OUR JOURNEY INTO ETHIOPIA SO FAR!!

Unfortunately we have been unable to put anything onto the blog, until yesterday, which was really old news. Anyway we are firing on all cylinders now and are having a great time. We have had some interesting experiences and the odd hick up, but nothing that does not add to the travelling experience.

From arriving at Moyale, we have travelled to Yabello to go and explore the Yabello wild life sanctuary. Not much wild life, I might say, unless you regard camels, cows, goats and donkeys as such. In the one part of the park is some fantastic bird life. People come there especially to “do the birds” There are one or 2 endemic birds, only to be found there. We did not see them. The other part of the park is amidst the tribal land. That was an interesting afternoon. The most amazing to us were the gathering of the herds at the watering hole. It was an unforgettable experience to see the camels, herds of cattle and goats being brought to the watering hole in relays to drink. We were lucky to get some photos. These Borana herdsmen are not keen on being photographed.

We have travelled over mountains for many hundreds of kilometres through the most beautiful countryside and we have seen many villages in many shapes and sizes and many different people in many different types of clothing, but the one thing that sticks out for me, is the fact that the country is so well “worked” There is no erosion, the land is cultivated and the people are colourful. Every area has a character of its own and by the looks a product to deal with special to their area, like wood, or stone or maize, etc.

Driving is a challenge; however Dick is now well adjusted. He hoots at everything, he passes on white lines, like everybody, although he still slows down when he gets to a village, which most of the locals do not do. We have seen many a turned upside down truck, which does not surprise me at all, as the roads are windy, the cattle is everywhere and goats roam freely. None of the animals even show the slightest bit of respect for a vehicle. They are obviously just well adjusted to the local conditions. The fact that the goats feed on the left overs of “chat” the mild narcotic, chewed by just about everybody, might have something to do with it! Today was market day in most of the villages that we travelled through, so that also added some excitement.
We have arrived safely in the ancient city of Harar, we are booked into the hotel, as there is no camping facility here and we have secured a guide for the day to take us to all the places of interest tomorrow. We have a shower, cold, I think and a loo with a flushing deficiency! The room is Birr 75 per night, which is about R50, so I suppose you cannot expect too much. This is one of the better hotels in the town, what can I say?