto. Well, that extends the life of this blog a bit: after these written chronicles, you will probably get photo posts with explanations.

This day was slightly different than the others: instead of visiting a few things, I would spend most of my day doing one thing. After an early breakfast, a rugged looking vehicle pulled up near the hotel reception; I was about to go to Simien National Park.

Day 2: First day in Gondar (March 13)

Day two's activities started at 4:30 AM; these flights and bookings have turned me into an early bird, if only temporarily. A quick domestic turboprop flight brought me to the airport in Gondar, where I took advantage of free shuttle service to the Goha Hotel.

Day 1: Arrival in Addis Ababa (March 12)

Apologies for not posting this sooner! My first night's stay in Ethiopia was an economical choice: what I got for the money was wonderful, but it didn't include any high-speed/wifi internet. I did, however, get to send an important e-mail over a dialup connection.

March 12 was originally planned as a throwaway day. The end of March 10th and all of the 11th would involve waiting in Dulles International for twelve hours and being in the air for another twelve. I expected to reach my destination and collapse from jet lag, because (as was once again the case) I'm not good at falling asleep while inside of airplanes.

It turned out to be a robust and eventful day instead.

Added value

Stopovers and layovers in America always provide me the opportunity to see interesting things.

A few years ago, I went to Amsterdam with a stopover in Philadelphia. I enjoyed seeing some familiar buildings from that plane window vantage. Were those the steps that Rocky ran up in the movies? I thought so.

On this trip, I landed at Reagan International. I was offered a choice between a cab ride and a less expensive shuttle van. I went with the van, and I wasn't the only one: lots of people with many different places to go.

What resulted was a nice midnight tour of DC, complete with commentary from the driver; all sorts of buildings, monuments and memorials visible along the route. It ended with my stop. I may have many hours left to wait, but I'm happy to have occupied two of them with that unexpected bonus.

Air fares

When booking round-trip air, I faced the following choice:
A. Something more expensive but more direct
B. Something less expensive with layover

I opted for B. The money I saved was used to pay for two domestic flights and some nights' accommodations. That means a great deal on my budget. That said, I'm still not looking forward to the layover.

Being Prepared for Ethiopia

As for why I chose Ethiopia, some of the reasons are personal. There are, fortunately, many other reasons I would happily discuss with you. There is a rich cultural diversity in this country; deep rooted traditions, stories told by the people and the things you will find; stunning churches in Lalibela, carved from stone; castles, and I am certainly a fan of castles given previous excursions to Ireland and the UK; wildlife and landscapes; all great photographic opportunities.

I must admit that I also love the food and the coffee. You can find plenty of Ethiopian cuisine in Toronto.

I am still used to people asking me whether I feel safe on this trip. The presence of wonderful things does not cancel out hazards. I would therefore like to discuss some of the things one must keep in mind when planning a trip to Ethiopia. It should make for a great trip, but not necessarily for the unprepared.

Hello World

Welcome to the first of the Brown Hat Chronicles.

In six days, I will depart for Ethiopia. The purpose of this blog is to educate and inform, and hopefully to entertain; I want to describe in detail what I do in this African country.

It's a big place, bigger than you might think. I will not be able to do everything that there is to do, but I have planned twelve days' worth of activities.

The next post will be about some of the preparations that went into this trip.

Until then,

D. Madeley