Thurs 1st. A bit early to get to the airport for a late morning flight but wanted to miss any possible rush hour. Managed to get my rucksack on as hand luggage. A good flight…only an hour……good views lake Abaya.
All the recommendations for accomod were for Adika Lodge. Met up with Wacha and went with him in a bajaj ….tuk tuk…to Adika. Good choice. Large twin room with a little balcony and absolutely amazing views of lakes Abaya and Chomo. All for 600..about 10gbp. I was between Haile htl and Paradise lodge…124usd and 50usd respectively. Of course Adika didn’t include bfast or have a swimming pool..!! I went on walkabout into town; ended up at Alliance and met up with Betty and Samri, the coffee ladies, and went there every day after that. Dinner was at Paradise…for the fabulous view and WiFi. Had bbq lamb.
Fri 2nd. Took it easy..exploring the town again…and found a cheap bar that was conveniently half way back to the lodge. Dinner at Paradise, as became normal practice. I could also see some football highlights there.
Sat 3rd. Decided to do the 40 Springs hike with Wacha. Had to have an armed scout for security..cost 200. I paid Wacha 400. So 12gbp for a few hours hike in the forest. We saw baboons and monkeys and a couple of impressive hornbills. I swung o.n a very large vine and swam in a natural pool. Lots of school kids splashing around as well. Went to the Spring source which was a bit disappointing; was expecting gushing water but it was a little trickle. Drank from large leaves and the water was very sweet. Went drinking with Wacha after the hike. The deal with him was that I wouldn’t pay him as a guide but would pay for drinks and any food.
Sun 4th. Had been put in touch with Mokone who was the King of Dorze village. King or Chief…I don’t really know, but it was an inherited title and he was hugely respected. Went up to Dorze on his motorbike, which took almost an hour on a very rough road which climbed about 1000 metres.
It was a great day. An important football match was being played and was made Coach for the day. Unfortunately we lost. Went back to his house on a large compound….drank Holy Water (local gin), watched local banana flat bread being made, and the banana leaves being stripped for purposes I cant remember. !! There was a Kenyan lady on a short visit; a bit touristy really but fun. The houses are shaped symbolically like an elephant and the whole structure is built from the local ‘fake’ banana tree. The tree is huge..much bigger than normal trees….and they don’t produce any banana fruit. The houses, over time get eaten by termites. So they start life around 9 or 10 feet tall as the accommodation shared with their cows and goats (providing warmth), and reduce/shrink to a few feet over a period of about 60-80 years to be used as storage.
Much tej was drunk that evening as we moved between bars in the dark. Eventually I returned to my fake banana leaf/trunk room for a very comfortable nights sleep.
Mon 5th. Mid morning we started down the hill back to Arba Minch. After a few kms the motorbike engine failed and we freewheeled for the next hour. Luckily it was all downhill and Mokone got lots of sympathy, to be expected if you happen to be the King. !! We left the bike with a mechanic and continued in a bajaj.
Eventually I was dropped off at my hotel for the night. Room not ready.. Decide to go up road for coffee. Into bajaj with 2 others, having decided not to walk because I was carrying my rucksack. A few bad decisions and after I had got out of the bajaj and gone across the road, I realised my phone had been stolen from my shirt pocket. Can’t discuss it too much.. awful feeling. My head my thoughts were all over the place.
The room was cheap…no consolation. Didn’t sleep well. Decided to stay the next day instead of going to Awassa and hope my phone would turn up. Moved to the Tourist hotel which was much nicer. Went drinking Tej with Mokone and Sacha…drowned my sorrows. Got pretty drunk and possibly passed out; didn’t even notice that a young lady had come to my room… courtesy of Wacha. I was lucky that she didn’t walk off withy wallet etc. Anyway..nightmare.
Wed 7th…got into a matatu around 10 to go to Awassa. Don’t know what was going on, as it filled up twice then people got off and we went around in circles. Eventually 2 hrs later we got under way from the place where we first started !! The guy drove very fast , which suited me, and just under 4 hrs later we reached Awassa. Some nice scenery along the way.
I didn’t know where I was going but found a number of Pensions. First for 200. Then for 250. Settled for Rose Pension at 350 which was nice and clean. Drew out some money. Found a nice place for a drink and had 2 brillees of tej. Dinner was injera with a thick tomato sauce. Watched football, and the accomm wasn’t too far away. Had a nightcap of a beer with a vodka tot.
Thurs 8th. Walked down to the lake. Early, so nice and peaceful to walk around the shore and see fishermen fishing amongst the reeds. Heard snorting sounds and after patiently waiting and watching, I saw a couple of hippos. Hard to discern just the top of their head and eyes. Kept walking, did a big circuit back to the lodging for my rucksack.
Walked to Ethiopian airlines office to enquire how to get to the airport. Just as well I did because I was told that my 13:50 flight was cancelled. They put me on the 16:40. Some adjustment to my taxi pickup at Addis…which was fine. Had a nice lunch in Awassa and caught the airport shuttle which only cost 70 birr. Surprisingly far from town to the airport…half an hour. But a good flight. Was met by Euael. He dropped me at the Red Lion. It was closing time. None of my friends were there. Had a quick pint and went to the house. All the time reflecting on the loss of my phone. I was so depressed. I didn’t get over it for the rest of my stay in Ethiopia; fortunately I only had 2 weeks until I was due to return to Kenya.