Ethiopia - Part 6

Saturday, 17th November

We are still in Ethiopia but only just. We have just arrived in the Omo River Valley which is the most south western corner of Ethiopia where Ethiopia, South Sudan and Kenya meet on Lake Turkana. The Omo Valley is widely described as the part of Ethiopia most untouched by outside influences. The plan is to spend a couple of days exploring, then travel south along the eastern shoreline of Lake Turkana before entering Kenya. 

This part of Ethiopia is so remote that there is no official border crossing here and the area is largely inaccessible in the rainy season due to the number of river bed crossings but we have heard from people travelling up that it is currently passable.

Our shock absorbers finally arrived after 10 days of emails, phone calls, frustrating visits to the custom offices and patient waiting. Luckily we couldn’t have been in a nicer place than Wim’s Holland House in Addis. By the time we left, we felt like part of the family. We also used our time to catch up on a number of things: Heather on her blog, Ian doing an oil change and Don even making a start on his tax return.

Anyway, two hip replacements later (the car!) it was nice to be on the road again and we arrived late last night at Paradise Lodge on a lake near Arba Minch where we had stayed on our way up a few weeks ago. Sadly, they had dug up the camping area so we spent the night camping in their car park. Not quite the paradise it was first time around!

We left early this morning and had another great day of fantastic scenery travelling through the mountain pass of the highlands to the plains of the Omo valley.  As we reached the highest point of the pass we stopped and looked down into the valley where the Omo river snakes through indigenous forests as far as the eye can see.  Due to massive deforestation in the rest of Ethiopia there is almost no forest left and all four of us realised how much we have missed this very African landscape.

Looking down into the Omo River Valley

Sunday 18^th November

We are staying in a nice camp by a river shaded by Acacia trees. Today we need to decide whether we stay here for a few days or head straight on into Kenya.  Ian and Heather’s Ethiopian visa runs out in a couple of days and Ian wants to leave enough time in case we have to backtrack  and exit Ethiopia on the more official border crossing should we hit trouble by way of finding impassable roads. Us girls want to go to the local villages and markets and are hoping to witness one or two of the traditional tribal celebrations.

There are several tribes living is this region but the most famous are the Hamer and the Musi. The Musi woman are best known for their tradition of wearing plates in their lower lips (a custom thought to date back to the slavery trade period when to be disfigured meant being save from being sold!) and the Hamer are famous for a tradition involving young males jumping over a row of bulls as part of an initiation ceremony. Only once they have completed this ritual are they allowed to marry. This event happens once a week and if we happen to be here on the day we will try and see if we can witness it.

Tuesday 20^th November

We managed to watch the bull jumping yesterday and it is an event which has left a deep impression with us.

The actual bull jumping only lasts about five minutes and is the culmination of a three-day long celebration. It is preceded by a particularly brutal practice lasting several hours. The ceremony starts off with chanting, singing and dancing mostly by the woman of the initiate’s clan – sisters, cousins, aunts and the mother. To show their support the woman then break from the dancing circle one at the time and offer themselves to be whipped by the peers of the young male.

We had read about this practice beforehand but what you witness is totally unbelievable. The woman implore the men to strike harder and harder and line up again and again to have their backs struck to the point where they have open wounds and are bleeding. If they feel that the strike has not been hard enough they will get hold of his hand and not let him go until he strikes again. Apparently it is a great honour to bear the scars and it is custom to rub ash into them afterwards to discolour them permanently.

The most extraordinary thing is that the woman don’t flinch as they are hit, they don’t even blink. Once they have been whipped they stand around casually in a circle laughing and joking with each other.  The whole event has a jolly party atmosphere!

It is difficult to describe how it feels to witness such a brutal custom. The initial reaction is quite sickening and even when it is obvious without any doubt that the woman seem to entice the men who at times look quite reluctant, it is difficult to watch.

We spent the evening back in our camp pondering over what kind of cultural pressures make a woman feel honored to be treated in such a way. 

The actual bull jumping which followed was a much more acceptable affair. Several bulls were chosen by the young male and then held in a line by other male members of his family. He then jumped on top of the first bull and ran across the line up several times to the cheers of everyone present.

                                       a walk in the park in comparison!

Ethiopia - Part 5

Friday, 9th November

Well, we certainly never thought we would still be here at this point but Ethiopia keeps having a hold on us.

We left Harar last Monday for Addis Ababa. The plan was to wait here for Heather and Ian who were going to follow on as soon as Heather was better. We drove into Wim’s camp where we had stayed before and were greeted by a couple of new overlanders, Shelly and Luke who are on their way north having travelled pretty much the whole of the west coast of Africa and are heading to the UK via Egypt/Turkey.

As soon as we drove in Luke could hear that there was something amiss with our suspension and a visit to the local Toyota garage the next day confirmed that our truck had two damaged shock absorbers L Now almost five days and several phone calls and emails later we have managed to get the company (Iron Man) to DHL the spare parts to Addis and if all goes well they should be fitted on Monday. Meanwhile Heather and Ian arrived back only a day after us and we are all pleased that Heather has made a full recovery.

So what is there to tell you this week? Well, until yesterday pretty much nothing but then Don & I went to have a haircut and I just have to tell you about our experience. 

I was finished almost within 20 minutes so I sat with Don and watched a ritual which had me in stitches...

First there was the hair cut lasting about 40 minutes. Next, his hair dresser took off the drape to give it a shake and as Don tried to get up he was firmly pushed back into the chair and the drape put back on. Out came a warm damp facecloth and the guy proceeded to wipe Don’s head, face, eyes, ears and neck. Then another taking off the drape-Don-getting-up-being-pushed-back-drape-put-on, out came a special tool to clean out nasal hair, ear hair and the bits where the hair line joins the neck. Drape off for a shake, Don trying to get up, Don being pushed back, drape back on. Out came a special kind of gel which was massaged into Don’s face. The above picture shows how Don reacted to that one!

Massage finished, another taking off of drape, Don trying to get up…you get the picture now!

Out came the HAIRSPRAY! Hair spray goes on, hair gets ruffled Bart Simpson style, drape off for a shake, Don trying to get up, agitated at this point…..

Back in the chair the guy starts cutting again….., then combing....then ruffling but settles on combing for the final result. The whole procedure lasted about one hour but it was priceless in entertainment value. Anyway, here is the evidence:

The face wash

The ruffle

The massage

The hair spray

The hug

                              Another tough day in Africa!

Ethiopia - Part 4

Saturday 3^rd November

Well, we never made it to the Danakil Depression, much to Don & Ian’s regret. We were in the middle of negotiating a price with a guide when news came in that there had been flooding in the area and it was impossible to get to the depression unless you took a detour which would have added two extra days to a three day trip and been very expensive. Just so you know what I am talking about the Danikil Depression is a vast, largely unpopulated desert region close to the Eritrean border, and is officially the lowest point of earth. It contains ancient salt lakes (since it was once submerged in saline water) and active volcanoes, the sort where you can climb up to the edge and peer over the top and take a look at the molten lava. You can see why the boys really wanted to go!

Volcano Erta Ale in the Danakil Depression
(Don wants me to point out that I did not actually take this picture myself! Haha..) 

Anyway, instead of what would have been a very exciting but tough excursion we spent five days in our hotel. Heather had been feeling unwell for a while and a doctor’s appointment confirmed that she needed to rest and take a course of antibiotics to get her better. Actually, the rest did all of us good. The hotel had a ‘European’ as well as a local food menu and I had four spaghetti Carbonara in a row (spread over two days mind!).

Now we are on the move again, having spent last night in probably the scruffiest hotel courtyard so far, with cockroaches the size of small sausages, goats and sheep sleeping in the toilets and a cockerel starting his early morning call at midnight and going on through the whole night. By four in the morning I was ready to get up and kill the thing with my bare hands! Now blurry eyed and shattered, it is easy to imagine a nice day at home with friends having a bonfire party tonight.

We are now on the road to Harar which forms the southern border of the Danakil desert and this area is inhabited mostly by the Afar tribe which claims to be  the oldest tribe in Ethiopia. The Afar are traditionally nomadic living in flimsy houses made out of palm leaves which they simply pick up and transport on their camels.

Afar 'mobile homes'

The Afar look very different from other ethnic groups in Ethiopia. Both men and woman are highly decorated with beads and colourful clothing. The men carry a 40 inch long curved dagger which up until a few decades ago was put to use for chopping off male genitals if they didn’t like the look of you.

Sunday 4^th November

We are now in the most eastern part of Ethiopia in Harar. This city is to Islam what Axum (in the north of the country, where we were staying a few days ago) is to Christianity and is considered by the Muslims to be the fourth holiest city in the world after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. At its heart is an old walled city housing 90 mosques and 22,000 inhabitants and a fascinating street market. Sellers come from the nearby villages and camp on the pavement for the day having brought with them (apart from their produce) their children and animals and they cook, eat, sell or simply lie around chewing chat (the local kick).

We are leaving for Addis Ababa tomorrow and then off for our last leg in Ethiopia through the Omo Valley back into Kenya. 

Ethiopia - Part 3

Wednesday 24^th October

We have had a relatively quiet week back in Ethiopia, spending the first few days after the border crossing at ‘Kim & Tim’s’ camp on Lake Tana, generally regarded as being the source of the Blue Nile (where we had stayed previously, before we headed into Sudan).  This is also where we had stored out beers and wine and I guess the only event worth mentioning is that we had our first cold beer in over two weeks. I think Don’s face says it all!

We pretty much took the vehicle  apart to clean out the desert sand and dust which took us a couple of days. We then visited  more local sites along the Blue Nile, including the impressive Blue Nile Falls, before heading into the Simien mountains which are one of Africa’s largest mountain ranges and described as the ‘Roof of the World’.

We had spectacular views driving up the mountain passes and when we reached our camp at 3,200 m the temperature dropped to 5 degrees and out came the winter pyjamas and the hot water bottle once again. There was a bitter cold wind blowing at night but all four of us felt that this was nevertheless preferable to the heat we had experienced in Sudan.Our Bradt guidebook recommends that instead of camping in these mountains one should try and stay in one of the mountain villages where you would either sleep on the floor or on a wooden platform with goats or cows underneath for warmth.  Well, perhaps another time.

The picture above shows our camp toilet with has to be the toilet with some of the best views in the whole of Africa overlooking a valley from a height of 3200m.

The local people here are some of the poorest we have encountered in Ethiopia so far and it is difficult to see children dressed in little more than rags and no shoes in such hostile weather conditions. This little girl in the picture below was one of them and when I bought a little handmade basket off her I was rewarded with this lovely smile.

 Yesterday we drove further north to a town called Axum which is widely regarded as being the spiritual capital of the Ethiopian Christian community. Although the scenery was amazing, the track (can’t really call it road) was one of those where you crawl over rocks for most of the day and it took us 10 hours averaging 25km/hour.  We were all totally exhausted when we reached Axum in the dark (broke that rule again!) but managed to find a clean budget hotel for the night.

Axum, which is in the very north of Ethiopia and close to the Eritrean border is said to be in possession of one of Christianity’s most important artefacts, namely the Arc of the Covenant. For those of you who are not familiar with the ‘Arc of the Covenant’ (and I was one of them), it is believed to be an ornate wooden box containing the tablets on which God wrote the ten commandments before handing them to Moses. It was thought to have been kept in Jerusalem before it was stolen by an Ethiopian king (the son of The Queen of Sheba and King Solomon) and brought to Ethiopia. It is now thought to be kept in a chapel in a church compound built on the grounds of the first Christian church ever built in Africa in the 5^th Century AD. 

Chapel where The Arc of the Covenant is thought to be kept

 It is guarded by a single monk who becomes the guard aged 20 and stays in the chapel grounds until he dies.  This means that at any one time only one person alive has ever seen the Arc since its arrival in Ethiopia, although all the monk is allowed to do is to cover the box with an embroided cloth and take it off again on certain occasions. It is believed that if he (or anyone else) was to look inside the box he would die.

Of course it is not proved whether the Arc of the Covenant is really kept in Axum (or indeed whether it exists at all) and western historians generally don’t believe it is. And yet, it is impossible not to be caught up in the intrigue of it all. With the help of a local guide we got as close to the chapel as any person is allowed to be and yes, there was definitely a spiritual moment there.

The longer we are in Ethiopia the more we are captivated by its history.  Sudan and Ethiopia are the only countries we have visited so far with extensive numbers of ancient monuments pointing to ancient civilisations. And yet, Ethiopia’s official history is made up more of myths, legends and oral tradition than documented historical fact. Perhaps that is why it is so fascinating. Everyone you talk to is totally passionate about it and it is difficult to find a consensus when it comes to dating monuments or events even in the literature we are reading.

Sunday 28^th October (Happy Birthday Dan!)

We left Axum and headed towards an area called Tigrai which is best known for its rock-hewn churches. These are churches literally carved into cliff faces and again, their history is surrounded by myths and legends. Some of them date back to the 5^th century AD but no-one knows why they were carved into such inaccessible places. Some of them are so inaccessible that they can only be reached by being pulled up on ropes by monks. 

This particular one, Abba Yohanni,  in the two pictures below was almost impossible to spot and we very nearly missed it. Our guidebook described it as being '...build in a tall west facing sandstone cliff about three hours drive from the main turn-off'. If you look carefully you can just about see it in the very centre of the picture and this was our first sighting of it. Because the church is monastic, woman are not allowed to enter so we just took photographs. 

We visited two more churches, the first one was also very remote and thought to be the oldest.  We had to first find the priest who holds the key to unlock the door in a nearby village (who needed to be transported in Heather and Ian’s car sitting on the console with a guide sitting on the bonnet). We then climbed up a fairly steep but manageable rock slope and after a lengthy ritual opening a large wooden door found ourselves in a very small dark little church hewn into the cliff face.

It was absolutely amazing just being in such a place. I can honestly say that St. Peter’s in Rome did not have the same effect on me. The priest lit a tall candle to light up the murials on the walls and roof and the engravings of crosses and symbols into the rock. Unfortunately it was too dark to take any quality photographs on the inside.

Today is Sunday and we have treated ourselves to a slightly more upmarket hotel in a little town just south of Tigres. The longer we are in Ethiopia the more we want to see and an opportunity has just presented itself for us to join a group of people who are heading into an area called ‘Danakil Depression’ which is known for being the hottest and most hostile place in Africa. As well as having active volcanoes the landscape is a mixture of desert and salt lakes. 

One for the boys I think but will keep you posted! If only I could find internet access.

Sudan - The Red Sea

Sunday, 14^th October

We have spent the last few days by the Red Sea and what a welcome break from the desert!  However, it took us a while to actually find somewhere to stay. This is probably the most astonishing fact of all since starting our trip: Sudan has a coast line of over 800 km with a coral reef stretching for much of its length and yet, apart from a couple of hotels in Port Sudan there is nowhere to stay along the entire coast. We ended up camping at the literally only ‘resort’ listed in the guidebooks, which was a complex of half built chalets and a couple of shaded areas where you could sit during the day. Luckily it had clean showers and toilets.

The first couple of days we just chilled doing very little. We knew the coral reef was out there, you could see a distinct line of colour change about one kilometre from the shore. We contemplated hiring a boat but it was very expensive. Eventually we set off ‘on foot’ with our snorkels. The sea was very shallow where we were and there was a little island halfway between the shore and what we thought was the reef. 

We reached the island and realised we only needed to walk or swim another 500 meters or so to get to the reef. At this point we started swimming since the sea became slightly deeper but still ‘walkable’. It felt like desert covered with sea water if that makes sense. The water was murky with sand and visibility poor.

About 20 meters from the edge of what we thought was the reef we put our goggles and snorkels on and were totally awe struck by what we saw in front of us; suddenly the colour changed into a clear rich blue and the ground dropped away about 30 meters deep revealing one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen. The water was crystal clear and I can only liken it to finding yourself  in a very large aquarium with fish of all colours and sizes and of course the coral. The water was so clear that you could see the floor of the sea. I don’t think I will ever forget the moment! It was just amazing!

I have put this image here (taken off the internet)just to give you an idea of the colours but of course it doesn't do it any justice at all.

Now Don and I are on our way back to Khartoum where we are hoping to extend our Ethiopian visas. Ian and Heather are on a slightly different route from us so for the first time since we have started our trip we are separated. Feels odd! We will catch up with each other in a few days once we crossed the Ethiopian border. 

Before I sign off I must share this poster with you, it was hanging on the door of a ‘european’ toilet telling people how to use it. We thought it was very funny. Can anyone work out what the last picture tells you ‘not to do’?

P.S. If you have any ideas please post your comments on the blog rather than facebook. Thanks guys!
                                                                        xxx

Sudan - The desert

Saturday, 7^th October

We drove into Sudan a couple of days ago and were immediately struck by the difference in landscape and temperature compared to Ethiopia. Sudan is the largest of the countries on our itinerary and is mostly desert. Daytime temperatures have been hitting 45 degrees at midday and there is little cooling off at night. That, combined with the fact that we have had to leave all our alcohol behind (illegal in Sudan and punishable with 40 lashes if found in possession of) makes conditions let’s just say a tat more challenging.

The landscape is beautiful in a sparse desert sort of way and of course the boys love driving through the desert. Heather and I want to get the desert part out of the way and look forward to getting to the Red Sea which hopefully should be by the middle of next week.

We spent the first couple of days and nights in Khartoum, which at first sight is like any other African capital city we have been too. What is different is that there appear to be no other tourists here and the Sudanese treated us with a mixture of curiosity and hospitality; complete strangers come up to you in the street and want to shake your hand and want to have their pictures taken. We were in a park overlooking the confluence of the Nile (where the white and the blue Nile meet) when an elderly man came up to us and not only bought us all an ice cream (saying ‘that’s we do here’) but also invited us to go on a boat trip with him and his family. 

We left Khartoum yesterday and are now on a ‘loop’ on the north western part of Sudan following the course of the Nile where there are several historically important ancient sites. Yesterday we visited Sudan’s oldest pyramids and temples and although they are not as old and impressive as the Egyptian ones, what is amazing here is that there are virtually no other tourists. Sadly, an Italian treasure hunter arrived here over nearly 200 years ago and chopped the tops of each pyramid to look for treasurers. The treasurers he found are now kept in in a museum in Germany and the Sudanese are left with decapitated pyramids.

Sudan has no camping as such but you are pretty much allowed to camp anywhere is the desert. That we did last night and I have to say it was pretty special. The night sky is incredibly clear and it is almost eerily quiet.  We camped in the vicinity of the pyramids and again this felt slightly unreal, imagining an ancient civilisation of 20,000 living here over 2000 years ago. Nowdays, the area around them is totally deserted. 

Monday, 8^th October

Yesterday we continued our quest to visit more ancient sites along the west bank of the Nile river. Again, we drove through mostly desert with the odd settlement of the ancient Nubian tribe here and there.  Due to the heat you don’t see many people outside but there is a touching tradition here of leaving water in each village for wary travellers.

On the outskirts of each village is a graveyard which is little more than a pile of rocks marked with a small metal plaque.  What a desolate sight!

This side of the river has virtually no road in places and it made our trek out of Kenya on the Marsabit road feel like a walk in the park. We drove 10 hours averaging 20 km per hour. The countryside changed from flat desert to what looked like giant rock forests. Don and Ian loved the driving and there was a distinct feel of ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ in the air. I finally understood why ‘men come from Mars…’

the 'road' through rock forest

What is incredible is that this is one of the largest rivers in the world and yet along it’s west bank in this part of Sudan we encountered some of the most remote areas so far.  I think very few tourists ever venture here.

After having spent Sunday night in a ‘hotel’ with so many creepy crawlies in our beds that we had to get the insecticide out to kill them first, we decided to bush camp in the desert again. South African friends of ours have often talked about the night sky in the desert but nothing prepares you for this. You literally don’t need a light to do your cooking etc.  It was magic!  At this point we were about 180km from Egypt and the night also marked our most northern destination having travelled 22,000 kilometres and 14 weeks to get here.
Sadly, we only had warm water to celebrate the occasion with!

our most northern point

Tuesday, 9^th October

Before crossing the Nile to its east bank we visited one last ancient site. These ruins of an ancient temple date back to 3500 BC and were built by the Egyptians. Again we were amazed by how remote and isolated this spot was. I don’t think anyone has been here for weeks.

We crossed from the west bank of the Nile to the east on a ferry and having heard stories of old decrepit  ferries sinking we were glad to reach the other side, although the ‘captain’ reassured us that there were no crocodiles in the  river so I guess it would have been alright.

Now we are making our way across Sudan towards the Red Sea where we intend to spend a few days before heading back towards Ethiopia.  Looking out of the car window it is desert again, with a few rocks here and there. Just like in the picture below. I guess there is a beauty there somewhere...