When it rains, it pours . . .

I suppose many other MCC programs around the world could write this blog. Ethiopia is hurting. It began with a lack of normal rains in February-March. The normal dry season from October to February turns everything brown and thus rain is needed to ‘green things up.’ Also to begin the first planting of the season. But there was to be no planting in the desert dry soil. Then when the rains did come in May and the farmers planted, another plague besides drought hit the corn crop. Being as the soil was much warmer, when the rains hit it, army worm larvae popped out of the ground and found the tender shoots of corn ready to eat. The crop was devastated.

But that wasn’t all. Prices for all food basics had been rising in the past year; livestock, grains, oil, sugar and, especially here in Ethiopia, the staples of teff and berbere. Not just 5 or 10% mind you, 100 to 200% in some cases. Imagine people who make the equivalent of $1-2 USD per day and were just surviving a year ago on that 10-20 Birr, now all food staples have gone up but wages are not going up near as fast, particularly in the agrarian countryside. What can the family head do?

What should the government do? There have been no riots over food prices here like in other countries and we’re glad about that. But I’m not sure why. The government does have a feeding system in place and lots of foreign aid helps. A familiar sight since March, at least in the city of Addis, has been the large feed sacks of wheat that say US AID in large letters. The government was handing them out free to the poor families in the kebeles (districts) all over the city. If you are registered at your local kebele then you are to go to the kebele office on a certain day of the week (based on your name), wait in a long line all morning for your sack of wheat. In April one could get the grain if one registered to vote. Is that encouraging democracy or bribing the poor?

A ship laden with Canadian wheat is just arrived this week at the docks in Djibouti. The wheat comes from Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB) partners, all the church denominations in Canada, with strong assistance from the Canadian government. For every dollar raised by CFGB through their partners, and ordinary Canadians, the Canadian government gives 4 more dollars through CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency, the counterpart to US AID).

This grain will be given to partners of CFGB here in Ethiopia. MCC’s partner, Meserete Kristos Church Relief and Development Agency (MKC-RDA) is one of those partners. We are the intermediary, the liaison between CFGB and RDA. The grain will be unloaded within the week at the docks onto trucks which will then be trucked to the various regions in Ethiopia where all the partners are working, from the Ogaden region in the east to the Borena region in south and to the Southern Nations & Nationalities People Region (SNNPR) where MCC and RDA work.

It all sounds so straightforward. But there is a story behind this too of course. A story about how it almost didn’t happen . . .

As Good as Advertised . . .

Yes, it had only been a week since we travelled north through Ethiopia’s ancient historical sites and visited several of the MCC programs in those areas. Yes, we were glad to go north but it was work. We all came back feeling exhausted from the trip. We had planned to go somewhere else for a real vacation as far back as May, but where to go? Kenya? Egypt? Yemen? Dubai? North to Europe? South to South Africa? But the cost of travel and the unknown as far as lodging seemed to be more work than we wanted to do.

How about staying in Ethiopia? Even before we travelled north we questioned whether there was anywhere in Ethiopia that we could relax & rest. There was no evidence of any place ‘getting it right’. The trip north seemed to confirm our doubts. Even the nicest places, at Lalibela and Gonder, there were always a bunch of small things (sometimes big things too) that bugged me. The Roha Hotel in Lalibela was without electricity and water as often as in Addis. The Goha Hotel in Gonder gave us rooms that felt like I was back living in a basement apartment with the accompanying musty odors. There were many small things that showed that the management didn’t know how or didn’t care about paying attention to details. So we felt the despair of not being able to go anywhere in Ethiopia where the industry would get it right.

But we booked rooms at a place called the Sabana Beach Resort on Lake Langano. Open for less than one year, it was advertised as a place ‘where your senses come alive’. Our friends, Sam & Kathy, had taken their family there earlier in the year and highly recommended it, which is why we chose to try it. But would it be as good as advertised?

It is a 3 hour drive from Addis to go 200 kilometers south to Langano. Monday morning I fought the usual traffic and the girls managed to hang out in the back of the Land Cruiser in peace and quiet. We left cool and rainy (between 12-17C or 50-65F) and arrived in the warm sunshine at Langano (20-25C or 70-80F). As we drove into the large compound of Sabana it was clear that a lot of work was done to transform a bare and rocky land into a beach resort. There are four rows of bungalows at four levels, almost like risers for a choir.
The level below ours, about a 3-4 meter drop, is enough to allow us a view of the lake, although not completely unobstructed (one needs to book the 100 level bungalows for that). There is grass here! Highly unusual in Ethiopia. Granted, it isn’t the finest Kentucky bluegrass but green and pleasant nevertheless. The construction of the bungalows are a blend of west and east; thatched roofs with iron wrought structure. Another amazing feature is the shower that has real water pressure and well-controlled hot and cold water (in contrast to our shower at home where the knobs that are so sensitive that you can look at the knob and it changes from brutal cold to blistering hot).


Sabana Beach resort has been as good as advertised. The beach has a nice beach with water slide on a platform, kayaks to take out, volleyball, soccer and table tennis equipment. The restaurant’s menu is actually diverse; from Ethiopian food to Mexican chile to Indian curry to American ice cream and they taste pretty close to the way they should taste. There is a conference room with a DVD player/projector where one can watch their favorite movies (bring your own).

It is hard to believe one is still in Ethiopia when one is here. It was quiet (no TV’s in the rooms) with the only noise being birdsongs and the far off baying of mules and lowing of cattle. It was a break from the daily bombardment of people, animals and vehicles. The days were partly cloudy but no rain, a break from the rainy season. We made the most of our time here; playing on the beach, watching DVD’s, playing games (Monopoly was played with Amani and Dad being the last two standing), lots of reading books and magazines, relaxing over food and the girls simply playing.
Just about the only disappointment has been the full moon sequence which obscured a normally brilliant starry, starry sky (the last time I was at Langano in April one could see the Big and Little Dipper, the Milky Way in all its glory and the Southern Cross as well as many other constellations).

We were able to relax and rest as each day passed. Thank you Lord for the short but sweet getaway . . .

Travelogue: Day 1, Addis Ababa to Dessie

Welcome to our northern Ethiopia journey! Our family has been in Ethiopia for almost a year but we haven’t been on the well-known ‘northern route’. This is the way most tourists go, or are taken, when they come to Ethiopia. The famous northern route hits the 4 major cities; Bahir Dar, Gonder, Axum and Lalibela, usually in that order. But we will be going ‘backwards’, counterclockwise if you will, starting with Lalibela.

Our journey started Monday morning, June 23, from Addis Ababa. Our first stop would be Dessie, about 400 kilometers away. For those of you following at home, follow the road that runs northeast out of Addis. We were to leave our house at 7:30 a.m. but I guess it is hard to get 5 people moving all in the same direction and on time so we left at 7:45. We said good-bye to the pets; to Coca and Peanut the dogs, to Princess Waffles and Spot the cats, to Cindy the male rabbit and Yertle the turtle somewhere in the back yard.


The journey from Addis to Dessie starts out high in the cool mountain air of Addis and ends up in the warm desert-like air of Dessie. In between are mountains to go up and down on. The guidebooks said that the road was asphalt-paved but that was only half true for our trip. It seems that the Chinese are helping to widen the road from 2 to 4 lane most of the way from Addis to Debre Berhan so the first 200 km were rough. In many places we saw the Chinese out on roads leading the construction crews. In some places the road was being moved away from the old road cutting across the land like a shortcut. The old asphalt road, meanwhile, was in sad shape, having been patched many times over. It was better at times to drive on the dirt roads beside them.

The second part of the journey was much nicer. Soon after Debre Berhan a four lane paved road appeared and driving became much easier. We were fortunate not to see too much traffic. Mostly trucks and long distance buses which we were able to pass fairly easily. This road was made with the European Union’s help, thanks EU! Our drive had been mostly through towns and plains up to that point but now the road took us from the top of the mountain winding our way down with many switchbacks (curves). Now we saw forests made up of some sort of pines or evergreens or similar looking. We also saw more of the Italian built bridges probably built 70 years ago. Beautiful stone bridges with arches undergirding the road. In fact the scenery was very alpine. We felt like we were in Switzerland or northern Italy, what a nice drive. Of course we would see the ‘tukuls’, the round huts of the populace and know that we weren’t in Europe. And there were the occasional camels and monkeys that also reminded us that we were in Africa.


We finally arrived at Dessie in the early evening and found out that no hotel room had been booked. Apparently the hotels won’t accept reservations. The hotels are filled these days with Chinese. So as Mekonnen checked out hotels, along with a kind MKC evangelist who helped by going place to place to check for us, we found out that everything was full. Full, that is, except for the government hotel. These hotels feel like something out of the 1940’s, which probably when they were built. Many were privately owned but were seized by previous communist government (called the “Derg”) and now this government would like to sell them off but they don’t have a sense of a selling price and refuse to accept a reasonable price. So the formerly beautiful wooden floors creak ferociously, the rooms have one dim bulb in the ceiling, the thin ancient wiring looks scary. The walls need a fresh coat of paint. The windows have an old wood frame with single pane glass. The beds are soft and sag in the middle, but at least the sheets were clean. The whole place is kept relatively clean and we appreciated that. Unfortunately there was no water for washing up or for the toilet. A real problem.

So we took the 2 rooms that were left and inspected them. Sophia and I slept in one room and Wanda and the twins in the other. We had a late (7:30 p.m.) supper down in the dining room before going to bed. The dining room was part of the whole 40’s look, high ceiling with wooden cortaround and ornate decorating. But to my amazement the atmosphere they created was very nice. The music was familiar American jazz but more importantly the volume was low, it stayed in the background and we didn’t have to yell over the music like often happens. And the food was good; the pasta and sauce was good and the salads were full of fresh veggies.

Travelogue: Day 2, Dessie to Lalibela

We said good-bye to the ‘grand old lady’ in Dessie and were not sad to leave the hotel or town. It was no fun to use a toilet that didn’t have a toilet seat and was obviously used by men who didn’t care if the next person might have to sit down on the bowl. And the lack of water also meant that I couldn’t wash up properly the next morning (morning face all day long). The last straw was the fact that the toilets were backed up and couldn’t flush and yet one had to use the facilities, no other choice.

But the breakfast was good; scrambled eggs with toasted bread or cereal (but with warm milk; not a good thing with cold cereal, the corn flakes just melt into a congealed mess). At least they had good food. We packed up and left soon after. We tried to buy gas on our way out of town but all the gas stations were out of gas (diesel, actually). No worries. We still had a ¾ tank and I reckoned we could easily drive to Lalibela if needed. Mekonnen had advised that we buy gas and fill up whenever possible because of just such a problem; gas stations which were out of gas.

The drive from Dessie to Lalibela took another full day of driving, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. without lunch. We stopped for fuel in Woldia and stopped for a potty break another time but that was it. Not that we wanted it that way, there just weren’t opportunities along the way for a lunch stop. Thank God for the cooler of snack foods we brought with us. Some good friends shopped at the U.S. Embassy commissary for us before we left so we had Cheetos and Rold Gold pretzel sticks along with k’olo (roasted barley and peanuts). Somehow we all managed to drive under these conditions without too much strife or mutiny. The girls complained a bit but were quite good overall, given the circumstances.

The drive was once again a scenic wonder. Yes, the land was dry in this rainy season from a lack of water and yes, the roads were alternately bad and good (acceptable). But as we left Dessie we once again headed up into the mountains on roads that were clinging to the mountainsides. I was driving so I couldn’t linger on the sights as we climbed higher and higher. The view of range after range of mountains and the vista of the valley below was tempered by the fact that we were on a gravel, dusty road that sometimes was only one lane. And don’t look down over the edge, these roads don’t have any guardrails and the drop-off was usually thousands of meters. So Wanda and the girls were nervous. Hey, I admit I was fighting off a bit of vertigo myself. Just concentrate on the road, just don’t think about it.

Along the road as we climbed the mountain we would come to villages (a welcome respite from the cliffhanger- driving). We would see water running in ditches beside the road. That water, in an arid land, was water from hot springs that gushed out of the mountain side. So there were pockets of green lush landscape and growing crops.

We kept climbing. One common theme that we have experienced since leaving Addis has been the construction of roads all along the way and the presence of Chinese road builders. Everywhere roads are being built, the Chinese are there. Ethiopians are used to the presence of white western foreigners (we’re called ‘fereng’) but now a generation of Ethiopian kids are seeing Chinese. One boy even mistakenly shouted out, ‘China’ to his mother in his excitement when he saw us in our Land Cruiser. The roads are being paved all over the country. We had to drive around and sometimes through the construction but as we did we all thought how nice it will be when it is done in a couple of years (if we do this route by vehicle again).

It seemed like forever but we finally reached the top of the mountain. We all expected to start a downhill crawl but amazingly the road went on and on. Like we were on a long plateau. Again the scenery reminded me of other mountainous scenes I have seen; alpine scenery in Europe or the Rocky Mountains. Windswept land that was green but not lush. Rocky outcropping everywhere. And a road runs through it. We found another stone circle and stopped for our bathroom break. Mekonnen struck up a conversation with a mother and two daughters who were fascinated by our stopping. The older daughter (a teenager) was married and had a child. The younger daughter, 10 years old, was ‘promised’ to a boy in marriage. Traditional practice in these parts, Mekonnen said.

We finally found the road to Lalibela (no road signs, you just continually stop and ask) and started the downhill plunge. The road was full of switchbacks. I used my horn continuously to warn the people and animals on the road ahead. Don’t want to hit anyone or anything. As we descended the landscape changed again. Now we were looking at something from the American desert southwest. The cactus, large ‘spider’ plants and other relatives of the aloe vera plant. The rocky, sandy brown soil. We went on and on through the desert landscape.

Everyone was getting restless by 3 p.m. We had not stopped for lunch and the girls were ready to end this drive. We continued to go up and down through the mountains, more spectacular scenery. We counted down the kilometers until we were scheduled to reach Lalibela; 200 kms, 100 kms, 70, 60, 50, etc. Then we saw a large billboard looking very out of place in this desert land, a sign that was advertising St. George beer and saying ‘welcome to the holy land of Lalibela’ (yes, holy land, the Orthodox Ethiopians regard this land as quite sacred).It took another 20 km but we wended our way upwards one more time to the city on the hill. Houses clinging to the hillsides. A road once again on the side of the mountain. Wanda remarked that it is hard to believe that there is an airport, an actual flat landing strip, somewhere in the vicinity. They must have flattened a mountain top to do it.

Our hotel was on the far side of town, through the cobbled streets. We could tell we were coming to a tourist trap because as we got closer to town people started shouting things in English at us. By the time we had arrived in Lalibela there were English speakers. The Roha hotel is also a government hotel but is a marked contrast to the one in Dessie. About the only thing they have in common is the same soap is in the bathrooms! This one is more ‘Ferengi’ friendly with a large common room, dining area, even a small gift shop. The rooms have running water, electric, even satellite TV (although only 4 channels; BBC World Service, Al Jazeera News, a Arab movie channel of English language films and a Euronews channel that has no sound)! The courtyard is well maintained and the girls enjoyed running around. Beautiful flowering bushes in colors of yellow, white, red, blue and purple. We had a nice supper and relaxed before bed. Another day done, another adventure about to begin.

Travelogue: Day 3, Lalibela

Today was a ‘country orientation’ day. The girls were up early, as usual, and I went out to take some pictures of our compound at the Roha Hotel. After a nice breakfast we arranged with a guide, Mesfin, to go with us to the Lalibela churches. It cost the children $10 each and the adults $20 each (Mekonnen got in free with his Ethiopian citizen card). We started at the Bet Medane Alem (‘Church of the Savior’) church. The major churches in two clusters are now under a very modern canopy which was funded by UNESCO. The canopy keeps the sun and rain off the stone churches but looks odd in their place; the essence of ancient under the essence of modernity. The churches survived 800 years but time did leave their mark on them.

So what are the stone hewn churches all about? Many ancient churches in Ethiopia were literally cut out of the stone. Not on some mountain, like in Petra (in Jordan) but dug out of the ground. The builders had to cut through stone over 30 meters (90 feet) to make the trench, then shaping whole churches, doors, windows, pillars, roof and all, cutting away the stone to create space. Those who have seen the ‘wonders of the world’ have classified the Lalibela stone churches as easily within the category. There are a number of these stone-hewn churches in Ethiopia but none are a large or as intricate in design as these. Experts wonder at the building of these churches in the same way that they wonder how the Pyramids in Egypt were built, how could the ancients have built these structures with ancient tools?

So we went from one church to the next, through ancient doorways of wood and metal. We saw rectangular burial places hewn out of stone in church floors and in the walls of stone around the churches. We saw priests who dressed up in their robes, pulled out their crosses and had their photos taken (small tip appreciated). We saw a few people at prayer (but most had prayed prior to the hours of 8 a.m.- noon and the rest will likely pray later). We were fortunate not to see a lot of tourists like ourselves, we mostly explored in some isolated peace.

The peace was broken at Bet Giorgis (St. George Church), probably the most splendid church in Lalibela. The church stands alone and across the street, away from the other 2 clusters of churches. We had just walked down into the church area and we noticed other tourists there. A group of 5 or 6, probably European I guessed. Mesfin led us over to little pool of water when he and his friend Zedeke got a little silly and started spraying water on our girls (in the ‘blessing’ fashion of orthodox priests) and our girls squealed in delight at the moment of play. In that moment a white haired man in a thick accent berated us ‘Americans’ for having no respect for the church and suggesting that we were behaving inappropriately. I asked, where are you from? As he went on and on, I asked a couple more times until he said, European and immediately walked into the church before I could respond further.

I have to admit that that got my dander up. Actually it flustered all of us, even the Ethiopians with us (Wanda protested, “I’m Canadian,” but no one from their group acknowledged that). I think being unfairly charged was one annoyance (it was our Ethiopian tour guides that started spraying water, but so what?). It was also this Euro-prejudice that annoyed too. In the past and even present we have experienced prejudice, either very subtle or quite open (as in this case) from Europeans to North Americans. The stereotype is that North Americans are culturally inferior and backwards, the ‘Ugly American’ overseas comes to mind. The irony is that as we talked afterwards (much later after things cooled down) Ethiopians said their favorite tourists are Americans and Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders.

Those from the continent: German, Italian and Spanish are especially arrogant and snarky. Perhaps this was for our benefit but Mesfin seemed personally aggrieved by the whole situation (maybe he recognized his role in it and our unfair labeling). It was a good lesson for our girls and I used it as a teaching moment. This is how prejudice feels: To be unfairly labeled and stereotyped. But our response is not in kind, but rather to not to stir up anger with harsh words (even if many good replies come to mind). The matter is closed, I said. We all agreed and things did cool down. I had even told one of the women in that group that since we will see each other more that day it would be good to be on friendly terms. She tried to say in her best English that what one in their group says doesn’t represent the whole group. Fair enough.

So we continued on that morning and did see the other group again but they let us go through and we continued touring until the noon hour when they closed the churches. We said goodbye to Zedeke, our shoe-bearer (since we have to take our shoes off for each church someone watches our shoes), and paid him the agreed price plus a bit more. We paid the one guy who watched our Land Cruiser as well. We took Mesfin back to the hotel and agreed to have him escort Wanda and Abby shopping in the afternoon. We came back and washed up for lunch and, sure enough, our Spanish friends were in the lobby as well. So there was nothing to do but walk past them and down to the dining room for lunch.

The afternoon was mostly relaxing: Naps, games, shopping, organizing photos of the morning. The girls played out in the compound grounds. We could have visited monasteries near and far since we had a vehicle but the girls would have lost their joy and will. So it suited everyone to relax. Sometimes it is better not to do or see everything even if we may never pass this way again. That’s OK. I’m grateful that the girls had a good time overall this morning. They loved all the walking around in the churches, between churches in narrow passageways, over high wooden bridges, through dark tunnels, across streets and around the church buildings. I think memories will last long and I am glad.

Travelogue: Day 4, Lalibela to M’kele

It was hard to say good-bye to Lalibela. After all, everyone enjoyed the tour day of the stone churches and the hotel was given high marks by my family. But now another travel day was before us and no one in my family was looking forward to it (I was ok with it but then I was going to be driving). It was another 7 hours of driving with more of the same; the same scenery (spectacular), same roads, same dust, same weather . . . and of course no roadside rests or nice restaurants to stop at along the way. So once again the girls talked about the sheer cliffs on our right or left (with no guard rails) and shivered at the thought of the drop off. I knew I needed to concentrate in order to not make a mistake. Going down, going up, shifting up, shifting down, constant curves and switchbacks. The only thing that made the driving nice was the absence of other vehicles. I counted around 6 vehicles that came toward me on the open road over the entire time. There were still people and animals to contest with but they were fewer as well.

And so we drove through to M’kele. There was the incident of Sophia getting sick but other than that the girls did great the whole time. I played Keith Green music and the girls mostly slept after a rowdy start. We had the windows down but as we wended our way from the mountains to the desert floor the temperature rose to 34c (about 90F). The air flowing through the car prevented further car sickness for a while but finally we needed cool air and we closed things up and turned on the a/c. The girls became restless and we did the times tables with them (one of our summer goals). They also did the, “I went camping and I took . . .” game and got all the way to Z. Once again we didn’t have a meal until we got to M’kele.

Finally the road came out onto a plain and I could drive faster. By then we all needed out of the Land Cruiser. As we came over one final hill there was M’kele, a wonderful sight to see. We found our way to the main road, it was nice to see a paved road again after 7 hours. M’kele is one of a handful of rare modern cities in Ethiopia that was designed by a future looking individual (nephew of the last emperor, Haile Selassie). Along with Awassa and Bahir Dar, the city has wide city streets and sidewalks and it laid out like a grid. The most important thing, however, is that the city planners have followed his plan (not like in Addis) and the result is quite impressive. A beautiful downtown and a city that has both palm trees and trees of the highlands.

We found our friend, Berhan, and she invited us to her home where we enjoyed her hospitality. She is the founder of the ‘Anna Hofer orphan village’ which takes orphan children and places them in foster homes (sometimes with immediate family) and pays a stipend to the family to keep the children in food, clothing and school. The project is an MCC Winnipeg ‘Constituent Initiated Project’ (CIP) which means it was begun by constituents of MCC and MCC administers it.

We didn’t see the project, it was enough to get here and go to our hotel on Thursday. Friday morning we shall see the project offices and meet the children that benefit from this program. In the meantime we once again found ourselves quite ready for bed in the Milano Hotel. A nice hotel as you look at it from the outside, but with its own quirks. Our room smelled of sewage but the clerk assured us that the smell would go away when we opened the windows and doors. Ok, the smell did go. But then the loud live music downstairs began after dark and the EuroCup 2008 commentary was played on the loudspeakers down below as well so we closed the sliding glass balcony door. Bad idea. The smell returned. So we left it open all night and eventually everything quieted down. And that wasn’t all. All the doors had a crazy lock that needed one to exert much pressure to open. I had never seen such a lock before and I hope I never will again. To my embarrassment I had to ask the desk clerk to come and open our door at one point.

But the restaurant was the worst. Both supper and breakfast we had the same waiter who smiled and assured us that he would take our orders without pen and pad. He got the orders in English and Amharic (Mekonnen made the orders clear) but each time he screwed up royally. Forgetting some things, bringing the wrong dishes to the table, never delivering on certain requests. We were ready to forgive and forget the evening meal because it was busy with lots of people. But then in the morning we were the only guests for breakfast and he made even worse mistakes. Even Mekonnen, a man of patience, was finally fed up with him and berated him in Amharic (wish I could have understood). It didn’t seem to faze him. He didn’t get it up to the very end. *sigh*

So, Friday is half MCC orientation and half day travel. The wheels just keep rolling . . .

Travelogue: Day 5, M’kele to Axum

We woke up in another town today, M’kele. The excitement continues on our journey over northern Ethiopia. We stayed at the Milanos Hotel over night. As I said in the previous post, the Milanos hotel looks impressive from the outside but it will not be recommended to travelers, especially for the restaurant service.

OK, on to the happy part of the day. Berhan met us and we first went to her office. She had instructed all the families with children to meet us at her office. So they came from outlying areas, old grandmothers with their grandchildren mostly. One great uncle and grandnephew and one man who took in 3 children of his neighbors after the parents died adding to the 4 of his own. In cases like his, Berhan agreed to sponsor only one child not all three orphans and the family agreed to this. Even the modest stipend for one child (for which room and board and education costs were agreed to be covered) was worth it to the family.

This was happening in several family situations. So Wanda, myself and the girls were introduced by Mekonnen and Berhan and we asked for introductions of the families and to hear their stories. We offered words of praise to the guardians for what they had agreed to do and thanked them for their hard work. We encouraged the children to do well in school. These guardians responded by thanking us for coming all the way from Addis (and North America) to visit with them. Our presence made the monetary stipends more real to them. They knew in their head that the money was coming from somewhere but to actually see our ‘Ferenji’ faces made it real. We told them it was the good folks from near Winnipeg (from the Hutterite colony) that should be thanked and we would convey their gratitude. Yes, replied one, but just as they planted the seed for good growth, you have come to watch it grow and tend to the plants so we thank you too. We took pictures, said our good-byes and final thanks and departed.

We then went to see a home yet, with six children all being cared for by one woman. Although entitled to a piece of land, this woman had no means at all to develop it and had to live in a distant village. She was taking care of orphan children and with Berhan’s help she moved to her plot of land just outside of M’kele. The stipend from the AHOV program has helped her build a modest house, a nice courtyard, till her small plot of land to raise vegetables and some grain and even rent out the corral to a neighbor who has oxen. Three children go to school and 2 of the smallest don’t yet. One older child, a girl, is mentally handicapped and spends her days working in the compound. Berhan hopes to get the government to agree for some vocational training for her.

It was inspiring to see a woman like Berhan, trained as a nurse in Canada, coming back home and, thanks to the regular contributions of a family back in Canada, bringing hope in the small corner of her world. Many Ethiopians stay in North America where the opportunities are greater and the rewards are as well. So those who return against all odds, I applaud.

After getting gas, groceries and something to drink we said good-bye to Berhan and began our trip to Axum. On this day Mekonnen drove. I wasn’t feeling well and somehow managed to squeeze my body into the very back part of the vehicle to sleep for a while. That helped in spite of the fact that the a/c hardly reaches way back there (the girls had complained previously, now I understand). The road to Axum was paved part of the way but construction was happening from Adigrat to Besel and it was rather precarious dodging huge heavy machinery, oncoming traffic and the holes dug on the right side of the road (for a cement water drainage under the road) all the while keeping an eye on the left edge which always seemed too close. When I drive it feels safer to me in part because I am in control. Otherwise it is hard to watch. The Chinese foremen were everywhere leading the construction. There were long stretches of asphalt road in the mountain passes and that was nice. The temptation is to drive faster and not take into account the twists and turns (remember, no guard rails, so if you overshoot a turn that’s it).

It took us about 5 hours but it seemed longer than that. The girls’ attitude about the trip (especially the driving) is getting crankier by the day. Overall they are doing well. When they are out of the vehicle they are ‘crazy happy’ (loud, running everywhere, being silly at the table, etc.) but we understand, they need to get their ‘ya-yas’ out. Wanda and I are glad we are taking this trip but we won’t do it again, at least not exactly like this (as Sophia said, now we know why people fly).

We are staying at the Remhai hotel. It is a nice enough hotel. We had to move once from the old section to new section of the hotel so our girls had enough space to sleep. Both rooms have king-sized beds so 3 girls fit in one bed. We had a nice supper ‘al-fresco’ last night and the service was excellent (by comparison from the day before) and the food was good enough. On the way back to our rooms we stopped in front of a TV that had CNN on with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in Unity, New Hampshire where they were giving a show of unity after a bruising primary. Many fine words were passed between them. I hope that those words hold up for the next 4 months. We agreed with both of them. The nation (and the world) needs a change of leadership and direction and the Republicans with John McCain are promising more of the same.

Tomorrow, we see Axum as our leadership orientation continues.

Travelogue: Day 6, Axum

We arrived at the Remhai hotel in Axum tired and worn from the day and each other. The hotel gave us two rooms but the girls’ room wasn’t going to work. Two single beds. So Wanda inquired about changing rooms. It turns out they put us in the old wing of small rooms. For a slightly higher price we moved to the new wing. Now both rooms were big and roomy with king-sized beds in each. Much better. We ate supper outside in the warmth of the evening and relaxed.

A note about food. Eating out at a restaurant has always been a special treat for our family. In North America we couldn’t afford to eat out as often as we saw other families do so our girls’ really enjoyed those experiences. Even here in Ethiopia, although we eat out after church every Sunday, it is still something they look forward to. But this trip may change all that. Almost every restaurant we’ve eaten at has had virtually the same menu. Yes, the menu is a problem, that sameness can be quite tedious. But the food, although acceptable yet bland, just doesn’t appeal to me after a while. The chicken is invariably tough because it’s not fattened chicken, it is ‘free range’ chicken (which means something a bit different here). The meat all tends not to be tender. The vegetables are all overcooked, boiled or whatever. That is probably good for us (kill the germs) but not appetizing. There is always pasta and usually that is OK. Salads are a toss-up (OK, pun intended), sometimes the balance of lettuce to veggies is one way (lots of lettuce, little veggies), another time the other way and the dressings also vary in quality. So to go day after day and find the same food meal after meal . . . There were some exceptions, it’s true. In the run-down hotel in Dessie the lettuce and vegetables came from their back yard and were washed and cleaned. That salad was good.

Saturday we went to a relaxed schedule and got up a bit later. We ate breakfast (almost always scrambled eggs, toasted bread, margarine and jam, juice or coffee) and went looking for the sites of Axum. We had to find the Tigray Tourism Commission Office in order to purchase our tickets for all the ‘secular’ sites for the day. Immediately a couple of young men saw us and offered to be our tour guides. We offered no promises but asked where the tourism office was and they told us. So naturally they raced behind our vehicle to the same office, eager to assist us. We got our tickets and again made no promises and went back to the large stelae field site (about 1 km away) and again they raced back to meet us there eager to ‘help.' One youth, Solomon, had offered a personalized hand carved black softstone necklace (he asked the names of the girls while Mekonnen and I were at the tourism office and Wanda wrote their names down for him) and of course sold them to the us for a nice price (for him) of 140 Birr. The other young man, Aferworki, was a licensed guide and pushed hard to get us to employ him.

But there was something about his attitude; an air of entitlement and arrogance. When I tried to barter with him he became defensive and almost hostile. We had just agreed on a price but he now acted annoyed and I asked what was the problem. He repeated, what was the problem? I said isn’t bartering normal? He didn’t seem to understand, but smirked and said everything was normal. At this point Mekonnen talked to him in Amharic and he didn’t respond well at all. So we three adults huddled and rescinded our offer and said we would go without a tour guide and Aferworki stalked off.

We had to say no to others as well as we walked in the stelae field but when we came out there was smiling Solomon. He had such a different attitude, always smiling. Yes, always inviting himself into our circle but willing to take no for an answer without being upset or defensive. For a young man of 17 he had a much better command of English than any of the others. Smart as a whip, you might say. He was a bit of a hustler, showing me some rare coinage from the Axum area (found by farmers in their fields when plowing) and an ancient looking palm sized ‘Bible’ or rare manuscript that his father had bought off of a churchman. These artifacts often show up at the local market he said and his father spots them and buys them off the locals. They then sell them to tourists (wonder how much of these valued artifacts leave Ethiopia this way). I’m not a collector and so I said no to both offers, he shrugged and put them away. No problem. He continued to smile and he offered to show us the sites as an unofficial tour guide (without the guide’s license he can’t get into the sites). So for about ¼ of the price, with much better English, he took us to what we wanted to see. He rode in our Land Cruiser, ate lunch with us and did a pretty good job of telling us about the historical sites and the city.

And we saw, as I said, the stelae fields of Axum, for which it is known. The stelae are obelisks which stand anywhere from 10 to 30 meters high (30-90 feet high) and are made of granite from a local quarry. Some are still in good shape in spite of the centuries, including one the Italians took in their short occupation time in the 30’s. They agreed to send it back around 1997 and it was returned in 2005. Now the Italians, with UNESCO, are helping to set it back up again. There is a huge scaffolding in place as they erect it and we saw the first piece in place (they had to cut it into 3 pieces to transport it, both in the 30’s and recently). The symbolism of the stelae to the Axumite kings are similar to the pyramids in Egypt to the ancient pharaohs. Powerful rulers always want to show their power and prestige and have a monument for generations to come. As the tombs were inside the pyramids, the tombs of the kings were in burial chambers below the stelae. The most impressive stelae belonged to the most powerful kings; King Ezbana and King Remhai of the ancient Axumite kingdoms in the 1100’s.

We did drive out of town to what is called ‘Donghai’ palace or also known as the palace of the Queen of Sheba. To the untrained eye it looks like a stone walled maze. The girls loved running through it exploring the ‘rooms’. A recent western media article reported that German archeologists have suggested that they may have found the palace of the Queen of Sheba in Axum so we assumed this was the one, although no evidence of archeological work was present. We also tried to visit the church where the Ethiopian Orthodox church says the Ark of the Covenant. Yes folks, they claim that they are the keepers of the true Israelite Ark of the Covenant read about in the Old Testament. Could it be true? Could be if you believe the author of The Sign and the Seal, a journalist named Graham Hancock, turned investigator into arcane mysteries of the world. But most ‘experts’ believe not. Solomon told us the priest that guards the Ark was an orphaned boy adopted by the church and raised inside the church, never again setting foot outside the church compound. He is 68 now and Solomon said he couldn’t even find his way around Axum much less know about the famous stelae in Axum (which are right across the street from the church). Well, they wanted 60 Birr per person and we would basically see nothing so we said, no thanks. So I decided just to snap a picture from about 20 meters (40 feet) away but they said, that will be 30 Birr. Forget it. So I didn’t get a photo of the ‘Ark of the Covenant’ church.

We had lunch at the Yehi Hotel, another government hotel which has the best view of the historical sites and the town of Axum. This has been our experience. The government run hotels have the prime real estate but the quality of the hotels varies widely. The Roha in Lalibela is actually quite nice while the Yehi and Goha hotels leave something to be desired. The same is true in the other government-run hotels down south as well. They have a slightly musty odor in some, the need for renovation is a constant theme. Only at the Roha did we see renovation happening. Anyways, the Yehi Hotel gave us a beautiful vista and Solomon conducted a portion of his tour there, simply pointing out sites and explaining their significance.

Finally the girls had had enough and we said good-bye to Solomon. He offered to find camels for the girls to ride (for a price of course) but after waffling back and forth we finally said no. So we went back to the Remhai hotel and rested for the evening, knowing that the next day would be one of the longest, and possibly the hardest, traveling day of the trip. We agreed to get up early and be ready to go at 6 a.m. in the vehicle. H-m-m-m, could we do it?

Travelogue: Day 7, Axum to Gonder

It’s hard to believe but our family of 5 actually was down at the Land Cruiser and already to go at 5:55 a.m.! I’m sure Mekonnen was amazed. But everything was packed, loaded and all paid for and we left the Remhai at 6 a.m., surely a record of some sorts for us. The morning was nice and cool from the cold front that had blown through the evening prior. As we headed out of Axum there was evidence of rain, a good sign for the farming community. We agreed to drive to Shire (pronounced “sheer-ah”) for breakfast as Mekonnen suggested. This was a good strategy because it got us going early, got us through the lowlands that warm up quickly and into the mountains after breakfast when the sun is rising.

Wanda and I were worried about this day from the very beginning. The guide book made it seem that this would be the hardest day. The Simien Mountains were reputed to have the scariest roads, cliffhangers where in places it was only one lane (who would win between a long distance bus and a Land Cruiser?). So we approached the day with trepidation. But the first 1/3 of the journey out of Axum was through the low flat lands and quite easy. Then came the second 1/3 into the mountains. Yes, they were as stated but as we climbed up and down on this Sunday morning with very little traffic either way, we started to relax. The road was actually better than we expected and the sun was wonderful. As we climbed the temperature dropped from 28C to 14C at one point! So the girls weren’t complaining of heat in the very back, they were actually complaining of feeling cold! As we relaxed the drive became much more fun (for me anyways, I was driving). The Simien Mountains are quite green compared to their counterparts further east. The gravel road is of better quality than their counterparts in the east. There were still hairpin turns and plenty of switchbacks and no one dwelled on looking over the edge of the road to the drop-offs of 100 to 1000 feet or more below, lest one would feel vertigo. The Simien Mountains are beautiful and hard to describe but let me try. They have the feel of the Alpines in Switzerland. Steep green mountains eventually level out on the top into green pastures on the top. Those green pastures of grass are kept short by grazing animals and look like a rolling golf course in cut. It was here that the temperature was as low as 14C.

We stopped in Debark for fuel and began the final 1/3 portion of our journey. Now the gravel/dirt road improved even more and straightened out and we were able to increase our speed. We had all guessed that it would take from 8-10 hours of driving to go from Axum to Gonder. Could it be that we all overshot with our guesses? Sure enough, we rolled into Gonder at 2:30 p.m. which meant 8 ½ hours of driving including stops! Incredible! Wanda and I both said later that this drive, dreaded as the potential worst, turned out to be the best leg of the trip! So we were in a good mood upon arriving (the girls, as usual, weren’t in the same mood as us, they were hungry. Understandably so, since we couldn’t stop for lunch. Actually all bathroom breaks have been ‘al fresco’ as well since public toilets are few and far between and the rare one you find is often a smelly, unsanitary ‘squat pot’. The girls are now quite happy finding a secluded spot outdoors to pee rather than in one of those settings.

So we checked in and rested at the Goha, another government run hotel. Once again, more of the same. The Goha has the best location for a hotel in the city, beautiful view on a hill overlooking Gonder. The restaurant and lounge facilities are impressive. The menu is the usual. The rooms need renovation but are relatively clean (these rooms had a strong musty odor). The weather was sunny and beautiful when we arrived so the girls could explore the grounds a bit. We ate at the unusual hour of 3:30 p.m. and then again at 8 p.m. (typical of the Ethiopian/ European crowd that was there). By then a storm front had moved into the area.

Thunder and lightning and a hard rain fell. It cooled down considerably and for the first time we used the warm clothing we had packed a week ago back in Addis. The girls were tired and went to bed almost of their own accord. Wanda was tired but we both wanted to watch the Euro2008 soccer/football championship match between Germany and Spain. Spain ended up winning 1-0 and we watched it in our room (which made it so easy to turn off the TV and fall instantly asleep).


Day 8 will be a combination tour and travel day. Touring the castle of Gonder and traveling in the afternoon to Bahir Dar. Our biggest travels are over (until the final day from Bahir Dar to Addis).

Travelogue: Day 8, Gonder

Gonder is history. OK, it’s a double meaning. I’m writing the day after our visit into Gonder. But Gonder is indeed full of history. We visited the large walled area in the center of the city that is the castle compound of the ancient kingdoms of Gonder. Impressive, amazing, interesting, historical, all of the above . . .

We packed up and said good-bye as a family to our last hotel experience on the road in the Goha Hotel. No one shed any tears about that. We left the mountaintop where we were staying and drove down into the city. We eventually met up with our friends from the Meserete Kristos Church AIDS Prevention Office (MKC-APO) who were going to escort us on a visit later. But first we all planned to visit the castles of Gonder. These castles looked like the castles of Europe from the time period around the 11th century but these were built in the 17th century in Ethiopia. The rise of the Gonder kingdom (1655-1835) was arguably the greatest kingdom of ancient Ethiopia. During this time the borders of the rulers of Ethiopia were expanded to the modern day borders and beyond. There were forays into Sudan and Yemen. The seat of power was Gonder. The kings’ compound (Fasil Ghebbi) was as large as 70 hectares at one time with each successive king building another castle or large structure inside the compound.

To quote from a section of Bradt’s Ethiopia Tour Guide book (by Phillip Briggs, 4th ed., 2005), inside the structure are "six castles, a complex of connecting tunnels and raised walkways, and several smaller buildings. The most impressive castle within the enclosure is the original built by Fasilidas, which was built circa 1640, partially restored in the mid 20th century, and more fully restored, using the original construction methods, with UNESCO funding between 1999 and 2002. Fasilida’s Castle is made of stone and shows a unique combination of Portuguese, Axumite and even Indian influences. The ground floor consists of reception and dining areas. The walls are decorated with a symbol similar to the Star of David, which became the emblem of the Ethiopian royal family after the Solomonic dynasty reclaimed the throne in the 13th century. The first-floor roof of the castle was used for prayer and religious ceremonies, and it is also where Fasilidas addressed the townsfolk. Fasilida’s prayer room, also on the first floor, has four windows, every one of which faces a church. Stairs lead from the roof to the small second-floor room that Fasilidas used as his sleeping quarters. Above this is an open balcony, which was probably the watchtower. This third-floor platform, 32m above the ground, offers views in all directions; on a clear day you can even see Lake Tana on the horizon, emphasizing the strategic advantage of choosing Gonder as a capital." (pgs. 226-227)

The other castles belong to Fasilidas’ sons and successors; Yohannis I, Iyasu, Dawit III, Bakafa, Iyasu II. It is one thing to read about these structures in a book but it is quite another to actually walk the castle grounds and imagine them in their lifetime. Various Europeans had visited and reported on Ethiopian kingdoms over the centuries and during this age there were Portuguese, French and English individuals who give us a fascinating insight into the customs and habits of dynasties long past.

So we were given a tour of the grounds by a guide, Belay, who was pretty good at his job. He tried to interject humor with the information and provided us with a few laughs. Our group of 10 was joined by 4 Ethiopian university students for the tour. The girls enjoyed running through the ruins much more than following the group and listening to the tour guide (which I have envied on our tours from time to time during our travels).

After we finished with the tour we went to the local MKC church to visit with local church leaders and especially the MKC HIV-AIDS worker volunteers in Gonder. These are people who have been affected by HIV-AIDS; either through infection or because of family members who have been infected. In all cases the persons were contacted by a person from MKC, befriended and invited to church. MKC leaders such as Solomon Teferi of the Addis APO office like to say that they are unique because they treat the whole person; physical, emotional and spiritual. And it would seem that hope is a powerful factor in the stories we heard; not just of people surviving but thriving in the midst of HIV-AIDS. Like Zelalem; living with HIV/AIDS and taking the ART (anti-retroviral treatment) and now is living a relatively healthy life. But even more, she was invited to come to a MKC worship service and Bible study and it was there that she found life and hope for herself. Now she is a full time worker for the HIV/AIDS program and meets so many people in her neighborhood, bringing hope to individuals through Jesus and counseling them if they have problems like AIDS.

So we prayed with the group and left. One more stop. There was a feeding center for elderly people in another part of town. We arrived just as lunch was being served. Although not part of the HIV/AIDS ministry, it was a ministry of the local church, they invited us to see it. Elderly women (didn’t see any men, perhaps there were some and we didn’t see them but men were welcome to come, we were assured) were coming into this very modest building, taking off their shoes, having their hands washed (Ethiopian style; water pitcher and basin is brought around by a servant, in this case an MKC volunteer, and water is poured over the hands. Soap and then more water, then a towel to dry). A large piece of injera and a generous helping of hot shero (a liquidy paste of chickpeas). The preparation was done by MKC volunteers in the basic kitchen next door. An inspiring sight.

We ate lunch in a small café downtown Gonder and left for Bahir Dar afterwards. Mekonnen drove, the girls mostly played in the back seat and I spent time in the back of the Land Cruiser napping for a bit. The drive took less than 4 hours on paved road, a real treat for us (and the vehicle)! So we dropped Mekonnen off at the hotel and we found our friends’ house. Charles and Dee Ivy, from Albuquerque, NM are friends of Anita who have become our friends. They arrived in mid-May and we hosted them in Addis for a meal and hit it off. They invited us to stay with them when they were settled. So when we planned this trip we contacted them and now we were showing up at their doorstep.

The Ivys are here with the Clinton Foundation for 2 years working in Bahir Dar in the local hospital. Charlie is a long time hospital administrator and is offering his expertise and experience in this area. Dee is looking for a place to plug in and volunteer. They have been overseas before, Ethiopia is only the latest stop. So we brought our bags in and sat down, tired as usual in spite of sitting in a vehicle most of the day. But it was so good to relax in good company. Included in company was an Ethiopian couple, friends of theirs, Fekadu and Martha, who had helped them in many ways as they were settling. In our conversation it came out that they were MKC and it felt like we were playing the ‘Mennonite Game’ with them. We asked them if they knew this person and that person and to our delight they did! They asked us if we knew so and so and to their delight we did! So we talked about mutual friends, about their stories, about the MKC church, about who we are and what MCC is. We talked about religion and politics and managed to stay friends after we were all through. They will be moving to Addis in a week, so we can meet up with them in the future.

We had our first home cooked meal in over a week and what treat it was! Dee is a natural in community organizing. She asked our girls to help her make the meal and they were very excited. So she took them out to their garden and they cut some collard greens and brought them into the kitchen. Soon the kitchen was bustling with activity. Amani was cutting up garlic and onions, Abby cut up carrots and Sophia helped with the pasta by watching the water come to a roiling boil. That night we ate wonderful vegetarian fare; bow-tie pasta with cooked collard greens, onions and garlic, sliced and cooked carrots, sundried tomatoes and capers. It was delicious change of pace. Our welcome was complete and we relaxed.

Travelogue: Day 9, Bahir Dar

Happy Canada Day! Celebrating Canada Day in Ethiopia is a quiet affair, even more so on the road. It pretty low-key, more like reminding each other that July 1 is Canada Day. But we are in Ethiopia, in Bahir Dar and no one knows or cares here. But that’s OK. We know our friends are enjoying themselves in Canada with the typical outdoor grill and holiday fare with red and white bunting.

Bahir Dar is like an oasis in a journey. Something very different from our hotel experience in all the different places we were in northern Ethiopia. A place to relax and it feels good. The Ivys served up a normal breakfast of cereal, fruit and coffee. And it prepared us for the day.

Our day was to be an ‘MCC’ day. We met in the morning with Mengistu, the MCC IVEP’er who would be traveling to the U.S. to live and work in eastern PA for a year. We met his mother and a brother at a nearby hotel in town. The idea was to meet the family and answer any questions they had about the program and Mengistu’s role in IVEP. But there was not much to say. I think that Mengistu had let his parents know all the info we knew. So we conversed for an hour before saying our good-byes. Mekonnen had joined us early on and now we had an impromptu MCC meeting, discussing the agenda for the day as well as issues that were waiting for us in Addis. We moved to the Tana Hotel for lunch and once again expected, and received, the normal hotel fare and service that we had become used to over the 9 days on the road.

After lunch we went to the MKC local church office where once again we met with about a dozen people who were connected to the APO HIV/AIDS program in Bahir Dar. Although men have been present in past meetings in other places, the majority who meet with us are women and children and it was so once again (as in Gonder). Once again the stories were of hardship and of becoming saved through the ministry of individuals who doubled as evangelists and counselors. The church program is a life saver and even though their problems haven’t all gone away, they now have hope and joy and have received care. Our meeting lasted a couple of hours in a hot, semi-dark basement room and it was hard to stay focused and awake in the afternoon but I managed. Our girls managed to hang in there as well. Sophia wandered in and out of the meeting. Abby and Amani did too for a while but finally sat down with Wanda and I towards the end. A young boy sang a song for our group, for he is a singer in the MKC church. In response I thought we could sing a farewell song. So our family sang, ‘As I Went Down to the River’. It was fun to sing and it was something different than just talking all the time.

We dropped off Mekonnen at the hotel and found the Ivys on the way to their house. We came back and settled into the plastic lawn chairs on the porch and just chatted. Conversation about politics and religion and life in Ethiopia. I think what is so relaxing is that we can talk in NA English and we have much in common in our world views and lifestyle. Charlie and Dee come out of the Methodist church tradition but are Christian pacifists in the Gandhian tradition, which we resonate with.

We went out for supper that night in ‘bejudges,’ three-wheeled blue and white mini-taxis, which the girls loved. We went looking for pizza. The Ivys’ favorite pizza restaurant on the far side of town didn’t have electricity so no pizza. So in the twilight we went walking to their second choice, Millennium Pizza. It was a 10-minute walk through crowded streets where our skin color made us stick out. And we stuck out too in the Pizza shop, it sorta reminded me of those westerns where a stranger walks into a bar and everything stops as all heads turn and stare at the stranger. All eyes followed us as we chose two tables and moved them together. To be stared at continuously can be a bit unnerving. Every time I looked up or scanned the room I would meet other eyes that seemed to be in a locked mode. How to respond? Staring back? Looking down again?

Anyways the pizza was good and we found bejudges and headed back to the house in the dark. The sky was lit up with thunder clouds and constant flashes of lightning far away. No sound, just lightning in the clouds. We expected a thunderstorm over night but it never came. And we all slept well under our mosquito netting.

Travelogue: Day 10, Bahir Dar

Our original schedule was ambitious; in the morning go by boat out on Lake Tana to the islands where the ancient Orthodox monasteries are and visit them, then in the afternoon to the great waterfalls of “Tississat” or “Tis Abay”. But the more I thought about how much work that felt like the less energy I had for it. The boat ride to the monasteries seemed the greatest hassle so Wanda and I decided to drop it. And it felt like a relief, a burden lifted. So now we devoted our energies to going to Tississat for the morning.

Our friends, Charlie and Dee Ivy were wonderful hosts. Dee volunteered to go with us to the falls so after a relaxed breakfast and early morning we packed a lunch and drove to the falls area. It was a pretty drive through fields being prepared for planting. Men, behind their single-pointed wooden plows and oxen, tilling the fields to make ready for corn, or wheat or teff planting. Dee had her new camera and snapped photos left and right. We were a relaxed group as we headed towards one of the largest waterfalls in Africa (perhaps second after Victoria Falls).

We found the ticket office in a small village and bought our tickets. Then we had to drive out to the parking site and begin our walk to the falls. Tourist-wise, it was wonderfully undeveloped. There wasn’t a parking lot, but rather an open field. And there wasn’t a person checking our tickets (guess we could have driven straight over to the falls without paying). And the walking path was as natural as they come, a 300 year old bridge was the only ‘unnatural’ structure which got us over the Blue Nile river. We trod the path thousands had come before us up and down over the rough terrain to make our way to a vista facing the falls.
. . . or one could look at it the other way, it was maddeningly chaotic. The person at the ticket office was a rather disinterested employee, taking his time in writing out our receipt/ticket as we waited. We bounced our way through a village, no paved road here, and somehow made our way to the parking site in spite of a minimum of signs marking the way (good thing Dee was with us and knew the routine and that we were following another vehicle of obvious tourists like ourselves). When we got out we were met by hawkers ‘volunteering’ to watch our vehicle or be our tour guide or trying to sell us trinkets or drink. They gathered around us like flies to honey. The desperation to make a living is a powerful driving force that overcomes natural shyness or suspicion of strangers. And the draw of seeing ‘ferenjis’ (white westerners), with the assumption of western wealth to each white face (a relative truth, but truth nonetheless), was a powerful attraction.

Our group of 6, our family and Dee, politely fended off all comers and started the trek. It was a rocky and difficult path, no paved walkways or railings to hang on to. Definitely not a developed tourist destination like Niagara Falls. We made our way through a village where a dozen children met us with surprisingly good English and a very aggressive sales pitch for their wares. “Hello mister, how are you? What is your name? My name is _____. Remember me when you return (from the falls, there is no real way to avoid coming back the same way). Promise me you will buy from me. Mister, what about me?” This is a running monologue with 3 or 4 girls all around me. One girls slipped her hand in mine and we walked through her village and up the hill. All were desperate to extract a promise to purchase their handmade products. At the top of the hill we found two boys in a tree playing a type of wooden flute, all for the hope of money. The narrow path snaked its way further until finally the falls came into view.


For all that hassle a spectacular falls would be worth the trip. Alas, however, the falls was a disappointment. A thin trickle of water spilled over a tiny section of rocks. I have seen bigger falls in secluded places in Oregon. But there was evidence that at one time a majestic falls once existed.

Nearby is a hydroelectric plant and we were told that up to 95% of the water was being diverted to the plant for badly needed power generation. Being as we had seen the effect of power cuts all over the country in our travels, not to mention our own travails with power cuts in Addis 2-3x a week, we were sympathetic to the situation. But it was truly a pathetic sight, to see once glorious waterfalls reduced to a sliver of water.

We sat there for a while trying to decide if we should try the long trek around the falls (several kms of more rough hewn paths) or turn around and go back. The sun was shining and it was quite warm by now and noon was approaching. Already the girls were talking about being hungry. So that settled it, time to go back. But facing the mob of tiny hawkers was not a fun prospect until Dee had an idea. Give each girl 10 Birr and make it a game. See how much you can buy and then when we get to the Land Cruiser we’ll share our stories. The girls were excited about this idea of ‘shopping’, not having a clue what was in store for them. So as we approached the village the multitude of village children came swarming up to us, zeroing in on the adults. But I told them that my girls had the money and would buy something. This really seemed to confuse them. A few went over to Amani, Abby and Sophia but the others came back to me in disbelief, “Mister, what about me? What about the promise?” I had made no promises other than that I would be back. And now I said, no, I won’t be buying anything, but my daughters would. Of course Dee, Wanda and I kept a sharp eye out on our daughters to make sure nothing happened. The village girls seemed unsure of what to do. They tried selling our girls things but kept their eyes on us as if to say, we know where the real money is but we’ll play your little game to humor you. But, mister/ madam, what about us? Remember us . . .

As we walked through the village and to the old stone bridge the hawkers became more desperate in pitch and tone and I was more than ready to run back to the vehicle. But our little group kept on going. The girls each bought something, hand-made trinkets that were not well made, to be honest. A couple of kids desperately wanted us to exchange U.S. dollars they had received from other tourists and give them Birr. After some hesitation that this may be a scam, I examined the $10 Thom Jefferson note and gave the kid 100 Birr, a slight advantage in exchange for him. Then it was time to leave. We said no to that last hawkers at the parking lot and paid the parking lot ‘attendant’ for watching our vehicle and drove out. The picnic basket remained in the back, there was no place to eat where we wouldn’t be accosted or stared at. We looked for a place on the way home to stop and picnic. The one place we stopped, where a huge shade tree stood and it seemed no one was around, we waited only 15 seconds. As I looked around I saw what I had expected, in the distance people had seen our Land Cruiser stop and had dropped their work implements and started to come running. There would be no place to picnic in public today. We went back to Dee & Charlie’s house and had a quiet, happy picnic on their front porch.

That evening I made a pizza based on the More-With-Less cookbook recipe. We had a very nice time hanging out talking more about life in Ethiopia, the politics in the U.S. and religion as well. Charlie & Dee are good hosts and engaging conversationalists, very knowledgeable about a wide range of subjects. Of course it helped that we agreed a whole lot more than disagreed on the subjects we touched upon. Wanda and I had to be aware of getting the girls to bed and packing in preparation for leaving in the morning. This we managed and still talked into the evening . .

Travelogue: Day 11, Bahir Dar to Addis Ababa

The plan was to get up early, 5:15 a.m., and be out the door before 6 a.m. To my family’s credit it happened for the second time on the trip. Both times we got up early, dressed and packed and travelled for a while before eating breakfast. Logically, it seems to me, that shouldn’t be as efficient as having cereal on the table and people catching a bit to eat before we go and then not having to stop. But it doesn’t work that way. Breakfast causes delays on the front end. But for girls like Abby, we had bananas ready so that the morning would start with something in the tummy.

We said good-bye to the Ivys and picked Mekonnen up at his hotel and were on our way. Another advantage of an early start is that there are fewer people and animals on the street as well as traffic. So we were in Debre Markos by 9:30 a.m. making good time. This day was to be one of the longer days, kilometer-wise. But that was mitigated by some of the best roads in Ethiopia; two-lane paved asphalt roads almost all the way to Addis (a few short exceptions). I drove 2/3 of the way and Mekonnen drove the final 1/3 into Addis. I was happy to let him. I always become tired in the early afternoon. We arrived in our compound safe and sound around 3:30 p.m. After over 2,500 kms (and spending about $1, 500) we had returned without a major incident or accident to report. No flat tires. No going over a cliff’s edge. No stolen wallets, purses or other valuables. No one hurt or sick. Thanks be to God!

So what did we learn from this long trip?

Travel – that our girls can make such a trip and we can all survive it! Amani, Abby and Sophia did quite well in spite of the long travel days. That doesn’t mean that there wasn’t any complaining or whining over the length of the drives or the meals or the lodgings (frankly, Wanda and I had much of the same complaints but weren’t quite as vocal or ‘in-your-face’) but they managed to make it around the entire northern circuit without any huge melt downs. For that we can be grateful. And yet, we shall heed Abby’s words made near the end of our travels, “Next time, don’t take me on a long trip like this again. Airplanes are ok, but not cars.” We understand . . .

Ethiopia – is magnificent in natural beauty. Of course there is the obvious poverty and underdevelopment wherever one goes in the country but Ethiopia is surely one of the few African countries that can boast a variety of landscapes rivaling the North American context; mountains and highlands that rival the alpine or appalachian scenery in Europe or eastern U.S., dry arid country that looks very much like the American desert southwest. Waterfalls and rivers. Mountains and plains and lowlands below sea level, lower than any place else on earth (the Danikil Depression; we didn’t go there).

Roads – two words; rough and scary. But the good news is that asphalt paved roads are being constructed all over Ethiopia by the Chinese. Just about everywhere we travelled we saw sections of roads be constructed. And in most hotels we were in the other guests were Chinese. If those roads are finished in a year’s time we can try traveling some stretches again and enjoy our traveling much more.

Money – the good news is that the U.S. dollar goes pretty far in Ethiopia. The bad news is that in every tourist place there are two prices; an ‘Habesha’ price (very low or free) and a ‘Ferenji’ price (very high and sometimes in U.S. dollars instead of Birr). Now I don’t mind paying a little more than the nationals, after all we can acknowledge that most westerners can afford to pay more. But there is a fine line between a fair price scale and gouging. In some places it felt like gouging.

I finally said no in Axum at the church where supposedly the Israelite Ark of the Covenant is held. Obviously we weren’t going to see it (no one can), and we weren’t allowed inside without paying 60 Birr each (what would we see for that anyhow?). So I decided to just take a photo from a distance of about 50 yards away, not a close shot but it would do. But no, I was told, you must pay 30 Birr to take the photo. What? Forget it. I didn’t need the photo that badly. Needless to say I was thoroughly disgusted.

Those are a few thoughts. Others may come in future blogs. But for now, it is finished . . .