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| Photo by Ernest Markwood |
ETHIOPIA
716
Kilometres – 15 Days
9
November 2007 – 30 November 2007
MAP
Photos
9-15 November – Cape Town, South Africa - Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia (2400 asl)
My return to South Africa from Amman, Jordan was due to a
dire need for a new passport. To my surprise, Ernest was there as well, but he
had an entirely different reason. He left nearly all his belongings in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia whereas I'd all mine. So, following a month of eating and drinking
with friends and family, I collected my shiny new passport. This time, it was a
maxi passport containing more pages.
After much deliberation, Ernest and I decided to join
forces. We flew to Addis Ababa and I was happy to be back in Ethiopia. Not only
was Ethiopia home to some of the fastest marathon runners in the world, but a
country with a captivating history and religion. Ethiopians mainly belong to
the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, which claims to possess the Ark of the
Covenant, kept under guard in a treasury in Axum. Ethiopia is further home to the
famous rock-cut churches of Lalibela dating to between the 7th to 13th
centuries. Legend has it that angels helped carve out the churches within
twenty-four hours.
Furthermore, Ethiopia was the home of Haile Selassie,
seen as a messiah among followers of the Rastafari movement, and Bob Marley thus
considered Ethiopia his spiritual home. Most of all, Ethiopia is home to coffee
from the Ethiopian highlands and injera, a traditional, sourdough-type
flatbread or pancake. Traditionally, injera is made from teff flour, but any
grain can be used. The flour and water mix is fermented for several days before
being baked into a giant, flat pancake with a slightly spongy texture. Usually,
a variety of small amounts of stews are scooped onto the injera. When eating,
small pieces of injera are torn off and used as utensils to scoop up the food
using one's fingers.
An entire week was spent in Addis exploring all the city's
attractions, including visiting the famous early hominid "Lucy". Lucy
is the 3.2-million-year-old fossilised remains of a female skeleton uncovered
in 1974. Surprisingly short, she only measured 1.1 metres tall with an
estimated weight of a mere 29kg.
Much time was spent organising visas to Egypt and Sudan,
a long and frustrating process. Performing these mediocre tasks can make anyone
feel transported into another dimension as, in
Ethiopia, time starts at sunrise. Hence an hour beyond sunrise is 1 a.m. Moreover,
the Ethiopian calendar is a solar calendar beginning on 29 or 30 August in the
Julian Calendar, adding to the confusion. At the time of our visit, the Ethiopians
were celebrating the millennium. Albeit 2007, Addis
was a blaze of colour and light as they celebrated the year 2000.
In Addis, I bumped into Wondey, one of the 2005 Tour D'Afrique
guides. What a small world.
16 November - Addis – Muka – 80 km
Seven days passed before biking out of Addis to pedal the
relatively short distance to the Sudanese border. I'd become surprisingly unfit,
or maybe I'd forgotten how hilly Addis was. The countryside was colourful and
the farmlands were in different shades of green and yellow - November is an
excellent time to visit Ethiopia.
Eighty percent of Ethiopians are farmers, and the road
north leads past fields, where farmers still use oxen and wooden ploughs. The
hills encountered virtually killed me and, exhausted, I reached Muka a mere 80 kilometres
away.
17 November - Muka – Fiche – 38 km
Even though Fiche (situated at an altitude of 2,780
metres above sea level) was only 38 kilometres further, my backside wasn't used
to cycling, and it was best to make the ride a short one.
As expected, Ethiopians were fascinated by us. The
children called, "You, you, give money!" and, if ignored, stones came
flying. Yes, kids did throw stones at cyclists, but I don’t think the act was
ever intended to hurt but more a way of getting a person's attention. These
kids are pretty good at aiming; they wouldn't have missed if they wanted to hit
you. It’s, however, a habit that remains highly annoying.
18 November - Fiche – Gohatsion (Goha Tsion) – 76 km
The 76 kilometres to tiny Goha Tsiy was wonderfully
colourful but hilly and, thus, slow going. Soon, the famous Blue Nile Gorge came
into view where overnighting was at the rim of the gorge, which came with a
view of one of Ethiopia's most dramatic landscapes.
The Nile is considered the longest river in the world and
consists mainly of two tributaries, the Blue Nile and the White Nile. The White
Nile begins somewhere in Rwanda or Burundi (no one seems quite sure of the
exact location). The Blue Nile originates at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. From
Ethiopia, the Nile flows through Sudan where it meets up with the White Nile
and then flows into Egypt, eventually draining into the Mediterranean.
19 November - Goha Tisy – Debra Markos – 70 km
In the morning, the route descended into the legendary Blue
Nile Gorge and, to our surprise, we discovered the 1500-metre descent half-paved,
making the ride a piece of cake. However, the sharp 1500-metre climb out was
still under construction. Workers had put down a thick layer of gravel, making riding
somewhat tricky. Having already biked this section previously, I saw no need to
cycle it again and opted for a ride on a truck to the top. Ernest was, however,
determined to cycle.
Debra Marcos was our overnight stop and allowed for plenty
of time to shop. At the market, we uncovered dried beans, potatoes, onions and chillies,
which Ernest concocted into a stew - something different to injera eaten almost
daily.
History has it that when the Italians arrived in Debra
Markos in 1936, they told astonished villagers they'd come to free them from
their oppressors. This news left them baffled as they were unaware of said oppressors.
I giggled at this information, imagining the surprised look on the Ethiopians'
faces.
20-21 November - Debra Markos – Finote Selam – 85 km
From Debra Markos, an undulating road ran 85 kilometres
to Finote Selam where a room with a piping hot shower at 30Birr ($1.13) became home
that night. Vegetables were hard to get hold of; maybe November was the wrong
time of year to buy vegetables. But, at least, the market offered plenty of bananas
and oranges.
I found Ethiopia more interesting than ever; not only is it
Africa's oldest independent country but a country that had never been
colonised, apart from a five-year stint by Mussolini. Amharic, Ethiopia's
official language, is equally fascinating and is written using an abugida, or
syllable alphabet, based on the Ge'ez script. Unfortunately, there’s no formal
method of translating Amharic writing into Roman or Latin characters and thus
the reason for the variety in the spelling of town names.
22 November - Finote Salam – Dangla (Dangila) – 99 km
From Finote Salam to Dangla was a pleasant and
comfortable 100 kilometres accompanied by the usual, "Where you go?"
from kids, before demanding money, clothing and even the bicycle at times.
We finished the day's ride in Dangla. Though a tiny
village with a mere 25,000 inhabitants, the town had a long history. The city
was said to be the centre of the African slave trade route back in 1930 when
the British maintained a consulate in town.
Supper was firfir, my favourite food, being injera fried
in butter smothered in a hot sauce. By the time I went to bed, I knew the meal
was a mistake.
23-24 November – Dangla – Bahir Dar – 80 km
The next day became a most challenging ride (I will not go
into detail), and the 80 kilometres to Bahir Dar felt like a lifetime. Finally,
and to my great relief, I crawled into touristy Bahir Dar in the late afternoon.
The place wasn't exactly swarming with tourists, but it had a few hotels and restaurants.
The Dar Gioa Hotel offered camping along the edge of
beautiful Lake Tana. Still, I weakened at the thought of a comfortable bed as I
had no energy to pitch a tent. Still feeling unwell, an additional day was
spent in Bahir Dar. Little did I know whatever I'd contracted would linger a
long time. Again, feeling sick, nothing came of my plans to explore the island monasteries
or the Blue Nile Falls. I felt disappointed at this lost opportunity.
25 November - Bahir Dar – Addis Zena – 88 km
The route to Addis Zena stretched along Lake Tana and was
thus flat and scenic. Addis Zena marked the end of the day's ride and had a superb
location at the foothills of the Simien Mountains and the start of the immensely
impressive Ethiopian highlands. By evening, Ernest offered to cook spaghetti as
I still wasn't up to Ethiopian cuisine. We ate our food while admiring Mount Asaba,
Addis Zena's famous landmark.
26-27 November – Addis Zena – Gondar – 100 km
Spectacular views greeted us as we pedalled the 100 kilometres
to Gondar. The following day was spent roaming the streets of Gondar, an old
town offering plenty to explore. The town was further our last chance to buy
essentials prior to heading into Sudan.
Gondar is a historic city and was once the capital of
Ethiopia (1632-1667). As a result, there were plenty of remnants of ancient
castles and fortresses.
The walled Fasil Ghebbi fortress is a vast complex of forts
and palaces measuring 70,000 square metres. It contains numerous restored castles
and other buildings and has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. However,
the main attraction remained the immense 17th-century castle of Emperor
Fasilides, as it included a surprising mixture of architectural styles.
28 November - Gondor
Ernest headed to the border, but I decided to stay an
extra day and take a bus as I'd already cycled this stretch not too long before,
but never had time to investigate the area.
I popped into the Debre Berhan Selassie Church, famed for
its elaborate murals and ceiling. At leisure, I wandered the streets and
markets of Gondar, giggling at school kids greeting me with a sing-song, "Good
morning, teacher".
29 November – Gondor – Metema (by bus)
The next morning, a bus took me to the town of Metama,
home to the Ethiopian/Sudanese border. The trip was quite an experience. In
true African style, the driver charged for loading the bike as well as
offloading it. We overtook Ernest, and I expected him to catch up when the bus
broke down. I got to Metema dusty and maybe more saddle-sore than on a bike, as
the seats were rock-hard.
Metema, being a real border town, was dirty, dusty, and lined
with pubs and brothels. I located accommodation consisting of a mud hut containing
only a sagging bed. The electricity came on when the generator started and went
off when the generator switched off or ran out of fuel. With the lack of individual
switches, I kept a torch handy as the toilets were a distance away behind a rickety,
corrugated iron sheet.
30 November - Metema
Ernest arrived the next day, covered in dust and sweat,
and we located a different room (not much better but at least a tad more
spacious). We enjoyed our last beer as our path crossed the border into Sudan the
following day.
Being a conservative Muslim country, alcohol was forbidden
and women were seldom seen outside. This explained the considerable number of
pubs and brothels as Sudanese men frequently popped across the border for a bit
of R & R.
1 December – Metema,
Ethiopia - Galabat – Doka, Sudan – 88 km
Not
being early starters, it turned out late in the day before crossing the border
from Ethiopia into Sudan. The immigration office was no more than a mud hut
under thatch. Upon emerging from the dark and dingy room, one found oneself in
super conservative Sudan.
The
day was hot and windy and, not feeling 100%, riding became a struggle, only
reaching tiny Doka towards the end of the day. The tents were pitched in the
vicinity of a police checkpoint at the turn-off to the village. Camping close
to the police wasn't the safest place, as the trouble in South Sudan was ongoing
and police were continuously under attack. The only reason for camping near the
checkpoint was the availability of water. Checkpoints had plenty of water; we
could thus wipe ourselves down and have water to cook and fill the bottles.
Water
is a significant concern in the desert, and the police, mercifully, didn't mind
sharing. Before setting up camp, Ernest and I first rode to the market. But, as
Doka was no more than a few simple homes, a mosque, and a small market, only a
few potatoes and tomatoes were available.
Laying
in my tent, I grinned as never in my wildest dreams did I think I would cycle Sudan
twice!
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