Cape to Cairo 2010

We left Lalibela at 7am. It rained during the night so I was feeling a little trepidation at the condition of the first 100km of gravel that we were going to have to tackle because the soil here goes like slime when wet…well, the trepidation was well placed. It took 2 hours to do this 100km which was made all the worse by the trucks that had already been on the road and the countless animals that are continuously being herded up and down.

On the subject of animals, I have come to the conclusion that the Donkey is the stupidest animal on the planet. They have no sense of self preservation whatsoever as they will purposefully stroll out of their way and into your path even though you are coming at them at 50 or 100km/h. The complete sense of terror that this manoeuvre produces when your back wheel locks up in the mud and you have no control over stopping is enough to induce automatic and unwelcome bowel movements! The alternative name for a donkey shouldn’t be an Ass, it should be a dumbass!!

The ride from Gashena (the town at the end of the mud) to Woldia to Mekhele is probably the most beautiful ride I have ever had. The road conditions (barring people and donkeys) are perfect new tar that sweeps you up and down half a dozen of the MOST INCREDIBLE mountain passes. Each pass will take you from an altitude of 3500m to 1000m and back again and 10C to 30C and back again..I am surprised that we haven’t got the bends from this constant change of altitude! To quote Mike Copeland from his book, Cape to Cairo, “A reasonably good road leads up and down many mountain passes – each one worthy of a name and fame in any other country other than Ethiopia, where there are so many that no one notices them anymore”. I am fast coming to the conclusion that Ethiopia must rank in the top 5 of the worlds most beautiful countries. On the downside, although the people are incredibly warm and hospitable, there is a bit of a culture of aggressive and insistent begging which becomes tiresome after awhile and could prove to be a deterrent to successful tourism over time.

We are spending the night at the Axum hotel in Mekhele which is obviously the local hang out joint for this town. The rooms are super basic and hygiene does not feature highly on the list of priorities although we are advised it is the best place to stay in town.

The Ethiopian cell network has no Data connectivity and the places we have stayed at thus far have had no internet availability and hence the reason that the website uploads have been sporadic. I imagine this problem will continue until we are in the Sudan assuming we have Data connectivity when we get there, failing which it will be a similar case of uploading when we can. Furthermore, because there is no data connectivity, the “where are we now” page will also not be updating until I can either find a wireless network for my phone to tap into alternatively, the Sudanese Data network, however, please trust me, we are in Northern Ethiopia at the moment.

Tomorrow we head for Axum, the historic stronghold of the Queen of Sheba.

Mountain road out of Lalibela.

Rui navigating the mud road.

On the road to Mekhele.

One of the half a dozen mountain passes we did today.

Navigating the hairpins!