Explorations
in Southern Ethiopia
By
the late Eunice
Rawlings
It
was May 12th, 2000. The 26th Annual
Congress had been a good one, and even
after a late final soiree, 15 ATA members
from Southern California assembled eagerly
in the Hilton lobby to begin our tour of
Ethiopia's famous Historic Route, Axum,
Lalibela, Bahar Dar and Gondar. Once at
Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa,
airport we passed through formalities and
waited in the departure lounge. After we
had bought everything possible in the gift
shop, time began to drag and we became
aware of solemn faces all around us.
Finally, an Ethiopian Airlines
representative informed us that Ethiopia
and Eretria were officially at war and
going north was not an
option.
We
didn't think going back to the hotel for
several days was an option either. Our
wonderful tour director George from
Tourman's/Ethiopia Tours gave us some
ideas for alternative arrangements and a
phone call to Commissioner Sukkar enabled
us to negotiate with the airport
operations manger, Bekele Kidane who
graciously found just the right sized
Ethiopian Airlines plane for us.
We
invited members of other groups that were
stranded and picked up a couple of
hitchhikers from other galaxies and 19 of
us including the steward boarded a sturdy
twin-engine prop plane and headed to Arba
Minch, 505 kilometers southwest of Addis.
To Ethiopian Airline's credit this whole
operation was concluded by about 11:30 am.
As we headed south and munched on boxed
lunches, we passed over spectacular
scenery. After leaving the modern skyline
of Addis Ababa we found ourselves
marveling at a giant patchwork of little
farms with fields of green, gold and
brown, each with its cluster of round,
thatched homes.
Arba
Minch, the Lakes and Nech Sar National
Park
We passed over lakes and steep craggy
cliffs. As we came closer to our
destination, Arba Minch, the scenery
turned to brilliant green and Chamo and
Abaya, the largest of the Rift Valley
lakes, shimmered back at us. Arba Minch
airport consisted of a tin roof shed with
bathrooms in a nearby field. Next door to
these amenities a modern, unfinished
airport structure rose as a phoenix from
the ashes, possibly waiting for the war to
be over, so that more funds would be
available to complete it. Curious,
friendly people who enjoyed posing for
pictures and kept us entertained until our
vehicles arrived surrounded us. The
minivans had seen better days, but given
the circumstances they and their owners
did very well by us. Our pilots bid us
farewell and promised to come back for us
in a couple of days.
After
a short ride we arrived at our
destination, the Bekele Molla Hotel. The
main building was whitewashed and dripping
with bouganvillias, the terrace had a view
that was indescribable. We had several
weather changes during our brief stay
which only intensified the superb vista of
lakes Chamo and Abaya, the intense greens
of Nech Sar National Park, the magnificent
mountains and the inimitable African skies
filled with giant, soaring
birds.
The
accommodation was in twin bungalows. Very
basic. The bathrooms were spartan and as
we learned later, water was iffy. Some
rooms had water for a while; some showers
shut off just as one had worked up a good
lather and some had no water. The windows
were ill fitting so the mosquitoes
declared May 12 ñ 14 a new feast
day. Never have I been so glad to be with
such a wonderful group of people. We all
laughed at each other's tales of woe,
which we shared over breakfast.
Meals
at the hotel were also an adventure. But
when you consider that 18 of us descended
on them on a moment's notice, the chef did
a great job. The menu didn't change much,
fish, beef, spaghetti and soup. We all
soon learned that the fish was incredible
(freshly caught from the lake) and the
servings were huge. On our final evening,
we were presented with breaded Tilapia
served on special stands so that it looked
as though the fish were swimming along the
table. The flesh was easily removed with a
fork from each side of the fish and it was
truly out of this world.
Green
Crocodiles and Pink Flamingos
We were unable to visit some of the
different communities and main attractions
in the area because most roads had been
washed out. We did take a wild boat ride
across lake Chamo to see the basking
grounds of hundreds of Nile crocodile,
(some reach 30 feet in length), with
hippos, pink flamingos and storks close
by. Our return was quite late in the
afternoon and a storm was brewing. The
gathering clouds and the setting sun made
a memorable panorama of changing light
dancing on the water and bouncing off the
mountains. That night the heavens opened
and it poured!
Shopper's
Paradise
The rain continued until after lunch the
next day. Near our hotel was a small 'gift
shop' which was full well priced local
treasures. We bought wonderful pots,
jewelry, lip plates and other reminders of
the area. We heard later that our little
shopping spree had provided enough revenue
to feed the storeowner's family for six
months. We went into town and walked
around the market, a collection of little
canvas covered, ground level stalls, which
on this day were little islands of dark
brown mud surrounded by water. Some of us
purchased beautiful shammas the finely
hand-woven cotton shawls worn by most
Ethiopians. We concluded the day's
activities by dropping in, uninvited, on a
small village in the country. We were
welcomed by young and old alike and were
made to feel very much at home.
Awash
and Awash National Park
We flew back to Addis and boarded a
waiting tour bus that took us southeast to
Awash. Arriving late in the evening, we
stayed at a hotel that was in a walled
enclosure with rooms around the perimeter.
There was a large open area in the middle
with an assortment of small livestock.
Dinner was delicious. There was no water
to drink. We had to make do with beer or
Coca-Cola. Aside from a dead bat in one of
the rooms, (just a tiny one) the
accommodation was clean and comfortable.
It was hot though, and all of us had
packed to go north, so in the rooms with
no air-conditioning; well, you get the
idea. We awoke to find that we had were
staying at the Hotel Paradise
Our
morning saw us exploring Awash National
Park where dik dik, waterbuck, ostrich,
gazelle, zebra, oryx and other plains game
as well as cats may be seen. Our game
viewing was not good, but a large group in
a large bus preempts any serious
sightings.
Meeting
the Nomads of Southern Ethiopia
Truly exceptional, was an encounter with
the nomadic peoples of the area who
appeared by the Awash river where we had
stopped at a clearing to stretch our legs
and admire and photograph some exquisite
purple rollers, one of Ethiopia's 830
species of birds. They came in a long,
dignified procession, slowly and quietly,
the men dressed in little more than a
toga, with huge machete like knives at the
waist, and the women, shy yet beautiful,
some wearing colors, others in traditional
off-whites. With them came a large group
of haughty camels, long horned cattle,
goats and donkeys. The scene was magic, as
the various animals came to the water's
edge to quench their thirst.
These
good folk weren't particularly thrilled to
see us and didn't want their pictures
taken. When offered Birr (Ethiopian
currency), in return for a pose they
scoffed at us. "What will we do with
money"? They queried. It didn't help that
the chief decided that George was looking
at his women, and started chasing us
brandishing an ancient shotgun. We swiftly
boarded the bus and headed towards
Addis.
Another
similar incident occurred when we stopped
to get a close-up look at some great water
birds. We drove over a marshy area then
walked the final few yards. From a
distance we could see a large herd of
camel and pretty soon two fierce young men
with a halos of hair, and big machetes
came and asked why we were observing their
camels. When George tried to explain that
we were looking at birds, they clearly
thought it was a pretty lame excuse.
"Birds! Who looks at birds"? Again, we
excused ourselves and continued to
Addis!
This
wasn't the journey we planned and we
didn't accomplish a whole lot, but we
wouldn't have missed this excursion for
anything. For one thing, it was a great
bonding experience for the group. But more
than that, it was a humbling, learning
experience. Ethiopia is two and a half
times the size of France, so it is
possible to be in a country at war and not
be in danger and it is equally possible to
be in southern Ethiopia and not see a sign
of drought. Ethiopia is a land of many
contrasts and as travel professionals we
must spread the word that Ethiopia is a
country that offers much to the traveler
and with proper preparation a visit will
be a safe and enriching
experience.
Our
tour operator in Ethiopia was
Tourman's Ethiopia Tours, Addis
Ababa.
Eunice
Rawlings passed away in 2001.
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