To Axum

Striking camp in the morning.

The rooks wait to pick over the garbage.

A pair of klipspringers.

The extra crew we hired to help us with the camp.

 The rest are views on our drive to Axum.

We always draw attention.

Brick houses...

And wood and thatched houses.

Thursday, January 25^th.

We were up before six, in the dark, as we had a long driving day ahead of us and the extra guys needed the time to pack up the camp. We had a pancake breakfast and waited while everything was organized. As we left the park we saw a few klipspringer antelope. They are one of the indigenous animals that they are trying to protect with this park, along with geladas, waliya ibex, the Simien wolf and Menelick’s bushbuck. The park is 412 square kilometres and has some local people living in it that the government is trying to relocate because their livestock and dogs threaten the gene pool of the indigenous wildlife by cross breeding.

We drove back to Debark to drop off all the camping materials and for us to pick up our big bags which we had left here. I re-organized my bag and put away my cold clothes layers. Tekley took the truck to a shop to have the tires checked and then we loaded up and left.

We drove down off the mountains to the valley below. We descended one kilometre over 46 kilometres, but as the bird flies, we only really went about five kilometres from where we started. The road was gravel and steep with about ten switchbacks. When we got to the bottom we crossed one of the tributaries of the Blue Nile, which originates in Ethiopia and later joins the White Nile which begins in Lake Victoria in Uganda. Then we climbed up the other side. We drove the whole day and spent most of it on winding mountain roads with beautiful vistas and scenery.

We stopped at a village where we ate our boxed lunch on the veranda of a local hotel. At one point I went in to go to the bathroom and was very happy we weren’t staying there, it was really grotty and gross. We brought box lunches because Kaleb told us we wouldn’t be able to find any suitable eating place for us on the whole route.

As we drove north we passed a large refugee camp of Eritreans. We were told we could not take photos. The camp looked to be permanent as it was not tents, but rather brick buildings. Kaleb said the world is a crazy place and these people have been forgotten. He also said about five or six new people show up every day, while others die trying.

Shortly after that the local housing changed from sticks and mud to rock buildings as there is a different community of people living in this region and they speak a different language and have different customs. We even saw a few camels too. And surprisingly it rained, lightly, for all of two minutes.

It was a very long day of driving over and around mountains and different ranges. The roads were mostly good, but very winding, with lots of switchbacks.

We arrived at the Yared Zema International Hotel about six and had time to freshen up before a group dinner in the hotel restaurant. During the dinner, Kaleb gave each of us a cross necklace. Each region of Ethiopia has a different Christian cross which can be bought as souvenirs. They are often made of silver or bronze, but this one is made of a black rock material. After dinner people either left for their rooms or sat in the lobby to do some internet stuff.

I have not mentioned the makeup of this group. There are twelve of us: Eduardo from Brazil, Gary and Ellen from Australia, Kay from New Zealand, Mary from Vancouver, Brad from Toronto, Rosemary from Scotland, Sasha from San Diego, My from Australia, Marcia from Philadelphia, and John and me. A good group of people and a nice mix of ages, leaning towards older people.