Me-go Mix: Track 7 “Gondar” — Madingo Afework Traveling around Northern Ethiopia I spent a lot of time on buses, including four days round trip to Lalibela. The long rides were always accompanied by upbeat and high-pitched music. Before I left Addis Ababa I wanted to pick up a CD of music that would remind…
To tide you over until I finish my post about The South Omo Valley here are a few fun facts about Ethiopia that I’ve noticed: Ethiopians have a different calendar and the current year is 1999. The year 2000 hits this September and I’ve seen a handful of places named “millennium cafe.” Some stores are…
All of my photos from Ethiopia are up in the gallery. I think it’s an eclectic group but the South was still my favorite.
My bank told me yesterday that they would re-activate my ATM card for 24 hours. They lied. I tried my card late in the afternoon and again after dinner with no response. I gave them the benefit of the doubt, and assumed that there was a delay on the Ethiopian end but in the morning…
It’s been one of those days. I’ve been in touch with Air Madagascar’s Nairobi agent for weeks now, planning my flight to Madagascar. I’m trying to time things right so that I can travel between Addis Ababa and Nairobi by bus (a five-day journey), pick up my ticket and leave within the confines of a…
Just a quick post to let you all know that after two days on the bus from Lalibela (and two days on the bus from Gonder to Lalibela) I’m back in Addis Ababa. I had Nachos Ole for dinner, yum. I’ve lost a bit of weight in Ethiopia, for lack of anything I want to…
Tonight is my thrid night in Bahir Dar. The minibus came to my hotel in Addis at 3am (one hour early) and after a quick rush to get things together I ended up sitting on the bus until 4:30, when we finally left town. Although the sunrise was really beautiful over a patchwork of green…
It’s been raining and gloomy for the past four days here in Addis Ababa. On the afternoon we arrived back from Southern Ethiopia I started to feel unwell and by dinnertime I had a fever and runny nose. I braved it out for a while, resisting the urge to panic and assume it’s malaria—according to…
We arrived back in Addis yesterday afternoon among a steam of soot-spewing trucks in a traffic jam. When I first arrived I didn’t realize how poluted the air is here, but I guess it was fresh compared to Cairo. I wasn’t feeling well last night but woke up refreshed and after a nice (hot!) shower…
My Southern journey is almost over—I’ve arrived in Awasa and expect to get back to Addis Ababa tomorrow afternoon. During my trip around the South I saw zebras, hippos and massive birds. I drove by a naked boy painted white walking on stilts and was kissed by a teenage Hamer girl at a traditional Hamer…
I’ve arrived in Addis in one piece. The weather is beautiful and the air smells much nicer than Cairo. The flight was uneventful, half full and arrived early. Luckily in the parking lot I met two other travelers, both Americans living in Cairo, to share a cab to the city. This morning they decided to…
My flight to Ethiopia is in a few hours and I don’t feel ready. Somehow when I travel overland the transition is easier. When I fly I feel like I’m just thrown in the middle of things and have to quickly figure everything out. I printed my Oanda cheat sheet so I know that the…
This morning I casually walked into the Egypt Air office and bought a one-way ticket from Cairo to Addis Ababa. Who buys a one-way ticket to Ethiopia, let alone only four days in advance? Huh, me, I guess.