Comparing Kenya

Arriving in Nairobi I had very few expectations for Kenya, but soon found myself caught up in a comparative state-of-mind which is ever so popular in Ethiopia.  I would see a street of vegetable stands and think to myself, that’s just like Ethiopia. And then I would see the smooth unbroken sidewalk and think, wow that’s something Ethiopia doesn’t have! But at the end of the day I realized how the two countries cannot be compared, mainly because ones reasons for visiting either Ethiopia or Kenya are vastly different.  In Ethiopia you would find castles, monasteries and rock-hewn churches, while in Kenya you’d find lions and beaches.  Each country offers unique opportunities that you’d be blessed to experience.

Day two in Kenya and we headed out on a safari ready to have one of those experiences Ethiopia doesn’t offer.  Since I had already been on a safari with my family last December in Tanzania I also had a bit of expectations in my mind for the safari, but tried my best to not compare the adventures.  One main reason comparing would be unfair here is because while my family treated me to a luxury safari, Chris and I were doing it as budget as they come.  So budget that we found ourselves in a car with five other tourists, one of which had lost a bet; That’s right, our safari was someone else’s torture.

After dropping our bags off at the campsite we got back in the car for our first game drive.  I cannot deny that I was a little under impressed when the first picture stop was made for wildebeests and zebras while everyone else snapped away, giddy as first-timers should be.  I found myself having thoughts of a safari snob, wondering how soon we’d get to see some real safari animals.  As we bounced our way along the dirt roads of the Masai Mara NR  I began to remember my first day on safari last December, which was probably less than a hundred miles south across the Tanzania border.  That first day, especially when you have a lucky game drive, is irreplaceable.  Seeing that sparkle in everyone’s eyes as National Geographic scenes unfolded in real life made me smile; I remembered that feeling too.

I opened my eyes anew as we pulled up to see eight lion cubs playing around in Mother Nature’s version of a playground.  I’d never seen anything like that before, it was like watching a bunch of toddlers, or puppies all piling on top of each other and teasing one another.  At that moment I was reassured that whether you pay for luxury or have to zip up your own tent at night, the animals are the same, and they are amazing (ask our bet-losing new friend and she will agree).  The first two hours, as we rushed to see all we could before sunset, were about as great as any two hours could be.  Four grown lions, eight cubs, eight elephants, two giraffes, buffaloes, zebras, wildebeests galore; a lucky day indeed!

 

The safari continued for a couple more days, as did our minibus’s fun, but by the end of it we were satisfied with the animal sightings and very ready for smooth pavement.  When the tires hit that first patch of asphalt our bodies didn’t even know how to react it was so serene.  Second safari down, and I have a feeling there will be more in my future. The majestic atmosphere of watching nature’s beasts in the wild is too addicting to call that my last safari.

Arba Minch and the Bale Mountains

February brought a big mile-marker for my training group: Mid-Service Conference! This means that we are half-way through our two years of service, and had a three day conference to catch up on all we are doing at site.  Since we were already in Addis for the meeting, a few friends and I decided to take the next week to do one of my absolute favorite things, travel!

I do realize that I live abroad, and in some ways I have been “traveling” for 15 months now, but having the opportunity to get out of site and visit to a new part of the world always makes my heart beat with excitement! My wonderful friend Danielle and I decided we wanted to visit the Bale Mountains in southern Ethiopia, but of course plans kept changing until the day before we left, when it was finally decided that four of us would first spend a long weekend in Arba Minch.  This city in southern Ethiopia literally means “Forty Springs” and is most well-known for its national park, Nech Sar, "White Grass."

After a day full of buses from Addis, our bus arrived in our destination city, which I can only begin to describe as something from a fairy tale.  A smaller city surrounded by mountains on three sides, and two lakes on the other that just screamed adventure to us-- Exactly what we were looking for.

A quick bus transfer and we finally made it to a village in the surrounding mountains, Dorze, which boasted a cultural lodge, where you sleep in the local huts, for under $10 a night!  A buffet of Ethiopian food, a personal gabi (local blanket/jacket) draped on each of our shoulders, a couple glasses of tej (local honey wine), and a night filled with traditional music and dancing; we couldn’t have asked for anything more!

The next few days we spent exploring the national park, stalking what appeared to be the last four zebras in Ethiopia, spotting a Peter Pan-sized crocodile and camping under a canopy of trees.  I must add that there are more than four zebras (which, in Amharic, are called striped donkeys) but while we were in the park only four ever came into sight.  We had so much fun, despite the fact that it seemed like every bus or tour guide we dealt with wanted to try to rip us off more than the last guy.  I could write an entire book about the art of bargaining in Ethiopia, but at the end of the day we are still ferengi in their eyes, and therefore, rich.  An emotional beating every time you get judged for the color of your skin, but I’m hoping it is making me a stronger person in the long run.

Moving past that unplanned tangent, we then cut across to Hawassa meeting up with another volunteer and friend from home, who were joining us for the Bale Mountains portion of our trip! Traveling from Hawassa to the entrance of the Bale Mountains National Park proved to be another full day on buses. Hawassa to Shashemene to Dodola to Adaba and finally to Dinsho! Four legs later we were dropped off right outside the entrance gate where we happily accepted the “resident rate” and hiked in a couple km to our first campsite.  We were only in the park a few minutes before seeing our first nyala and several dik diks.

We camped in the park for three nights, each at a different campsite, hiking during the day to new areas.  Since two horses and a guide were compulsory, it worked out well that Danielle and I could hike without our packs, while all the boys carried theirs, leveling out the playing field!  It was such a relaxed environment; each new area was filled with places to explore: waterfalls, forests, cliffs.  We would arrive in the afternoon, setup camp, and spend the rest of the day playing games and discovering the surroundings.

I learned that the local guides are a lot better at building fires, and keeping them alive than we are.  They are also able to endure long nights of cold rain without tents to keep them dry, only shallow caves to barely shelter them.  We had so much fun hiking through the Bale Mountains and enjoying the beautiful region.  Wart hogs and their babies scampered around the fields, mountain hyrax jumped from cliff to cliff, and six ferengi balancing on rocks to cross a river while carrying packs.  We succeeded in finding an adventure; we always do.

The Adventure Continues: Egypt

We arrived in Cairo at 5:00 on the morning of New Year’s Eve following a three-hour delay on our flight.  After resting until noon, we made our way with a guide to the pyramids.  That’s right; the pyramids that I’ve seen in pictures and movies my whole life were awaiting me on the other side of the city.  As the highway approached them, our guide pointed out the grand structures, peering through the local buildings.  I’ve been told that you shouldn’t get your hopes up, because they aren’t as big as you think they would be, so I’m not sure if I just had low expectations, but either way, I was impressed.  We drove to a side street nearby and swapped out our tour guide’s car for an even better mode of transportation: camels!

Since the elephants in Tanzania were wild, this was the first chance we had to ride on an animal, so my brother and I were very excited.  As we headed toward the pyramids, although awkwardly bouncing around on the back of a camel, I had a sense of complete serenity.  Riding up to the pyramids on camel, with hardly any other people around, was like going back in time.  If only you couldn’t see the distant tour buses near the base of the biggest pyramid you would think you were in a different era altogether.

We spent the next day exploring Cairo, eating delicious food (well, ok, it was Chili’s, but I haven’t had American food in a year! And it was on a boat on the Nile!), and outdoing ourselves at the Khan-el-Khalili market.  I must thank my family for putting up with my cravings for every American chain restaurant I saw: Pizza Hut, Cinnabon, McDonalds!  

The following day we visited the National Museum in Cairo, and that night headed on an overnight train to Luxor.  The Valley of the Kings, Thebes, and several other tourist stops were on our agenda and they didn’t disappoint.  That night we drove to the Red Sea town of Hurghada, the part of the vacation I’d been awaiting for over three weeks.

Since I came to Africa I knew one thing I couldn’t miss out on was diving in the Red Sea.  After arriving in Hurghada, I spent a day looking around town deciding on a dive company, and spent the next two days in-and-out of the water on five dives.  While I was sad to not be spending the last couple of days of vacation with my family (they aren’t divers), I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see one of the seven underwater wonders of the world.  Each afternoon I would return to the hotel filled with stories of my scuba diving adventures.

The marine life is amazing, along with the different types of corals.  When all you can hear is the sound of your exhaled bubbles and you look upward 30 meters to the surface of the water, it is like you are in another world.  The ecosystem on a reef is mindboggling; the way the animals work together and live together.  It feels like you are witnessing something that you weren’t meant to see.

I compared Tanzania to The Lion King, and I couldn’t help but thinking I was in the middle of Finding Nemo on the Red Sea.  The things you get to see in nature around the world as just amazing, and I think Disney realized this a long time ago.  The Ethiopia Disney movie has yet to be made, although I think they’re missing a goldmine of opportunities there!  The three consecutive countries we visited each offered unique highlights, and I was so blessed to spend the month with my family.  Thank you for that unrivaled opportunity!

Welcome To Dangila

This past month I had the privilege of hosting my mom, dad and brother in Dangila for three days.  When I was planning our Ethiopia-section of their time in Africa, I thought about all the historical places I wanted them to see- Lalibela, Gondar, Bahir Dar.  But when it really came down to booking how many days I wanted to spend in each place, I immediately knew I wanted them to spend the most time in Dangila.  Not only did I want them to experience my home, and way-of-life, but I wanted them to meet all my friends and drink more coffee than they could handle, just as I did when I first arrived!

Our time spent in Lalibela, Gondar, and Bahir Dar was fabulous.  The sites in Ethiopia are spectacular and one-of-a-kind, but my favorite part of having them here was the hospitality received in Dangila.  I knew I had some wonderful friends here, but the warm welcome they gave my family was so special and unrivaled.  The first night in Dangila, we were invited over to Ali and Billie’s house.

They used to live in my compound, but moved out a few months ago into a bigger house nearby.  We all sat in their living room and spoke in broken English, while I translated the rest of the details back and forth.  They served us a plateful of injera and wat; some of the best I’ve had in Ethiopia!  I was a little nervous about having my family taste Ethiopian food in a restaurant the first time, but at least there, you can openly say something doesn’t taste great.  At a friend’s home, it is a bit harder to reject the food!  Luckily, the food was well received by my family.  Thanks for being troopers family.   Then, as we were putting our plates down, satisfied by the delicious food, another round of plates came out!  That’s right, another plateful, but this time it was western food! Spaghetti, tomato sauce (with burbere spices of course) and bread; we all looked at each other with wide eyes.  We graciously accepted the second dinner and followed it by a coffee ceremony, although there was quite a bit of food left over.

The next night we had yet another two-course meal, featuring almost all the same foods! It was amazingly thoughtful how all my Ethiopian friends catered to our needs and welcomed us into their homes.  My favorite part of coming to my town was the night we first arrived, after the first marathon meal, my friends Tigist and Tewelde awaited us back near my house.  They were so excited about meeting my family, and they came bearing gifts.

They had an “Ethiopian” beaded bracelet for each of them, freshly made local bread, local-made potato chips, and Christmas cards for us!  It was the nicest thing.  Then they escorted my family back to their hotel on the main road.

It truly brought tears to my eyes.  The hospitality here and love I receive from all my Ethiopian friends is truly the reason I am still here.  They teach me something new every day about selflessness and generosity.

Family Safari

While I waited in the terminal for my 10AM flight to Tanzania to board, I had butterflies in my stomach. It wasn’t the flight I was anxious for, but three of its passengers that awaited me! Of course, nothing in Ethiopia goes as planned, and as I looked up from the book I was reading to scan the terminal for possible boarding information, I caught my brother’s eye. There was my family, going through security to join me in the terminal!

It was an epic reunion, filled with hugs and tears, and before I knew it time was flying by. Hours, which felt like days as time lead up to seeing them, turned into minutes. Before I knew it we were stepping into the humidity of Tanzania and our safari had begun. Lions, leopards, cheetahs, not to mention countless giraffes, elephants, zebras and wildebeests; It was like being thrown into The Lion King. While my brother will cringe as he reads about these Disney references (he also wasn’t my biggest fan when I sang “Hakuna Matata” while on safari), I can’t help but compare the safari to something unreal. Each day kept exceeding my wildest expectations.

We traveled from Kilimanjaro International airport to the Ngorongoro Crater, to Serengeti National Park, then retraced a bit to Tarangerie National Park, and finally wound up in West Kilimanjaro for a couple nights. On our first afternoon in the Serengeti, we drove right up beside two cheetahs.

 After a moment of watching them, the one other Range Rover in sight flashed their lights at our driver and just 100 yards away we saw a lion, and following his line-of-sight, there lay two more!

The next day in the Serengeti NP, we were driving along a side road when we spotted a group of at least 10 elephants on the horizon. We were the only car in sight, and decided to stop, turn off the engine and observe them for a bit. We watched in awe as they walked right towards us. Maybe twenty minutes later they crossed the road around our vehicle.

 Half were in front of us and half were behind us, and we were speechless. Later that day we pulled around this large rock formation and saw another car stopped, always a good sign that there is something to see. A leopard was perfectly perched on a branch overhanging the rock.

That was a set straight from The Lion King. Moments after arriving, the beautiful animal stood up and wandered back off the branch to rest in privacy I suppose. Lunchtime was approaching, so we decided to park there and eat our boxed lunches while waiting to see another glimpse of the leopard. With binoculars you could see the unmistakable leopard print through the brush. Just before we gave up waiting, he decided to grace us with his presence again, going back to prone position on the branch.

One of the last days, when we were staying in private game reserve in West Kilimanjaro, in the nicest tent I’ve ever stepped foot in, we had a little scare. We piled into an open-air range rover and headed out for a morning game drive. The lack of walls between me and animals that could attack me didn’t faze me at first, I was anxious to see them up close! We spotted our first group of elephants outside a National Park and we approached with excitement. Our guide, used to NP animals instructed the more inexperienced driver to pull up close… the elephant swung his trunk, flopped his ears, and made a noise that made us wish were movingin the opposite direction (as I snapped pictures, obviously)…and the driver stalled the vehicle.

 

 We all survived the weeklong safari in Tanzania, and had an adventure of a lifetime! It would have been a wonderful vacation all on its own, but as it was, it was just the beginning of ours!

Tanzania Day 1

This video shows the highlights from Day 1 in Tanzania... only to be followed by 6 more incredible days. More pictures will be posted soon. For now, enjoy the video!

My First Ethiopian Travels

After IST (Peace Corps In-Service Training) in Sodere I was able to take my first trip in Ethiopia and I decided to head down south.  My friend Danielle and I were able to travel to Hawassa, Yirgalem and Lake Langano to visit other volunteers, do a little work, and have some well-deserved time off.  It seemed like a completely new world traveling south through green fields, even stopping on our way to Hawassa to buy fresh strawberries.  The city of Hawassa lies on a lake providing the perfect backdrop for sunsets and lots of wildlife to see.  Besides the massive stork-type birds found all over the city we were able to see goureza monkeys and we took a boat ride to see the hippos in Lake Hawassa.  At least eight hippos had their heads sticking up out of the water amongst the long grass.  Of course there were also a lot of new restaurants to try; countless places claiming true “ferengi food” and some even resembled food found in America!

After a quick visit in Hawassa we escaped to our friend Jordan’s town, Yirgalem, just one hour south.  Combining work and pleasure, we were able to take a look at Jordan’s host organization, the Beza Youth Center, and see another part of the south.  It was interesting the see another town with the supposed same population as my town, and yet it seemed so different.  Besides the surrounding forests, and green plants, Yirgalem is spread out to seem much bigger.  One night we took a hike into the forest to a lodge where we saw a hyena-feeding.  Three hyenas came within 20 feet of where we were sitting!

Lastly we visited Lake Langano on out way back up to Addis Ababa. Lake Langano is the only swimmable lake in the whole country, and I was excited to jump right in!  Although the water was mud-colored, the cool water was welcomed after the hot springs of Sodere.  We had a wonderful day swimming and kayaking around the lake, it almost seemed like we weren’t in Ethiopia for a day.

Overall the trip triggered my travel bug and has made me start to mentally plan my future adventures around Ethiopia.  This country is so vast, full of different places to visit.  I can’t wait to see more.