Take the Long Way Home

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By Dan

It was time to start heading back towards Addis, so we rolled out of Jinka on the morning of the 17^th. After about 75 km., we were back in Weyto and on the road that we had taken from Arba Minch a few days ago. Again, we had to keep reminding ourselves to appreciate the scenery, because it has become easy to be jaded – what, you mean we aren’t seeing a new tribe of exotically dressed folks doing a special dance on the side of the road? Ho, hum, then!

In the interest of accurate journalism, I should report that the rough travel and questionable sanitation that we have been experiencing in the south finally caught up with us, and we all were hit with a light intestinal malady in Jinka. You’ve heard of Delhi Belly, the Curse of the Pharaohs, and Montezuma’s Revenge. I think that a good name for the Ethiopian version of the same thing, in honor of Ethiopia’s most famous citizen, would be Lucy’s Loosies. The fact that we had water only intermittently in Jinka added to the challenge of managing the issue, but we did so, and everyone seems to be back in good working order.

Our next tribal stop was at a Konso village. The Konso are known for outstanding terracing, both of their fields and their villages, which is a good thing since they are perched on top of steep mountainsides. We were joined by a crowd of about 50 kids as we wandered through a village with Melaku and a Konso guide – clearly, we were the most interesting thing to happen that day. Konso boys sleep in a community hut, starting from the age of about 12 until they get married. Knowing teenaged boys, the idea of a permanent campout without parental supervision seems like a bad idea to me, but it seems to work for the Konso. We checked out a special “swearing stone”, which is a podium shaped rock used for settling disputes. If Fred says that Joe stole his cow, and Joe denies it, they go to the swearing stone. Joe puts his hand on the swearing stone and reiterates his denial, knowing that if he is lying, he is likely to suffer a terrible consequence in the next few days. That seems like something we could use at our house, to settle arguments between the kids. The Konso are also big on tracking the generations, and every 18 years responsibility for managing the village passes from one group to the next, at which point a new log-sized piece of wood is added to others in a place of honor in the middle of the village. There were 14 such generation poles in this village, indicating that it has been around a long time. We also had fun with the marriage stone, which was a very large, round rock. A man can’t get married until he is able to lift the stone off the ground. Fortunately, I got to watch a couple of Konso guys do it first, so that I learned the technique, but I’m proud to say that I proved my manhood and got the rock off the ground. (I was a little tweaked for a few hours, but that’s just between you and me. . . .)

Back in Arba Minch later in the afternoon, we headed for the infamous Bekele Molla hotel. Fortunately, the plan this time was to camp. The setting was beautiful, out on a sort of bluff overlooking the two lakes and Bridge of God. Melaku and Yebeyan clearly haven’t done as much camping as us California people, because I had one tent erected in about half the time it took them to get the other one up. We were all in agreement that camping is far preferable to the rooms at this place. It got a little cold in the night, when the wind was blowing hard, but the views and the sounds couldn’t be beat. Watching a troop of about 50 baboons work their way past, within about 10 yards of our tents, was just an added bonus.

Abby will be reporting separately on the visit to Nech Sar National Park, and the excursion on Lake Chamo, which is how we spent a day in Arba Minch.

Back on the road and heading north, it was interesting to watch the roughness and exoticness of the south fade away. First you stop seeing naked people on the side of the road, then you stop seeing even topless women washing clothes in streams, then you stop seeing any particularly distinctive tribal dress. Before long, people start looking much more like what you’d see in Addis. Meanwhile, the road goes from very rough dirt, to less rough dirt, to paved but with gigantic potholes, to paved and absolutely smooth. Of course, some things don’t change: you always have throngs of cattle, donkeys, goats and people in the road, spectacular countryside, etc. We’ve done a lot of driving, but I do think that it has been worth it.

To break up the long drive to Addis, we spent a night in Wondo Genet, which is a lush little valley up in the hills. It is unbelievably verdant, with all sorts of trees and flowers. The kids had fun checking out the colobus and vervet monkeys wandering around the grounds of the hotel. There are hot springs here, and we enjoyed a nice soak. The lifeguard at the pool attached to the hot springs really cracked us up. He wore a swim cap and a long blue overcoat over his jammer-style swim suit. A new look for Orinda’s lifeguards??

We paused during our final drive from Wondo Genet to Addis for a stop at a national park that featured a bunch of ostriches. Watching a male ostrich do his mating dance, which involved a weird swaying move with his large wings outstretched, was somewhat mesmerizing. The resulting act, though, looked pretty mechanical in comparison. I guess that’s why they’re ostriches. We also stopped at a school nearby, which further reminded us of how much kids around here respect and appreciate the educational experience. There were about 40 kids squeezed into a dark room, and they all leaped to attention and were totally focused on us when we stepped in the door. Grade placement is purely based on prior educational experience and skills, rather than age, so there were several men in their 20s in the class with kids as young as about 10. Christina and I are trying to rub it in with our kids, that school is an opportunity that is to be cherished and nurtured, rather than a necessary evil. Hear that, kids everywhere? School is important!

From there, we retraced our steps the rest of the way back to Addis, which took most of the afternoon. What a change from the day before, to go from topless tribespeople to the light industry of Addis Ababa’s outskirts! Of course, we could do without the crowds and traffic jams! Back at good old Kings Hotel for a third and final time, we took long showers and stretched our legs. It has been a lot of time in cars lately! A power outage that lasted a few hours complicated the evening a little, but, hey, c’est Afrique. I managed to get out to do a little last-minute shopping, with Christmas fast approaching, and we then settled in for a final night in Ethiopia. In case it hasn’t been very clear from our blog entries, Christina and I will definitely be back!

As always, more photos are attached!