Hi everybody!

This time I would like to share my experiences of the three weeks of travel in Ethiopia. Suffice to say that three weeks can’t really be enough to thoroughly travel any country but it was enough to see some incredible landscapes, witness a unique peoples’ culture, and to learn a lot about this ancient country’s history (and to stuff my face with probably some of the best food in Africa!). And by the way, I am digging my feet deep into the white powdery sand of one of Zanzibar’s most exquisite beaches while I am writing this.

Ethiopia is probably one of the most misunderstood and underrated countries. In the western world people first think of famine and starving people when they hear the word “Ethiopia”. Of course there were the terrible famines in the 80s caused by the inability of the socialist Derg regime and another grave one in the 70s caused by the troubles of the Italo-Ethio war. These were just eye glimpses compared to the 4000 year old history of this country that claims that its royal blood line is traced back to King Solomon of Jerusalem and the Queen of Sheeba themselves. Also Ethiopia claims to be in posession of the original Arch of the Covenant that contains the actual stone tablets bearing the Ten Commandments given to Moses on Mount Sinai which would be one of mankind’s most precious treasures. I have seen the place where this treasure is guarded but it remains to be proven that it is genuine. On top of all this Ethiopia is the place where some of the oldest remains of skeletons of Homo Sapiens Sapiens and it’s predecessors were found (also the oldest bi-pedaling humanoid skeleton “Lucy” which is 3.2 million years old). So of course the claim is being made that Ethiopia is the cradle of mankind itself. Combined with the fact that Ethiopia is the only African country that has always successfully fought off any attempts of colonialization, it is quite understandable that the Ethiopian people are very proud. And if you are drinking a coffee while reading this: the coffee plant originates from southern Ethiopia in the Kaffa region where it got its name from as well (and this is a fact).

I wasn’t really feeling comfortable when I left Kenya to fly to Addis Ababa because I wasn’t prepared at all. I had no hotel booked, had no real guide book, I was alone and no idea what to expect. Also I wasn’t really fond of the capital and I wanted to leave it as fast as possible. The gods of travelling were kind to me though and blessed me with the company of some amazing people. I just love this so much about travelling. You rock up to some random place, meet nice people and then you decide to travel together. So it came to be that from the first day to the last day in Ethiopia I was never travelling alone. So shouts go out to my Ethiopian crew Hendrik, Tim, Caspar, Dani, Gili, Orit, Neil, Kate, Hadrien, Omer and the others I might have forgotten to mention right now. Anyway with only three weeks to travel one country I decided to go the classic historical circuit that lead my friends and me first to Bahir Dar where we visited some of Ethiopia’s oldest churches and the Blue Niles Falls. After that we went of the the old capital city of Gondar which is the starting point for almost all treks into the Simien Mountains and thats exactly what we did aswell: A four day trek on the roof of Africa with walking on peaks as high as four thousand meters, passing canyons falling as deep as a thousand meters, marvelling at stunning waterfalls, being savaged by bed bugs and also being rained on, hailed on and nearly frozen rock solid. Still it was amazing and I would do it again without hesitation. After this out door experience it was time for some history and culture so off to Lalibela we went. Lalibela was a former capital aswell and it was founded by King Lalibela. The word Laibela means “honey eater” and the legend says that when the king was born a swarm of honey bees gathered around him and hence his mother gave him this name. The area still produces great honeys. Some of them are said to have magical healing powers. King Lalibela was a priest king and he is known for building the famous rock hewn churches of Lalibela. 13 huge churches freed from the rock and turned into a spiritual and religous centre where the old orthodox form of chrstianity is still practiced in the same way like centuries ago. I felt thrown back in time as soon as I entered the compund with pilgrims praying and chanting in the ancient tongue of Ge’ez and following there ancient rites. Somehow the whole atmosphere reminded me of Tibet with its living and omnipresent spirituality. After spending a couple of days in Lalibela and being eaten alive by fleas this time, we moved on to the former capital of the aksumite empire: Aksum. This place has the oldest history in Ethiopia and many archaeological sites. The amazing fact that so far only 10% of the archaeological sites have been excavated makes it even more fascinating. who knows what tombs and treasures are still hidden in the ground only waiting to be found. Also it holds a ruin which is believed to be the former palace of the Queen of Sheeba. After spending only two nights in Aksum we pressed on to Mekele where we organized the the four day trip into the Danakil Depression which was definetly my highlight of travelling Africa so far. An area so bizarre and hostile that it feels like being on a different planet. Still there is life and even settlements to be found. Between sulfur lakes, bubbling potassium pits and areas with a ground like shattered glas lies the Dallol Salt Lake. Caravans of camels and mules are still led there in a two weeks walk by some of the toughest people I have ever seen: the Afar. The Danakil Depression is the lowest place in Africa with -125 meters below sea level and that makes it also the hottest inhabited place on earth with temperatures that are frequently above 50 degrees centigrade. Still people are working there and are cutting the salt from the ground with axes, sticks and knifes in way that was the same centuries if not millenia ago. The Afar people refuse using modern machinery because they believe that once people start exploiting the salt, which is their foundation of life, it will just vanish. This was very impressive to witness but even that paled compared what was next. A visit to one of the five active lava lakes on this planet. It was one of the most difficult and exhausting expeditions I did. An eight hour car ride through barren wasteland, desert and a huge field of lava rock followed by a stiff three hours hike up the mountain. The view was more than rewarding though. Standing on the rim of a bubbling lava pit is a sight that I will never forget in my entire life. Remembering it now I even have to ask myself if it was real or just a dream.

Since I have been travelling pretty fast in the past two months I am taking a couple of days off now on the lovely island of Zanzibar. The weather is perfect, the water is as blue as the sky and the food is great aswell. I am not really sure on my next steps but right now it feels good to just relax and get tanned.

See you around
Flo

Simien Mountains: Farmer boys selling there handicrafts.

Bahir Dar: Centuries old christian murals in one of Ethiopias oldest churches.

Simien Mountains – Gogo Peak: A four thousand meter high peak where we stopped for a lunch brerak.

Simien Mountains: Bleeding Heart Gelada Monkey. A kind of monkey that is endemic to the Simiens. And quite a filthy one too. There were constantly “commiting adultery” or at last touching themselves.

Lalibela: We were watching the football match Ethiopia versus Nigeria. Unfortunately we lost 1:2 due to stupid referee.

Lalibela – Rock Church: A priest showing his cross that is used for blessing pilgrims.

Gondar – 4 Sisters Restaurant: A typical Ethiopian dish. Different kind of meat, vegetables and sauces placed on an Injeera. The Injeera is a part of every Ethiopian meal. It is a sponge like pancake with a slightly sour taste made of an endemic grain called teff.

Simien Mountains – Geech Camp: Our scout who guarded us from dangerous wildlife and bandits. Luckily he never had to make use of his old M14 rifle.

Danakil Depression – Dallol Salt Lake: One of the Afar people loading the cur salt bricks on to a camel.

Danakil Depression – Dallol Salt Lake: One of the many soldiers that protected us from a potential attack from Eritrean Soldiers. In 2012 a group of German and Hungarian tourists was killed in the Danakil Depression hence the high securtiy meassures now.

Lalibela – Rock Church: Pilgrim during the morning mass. She insisted on me taking a picture of her.

Danakil Depression – Dallol Salt Lake: Cutting the salt into even bricks of 10 kilos.

Danakil Depression – Dallol Salt Lake: The breaking of salt from the ground.

Danakil Depression – Irta’Ale lava lake: I was so tired from the trip there that I had to take a nap right next to the boiling lava.