I am very happy to announce that the lovely Hedgers Abroad have nominated me to take part in the Travel Supermarket Capture the Colour Photo Contest. This is the second year Travel Supermarket have run this awesome contest and I’m super … Continue reading
Exploring Southern Ethiopia had proved to be an incredible adventure so far and it definitely wasn’t going to get boring anytime soon. We left Key Afar, it’s Thursday market, it’s invitations for tea and it’s cheeky kids, and we drove … Continue reading
As I was searching for the best photos to add to my final story from our final stop in Southern Ethiopia, I realised there were so many great images I hadn’t yet shared. I also realised that I had some … Continue reading
So far Key Afar had been an incredible introduction to Ethiopia’s mysterious South and our second day in town was no exception- it was market day. Key Afar’s multi-cultural market occurs every Thursday and is a must do if you … Continue reading
After breaking schedule to give you a little update on my comings and goings and then completely missing Memory Lane Monday last week, I’m back on track with a new post on Ethiopia. A couple of months ago I wrote … Continue reading
To get down South quickly, we flew from Lalibela to Arba Minch, the biggest city in the area. We hadn’t expected too much from this place but ended up having an incredible time, mostly thanks to meeting a very special Tuk Tuk driver called Tom.
We met Tom when he offered to Tuk Tuk us into town from the airport for a very decent price and he ended up being our personal driver for the two days we stayed in the town. He took us on an incredible day trip up into the hills to visit the traditional Dorze village of Chincha and to drink some Tej (local honey wine drunk from old medicine bottles!) and he even took us dancing! He wasn’t a tour guide by trade but was so knowledgeable about the area and seemed so pleased to be able to share it with us. He is someone we will never forget, just as we won’t forget the days we spent together in this very worthwhile stop on the way into the lower valleys..
One of the things we were most excited about doing in Ethiopia was going on a multi-day trek in Simien Mountains National Park. We had heard about week long treks, camping in the wilderness and sharing it all with Galada baboons.
We had even bipassed seeing the castles of Gondar so that we would have enough time for a good long hike… that and the fact it was raining like hell when we arrived in Gondar…
Last week I mentioned how I had never been so awed by religion as I was in Ethiopia and part of the reason for that was visiting Lalibela. This astounding place situated in a mountainous region north of Addis Ababa consists of 11 churches hewn entirely from living rock. Churches carved by hand straight into a mountain? Now that’s what I call devotion! And the fact that they are still fully working places of worship is further testament to that devotion. I can’t think of any other way to explain it but to say that, to me, this seemed like faith in its rawest form.
Recently I have noticed that most of my search engine referrers are from people searching for things related to Ethiopia and being directed to my blog, which is great as Ethiopia is amazing!
So, considering that I have only written one post on this country I love so much, I thought I would rectify that with a series of Memory Lane Monday posts dedicated to this fascinating place! And here is why I think it is so…
One of the many incredible things about travelling is the times that should, technically, be awful but magically turn out to be, well, magical.
Travelling in southern Ethiopia is hard. No scheduled buses and the most basic of accommodation and often the most basic of foods (if any!). It is hard but oh so rewarding and if you spend enough time there you begin to not only accept its hardness but you begin to slow down to African time and that’s when the really special experiences reveal themselves.
Journey Count 