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Belgium Burkina Faso Trip 2016 Europe

In Bruges and Back to Brussels

My trip to Burkina Faso is ending the way it began: in Belgium. I returned yesterday quite late after my day layover in Istanbul. I was knackered, but i couldn’t resist taking a stroll around the square and surrounding streets, which had been decorated for Christmas since i was here two weeks ago.

It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: Belgium is a world away from Ouagadougou. Sidewalks, trash bins, tap water, frigid and clean air, cafes that look like cafes, people that don’t pay a bit of attention to me. I love the noise and excitement of Burkina Faso, but right now i am really appreciating the more familiar environment of western Europe, partly because i got to have a very long, very hot shower.

This morning i woke up very early and caught a train to Bruges. An hour and a half past quaint rural areas and small towns. From the station in Bruges it is a short walk to the Market Square. The square is beautiful, like so many European squares, ringed with narrow, pointy buildings in bright colours, housing inviting eateries and tea houses, imposing and intricate state buildings and throngs of picture snapping visitors.

But this was a but different because the square was filled with a Christmas market. An ice rink, decorations, and wooden booths hung with icicle lights selling food and knick knacks.

I wandered around the area, and over to the equally beautiful Berg square where i visited a beautiful and thankfully warm church.

I then followed the canals, stopping for breakfast at the most charming tiny cafe, all aglow in candles and Christmas.

I walked around aimlessly down the picturesque cobbled streets, stopping to take a million pictures. Locals walked dogs and rode bicycles. Tourists consulted maps and gazed upward.

I visited the estate housing the small but very pretty Jerusalem church, where the ticket seller thought i was under 26 and tried to sell me a discounted ticket. (I think it was the hat.)

In the church was a tiny little room with candles and relics where people had placed pictures of people for whom they prayed, i assume. I don’t pray of course, but i happened to have a tiny picture of me in my wallet (i take one when i travel because sometimes you need them for getting visas at the border). I placed it there amongst the others, singeing the corners to make it look old and worn. So if you visit that church you might see my face looking pious and prayed for.
I stopped in at an inviting looking tavern for a bowl of turnip soup and discovered that it is apparently the oldest tavern in the world, being over 500 years old. It was charming and the soup exactly what i needed.

Another square had more booths and decorations and the most amazing carousel i have ever seen – sort of a steam punk miracle of creatures/machine hybrids flying and crawling as it whirled. Unfairly, it was limited to kids 12 and under.

I walked and sipped hot chocolate until i could no longer tolerate the crowds.

I leave for Vancouver, via London, tomorrow afternoon; sad because i wish i could stay in Europe or take off somewhere exotic. Instead i will head home to email, work, and plans for the next trip.

Belgium Burkina Faso Trip 2016 Europe

Brussels

I arrived in Brussels at 8:30 pm with my backpack and handwritten directions which were to lead me from the central train station to my hotel, but something went askew (i think a street disappeared. It couldn’t be that my directions were flawed.) so i spent the next 45 minutes making false starts and returning to station to set off again. Finally two young men unloading an art exhibit into a car (or stealing art, i can’t be sure) offered to help and pointed me in the right direction.

First impressions of Brussels. It looks properly European. Cobblestones, old churches, bicycles, men in scarves, accordion players, cigarettes, pretty buildings, and squares centred around statues of men posing nobly. The area my hotel is in (which is about a 5 minute walk from the train station, notwithstanding the 45 minutes it took me to find it) is great. It is lined with waffle shops, cafes, and chocolatiers. The streets actually smell like chocolate in spots. Plus, my hotel is also about 5 minutes from La Grand Place and walking distance to everything else.

The downside to my hotel (le hotel madeleine) is that it is almost sleazy. It’s fine, really. Clean and cheap and the staff are good, but my room is literally an old bed, a wardrobe, which i can’t open due to the proximity to the bed, and a sink. I am sharing a toilet. There is no shower or bath – not even a shared one – there just isn’t one. But there is the sink, so sponge baths it is. As a bonus, under the circumstances, it is freezing in Brussels; it was minus 1 when i arrived, so i can get away without bathing for a couple, days.

I had only two nights and a day in Brussels, so i set off that first night to get the lay of the land. I walked the streets which were busy with young people drinking, smoking, and eating sweet treats. I easily found La Grand Place, which was a glow in warm floodlights, but freezing in every other respect. The square was crammed with people posing with selfie sticks and waffle props.

I kept wandering around and finally gave in to hunger and cold and had a waffle with nutella, which was good, but i couldn’t finish it and i think it literally killed off my craving for anything sweet. There really are waffle shops everywhere. Although apparently proper waffles are served only with powdered sugar, the ones in the tourist area are piled high with whipped cream, chocolate, and fruit. I’m pretty sure you would have to be high to eat one. I have been informed that a proper waffle is 10 squares by 10 squares (someone should tell the people at eggo).

The next morning, i rose early, had a coffee, and took a stroll through a local super market, picking up a small baguette and a small round of cheese for a breakfast. I picked the cheese wanting something i didn’t recognize and something local. It turned out i picked the world’s stinkiest cheese. It was alternately amazing and gag inducing (but mostly good). Unfortunately, despite multiple hand washings, i smelled like that cheese for the rest of the day. Maybe i still do and have just been desensitized to it.

I don’t have a ton of revelations about Brussels. It’s nice. It’s Europe. The coffee is good, the architecture is pretty and impressive. The cafes are historic and beautiful. But i wasn’t in love with it. It isn’t on par with cities like Rome or Paris, Lisbon, or London. But there is enough to see. I went to the comic strip museum, which i very much enjoyed. Interesting, fun, and not too big. I learned a lot about Tin Tin and saw Smurfs represented.

I visited a Catholic church, i bought a ridiculous but adorable toque to protect myself from the cold, and i rode the subway.

The subway ride was specifically to visit Brussels’ local La Casa Del Habano (cigar shop), which was in a posh shopping area of the city where the streets were patrolled by soldiers carrying machine guns and pistols and wearing very snug camouflage trousers and jaunty berets. I half expected that at any moment they would drop their weapons and break into some sort of choreographed dance routine.

Anyway, i made it to La Casa, picked a couple of cigars from their excellent humidor and settled into the comfy smoking lounge. The lounge was busy and every time a man entered, he went around the room and shook each person’s hand and said ‘bonjour’ individually (those people who were known to him got a kiss on the cheek). I am not accustomed to this level of formal politeness. I must say though, my “bonjours” are exceptional now.

Donald Trump’s recent election victory is the #1 news story. People bring it up when when they hear me speak and assume I am American. They share my disappointment and disbelief.

In the evening, i wandered more, had dinner at a nice Thai restaurant (Belgian food is not so veg-friendly – even the frites are cooked in lard) and then i went to a bar. Not just any bar, but a goth type bar called The Coffin (en Francais). It has a cool decor that is right up my alley. Black and graffiti-ed with red or UV lighting, skeletons, bats, and coffins decorate the place and they play rock and metal music. It is almost perfect. As i walked in, dressed in my usual cold weather traveling outfit (all black with army type boots, leather jacket with metal studs, black hair and eyeliner), i felt right at home…except that the place has become something of a tourist attraction and most of the people in there had blue jeans and polar fleece jumpers or khakis and ball caps. So that was a bit disappointing, but it’s still a nifty bar. How often can you sit at a coffin and drink from a skull? Not often enough.

This morning i had coffee on the square. Cold and rainy now. Then i swiftly made it back to the airport for my flight to Casablanca. I passed the time having coffee with a lady from rural Belgium who is traveling to Morocco for a week exploring on horseback with a tour.

Right now i am on board a Royal Air Maroc flight to Casablanca. From there i will fly to Ouagadougou, but first: a 7 hour long layover in Casablanca, during which i hope i will be able to take the train into the city for a quick walk around the old medina and whatever else i have time for. But it isn’t certain. I’ll assess the situation at the airport and make sure i have enough time to get through customs and back without missing my connecting flight. Even if i don’t get to leave the airport…I’m still that much closer to Burkina Faso!
Onwards.

Africa Ethiopia Ethiopia Trip 2015

Back to Addis Ababa

I left Lalibela the morning after the day of my mule trek. I awoke that day feeling like i might die. Fever, vomiting, and excruciating soreness all over. Thankfully my sightseeing was complete or it would have spoiled the day, but as it was the day was mostly travel: Waiting around for a bus to get to the airport, waiting at the airport, flying to Addis, and then waiting for a shuttle to my hotel. By the time i arrived and settled, all i wanted to do was have a cigar and a bath and go to bed. A word about my hotel, i figured that by the end of my trip i would be worn down, tired, dirty – all of which are true – so i had booked my last two nights in Addis at the Hilton, which is super fancy. I felt like a hick walking in in the same outfit I’ve been wearing for the past 2+ weeks, smelling of sweat, mule, and probably vomit, but it was the perfect place to actually relax for a change and get some rest. And, as it turns out, there are lots of great places here to curl up with a cigar and enjoy some overpriced coffee.

Thankfully, my sickness turned out to be a 24 hour thing and i awoke the next morning read to take on the city.
I walked north of the hotel through a bit of a park like area and came upon a big church with a wedding procession outside. It was lovely, with people singing and clapping and drums being played as the couple paraded around the church.

I didn’t get to go inside the church but all around it were giant tortoises, like the kind that may easily be 100 years old. That was neat.

From there i walked up to the National Museum, which houses a small but satisfying array of Ethiopian historical artifacts and artwork, in addition to the remains of “Lucy” the oldest or most famous found skeletal remains of an Australopithecus, a precursor to homo sapiens, dating back about 3.2 million years, which is pretty amazing. (Look, I’m not a scientist. If you want some detailed info on Lucy, google her.) People all throughout my trip have been encouraging me to go see my “great grandmother Lucy” and they are understandably proud that we can presently locate the ancestors of all mankind to Ethiopia.

After that i walked further north past various traffic circles and busy street scenes, enjoying the walk and stopping for fresh mango juice or coffee.

I walked up to the university and wandered around a before checking out the Ethnographic Museum, which had a good art gallery as well as very interesting displays on cultural practices of people in different parts of the country.

It was all very enjoyable and quite walkable, though by the end of it i was content to stay in and enjoy a cigar on the hotel patio, by the palms.

Today i resolved to walk to the Mercato (yes, they use the Italian word for market). This was quite a walk from the hotel, made more difficult by the fact that i didn’t have a maq, but i knew it was in the north east and near a really big mosque and i was delighted that i was able to find it without having to haggle for a taxi fare. I was less delighted that, being Sunday, the market was rather quiet and most of the surrounding businesses closed. It still made for a satisfying walk though, and one which i followed up by walking to Meskel Square and down Bole Road and back. Trust me, this was a long walk. Nothing of any great interest occurred, but it gave me my final glimpses of Addis before i head to the airport this evening.

And that, is pretty much that for Ethiopia. It has been a wonderful trip which has exceeded my expectations and has been a far easier trip than i expected. Terrific sights, cities, people, food, a d experiences. I only regret that i do not have time to see the many other parts of the country, which look so appealing. But it is back to work for me, with just a bit of a visit to Frankfurt en route.
Flying soon.
d

Africa Ethiopia Ethiopia Trip 2015

Travels With My Mule

The day before yesterday i was sitting in a pleasant cafe near the centre of Lalibela when a local guy showed up and started talking to me. I politely if a bit tersely went though my rote answers to the usual questions: Canada. Vancouver. Just about 3 weeks. Ethiopia is very beautiful and the people are very friendly. (All of which is true.) but this guy persisted and i actually gave him the time to talk. I had been planning on going on an excursion by car the next day to see some pf the countryside and outlying churches, but this guy had a better idea-to go into the mountains by mule and visit a monastery and a village. This sounded like a way better idea, so i agreed to meet him early the next morning.

When i pictured a journey by mule i imagined leisurely strolls down wide forrest paths on my trusty…mule.

It certainly started out that way but when we started to really as end the mountain the mules were climbing up very steep inclines over not so much paths but trails of jagged, large broken rock. At times the trail was comfortably wide but in many places it narrowed to about 3 feet with a mountain face on one side and a sharp drop off on the other. As i have little or no experience riding beasts of burden, at times this was nerve wracking, but also exciting.

Finally we reached a place where the path became too narrow for the mules so we continued on foot on narrow path hugging the cliff face until we reached a short, day-lit tunnel, climbed up a scramble of rocks and reached a monastery where the on duty monk or priest showed us many religious texts and items by candlelight.

After that there was more hiking; the sort that requires one’s focus not to pick the wrong rock to step on and slide to one’s doom. It was good though.

When we reached the next flat bit we rode the mules again to a village where we went to a local traditional house where a family of four lives. The house, made of mud and straw with a peaked wooden roof, is about 8 feet in diameter and contains one room on top (where the family lives) and one room on the bottom (where the livestock live). It was pretty cozy, but it’s hard not to think about 4 people living in this tiny mud room with no electricity or water and the fact that it is about an hour’s hike down a tricky mountain to the nearest town.

The two girls and mother did not speak English, but the boy did and he told me about their village and his school which his sister handled the coffee ceremony. They also provided injera and some spicy wat, as well as spiced wheat berries for snacks. They were very hospitable and it was a great experience.

The rest of the way down was a combo of mule riding and hiking when the decline was too steep.
It was a fantastic day, but left me thoroughly exhausted, with only enough energy for dinner and tea.

Africa Ethiopia Ethiopia Trip 2015

Aimless Walking in Lalibela

Having spent the previous day exploring the churches of Lalibela, i devoted my second day to just checking out the town. After breakfast, i did pop into a couple of the churches I had seen the day before, but this time i was without a guide and felt i could linger in silence and snap a few photos (because the 200 hundred i took the day before wasn’t enough).

As i walked away from the churches i heard a group murmuring and saw robed men and women ascending a boulder. I climbed up after them and saw a group of people sitting beneath the trees, including many priests and nuns, chanting. It was not in unison, though i heard many of the same recurring phrases. There seemed to be no leader. It was certainly religious in nature. I sat and watched for a while, resting under a juniper tree, enjoying the shade and peacefulness.

After that, i headed to the market. Everyone said Saturday was the bug market day, but i had to settle for a Wednesday. The market was obviously half its usual size but was still very interesting. A very limited amount of root vegetables were for sale as were unroasted coffee beans, barley, rice, lentils, spices, and sorghum. Women picked through the grains and beans, discarding the reject specimens, while livestock grazed in the dirt.

After climbing back up out of the market and wandering uphill in the blazing heat (it doesn’t seem to matter which direction I head I Lalibela, it is always sharply uphill) i settled in at a couple of different coffee shops for coffee and fresh mango papaya juice.

Everyone is so friendly and so eager to chat. The kids follow me down the street wanting to know where i am from and telling me about their school. They all know the capital of Canada and all of the countries of Europe and were eager that i quiz them. Others just say hello and run away giggling when i respond. One little boy and i played kick the empty water bottle up a hill until i, in all my uncoordinated glory, kicked the bottle off a cliff. I felt awful and would have gladly bought the boy a ball or at least a bottle of water had there been any sign of commerce in sight.

I browsed a few gift shops (for the first time on this trip) but didn’t do any buying. There were so many wonderful things to look at and the proprietors didn’t pressure me to buy, which was nice.

I basically lazed away the rest of the day, just reading, smoking, and drinking endless thimbles of coffee fresh from the fire. Finally it was time for dinner and i decided to check out this restaurant everyone had been telling me about: Ben Abeba. It is owed by an Ethiopian man and Scottish women and is perched on a mountain top housed in a crazy specimen of Ethiopian architectural whimsy.

It is all outdoors on various levels connected by ramps and spiral staircases. The food, service, and prices were all excellent and the view…

I ate and watched the sun settle into a glorious sunset before the sky and landscape turned jet black and the sky filled with incredible constellations.

For a day without any specific sights or planning, it was terrific and i took a tuk tuk back though the twisting mountain roads back to my hotel and to bed.
d

Africa Ethiopia Ethiopia Trip 2015

The Churches of Lalibela

I arrived in Lalibela early this morning where i was greeted by hot, sunny weather and a landscape that looked both appealing and inhospitable.

Upon landing they took my temperature, as they have upon each arrival, and i bused to my hotel, the Tukul Village. While my lodgings in Addis Ababa and Harar were sketchy and charmless, those in Gondar and Lalibela are fantastic. Upon seeing where i would be staying for the next three days, i wished i would be here longer.

I have this wonderful, round little hut built in the traditional style but with the comforts of a nice hotel. (So far there is running water and electricity so i am hopeful anyway.)
Immediately after settling and swapping a book at the book exchange, i went to explore the churches.

Lalibela is famous for a few groups of churches that were built about 1000 years ago after King Lalibela decided to create a new Jerusalem in Ethiopia. But rather than building the churches, he decided that they must carve them into the sold rock ground, such that the roof of each church is level with the ground and the rest is sub-terrainian, with each church being carved from a single stone. Just think about this for a moment. It’s madness and incredibly beautiful and confounding. What is even better is that these churches are still very much in use, with white robed priests and pilgrims attending for prayer and blessings.

Some of the churches are plain inside, and others have lovely carvings and paintings.
As if all this wasn’t cool enough, to get from church to church, you either walk through stunning pastoral settings or through underground tunnels. Now, a word about these tunnels. They are wide enough for one person and i had to stoop to walk through them. The ground is uneven and slippery from centuries of footsteps. That is fine, but they are also suffocating, pitch black. You can’t see your own hand in front of your eyes. In one tunnel i was able to use a flashlight, which was a great blessing, although even then, i was terrified. I am not really afraid of anything – danger, death, loneliness, hyenas, heights…but i am completely freaked out by the dark. Even with the flashlight i was very uncomfortable. As it turned out, all the flashlight did was bring to my attention that the tunnel was full of bats – two of which flew directly into my head. Since bats have excellent abilities to find their way in the dark, i can only assume that they did this on purpose.

After surviving that experience and visiting another church, there was another tunnel, which my guide (yes, i hired a guide. I don’t normally but i would have been quite lost without one in this experience) said was the tunnel of hell, or something like that. He said it is forbidden to use light or to speak in this tunnel. I suspect that he might have just been messing with me, but i obliged, with the light part anyway. This tunnel was equally dark and bat filled (i could hear them all around me), but longer. I really though i might die of fright as i felt my way slowly

along the twisting wall. I did not comply with the no speaking part and swore viciously the whole way. When i finally saw the light, i ran for it and then collapsed in laughter. I’m glad i did it.

One other thing worth mentioning is that in the walls of rock that surround the churches are many small tombs carved into the rock – basically tiny caves where people were laid to rest. Most of the bodies have been moved and reburied elsewhere, but in one spot, there were still two or maybe three bodies piled up at eye level, reduced to dusty bones and bits of cloth.

After that i walked around a bit but it had made for a long and tiring day, so i went out for dinner and am now sitting outside at my hotel with a cigar and pot of tea, listening to the tv on which the staff are watching “The Golden Child”.

A fantastic day. From what i have seen Lalibela ranks up there with the wonders of the world and i feel very lucky to be here.

Africa Ethiopia Ethiopia Trip 2015

Final Day in Gondar

My final day in Gondar was a relaxing one. After breakfast i went back to the market to wander around and sat and drank coffees while watching the street scene. Two things i haven’t mentioned: the macchiatos here are incredible, like tiny, perfect lattes. Also there are pool halls her everywhere. Typically just a one room place with a pool table and nothing else, but they seem to be very popular.

After that i visited Debre Birhan Selassie, a beautifully decorated church dating back to the late 1600s, found at the end of a lovely walk on a countryish road just off the piazza. It was wonderful, but my relaxation was interrupted by a fellow who wanted to talk to me about my life in Canada and was very intent on getting to the bottom of whether i was truly happy. By the end of the conversation, I just didn’t know any more. But i did enjoy the church.

After that i enjoyed a lazy lunch and cigar and lengthy bit of reading at a restaurant near my hotel before catching a tuk tuk to Kuskuam, which is the ruins of the palace of the Empress Mentewab, from the early 1730s. It was in a peaceful, albeit somewhat eerie setting on top of a small mountain and was great for a visit, although the solitude was somewhat broken by a group of school children who were entertained by following me around and jumping out to say hello and then run away.

The evening brought thunder showers and another power outage, so i spent the evening at the hotel reading by candlelight and reflecting on the day. Gondar was wonderful – much better than i had expected based on the accounts of other travelers, who said the sights were swell but that the constant hassle for money was exhausting. This was not my experience. I found it to be an interesting and restful place and could have easily spent more time there, but i had a flight the next morning to Lalibela, where more exploration would await.

Africa Ethiopia Ethiopia Trip 2015

Hararian Hospitality

Today in Harar started with rain but quickly dried out leaving the air cool and perfect for walking.

I returned to the old city and embarked on a new route. I visited the other church in Harar (there are 2 churches and countless mosques – well, actually someone told me there are 99 mosques, but i have not fact checked that) and several tiny mosques, which were virtually hidden behind walls and houses.

I could wander here for ages. It’s like a medieval Muslim maze. You turn down these tiny alleys with no idea where they will lead: to someone’s house, a dead end, a bustling market, one of the gates into the city, a mosque…it’s endlessly fascinating.

I visited the Harar coffee roasting company, where the coffee smelled amazing, but coming in 1 kilo bags, i don’t think I’ll be bringing any home. I went to the Shoa gate, which is now my favourite of the six gates into the old city. It is a crowded market place with people selling vegetables and fruit, bread and meat. There are also a few women cooking and serving food while seated on the ground. One woman saw me looking and said “ful”, which i have only ever has as a breakfast dish in Egypt. It is mashed beans cooked with tomato, onion and spices. After some communication issues i managed to ask and understand that it was 5 birr (about 25 cents). The woman mashed the ingredients in a tiny pot over hot coals and then it was ready to eat with a piece of bread for dipping. Delicious.

I hadn’t seen much in the way of street food here until that. Just samosas, French fries, and a few sweets.

After lunch i went back to the coffee place to meet up with a guy i had met there as we had made plans for coffee and shisha. We went to his friend’s house, which was basically two rooms with an outdoor cooking area and toilet. Inside, 5 guys were reclined on a cushion covered floor, chewing chat. Chat is a plant, or rather the leaves of a plant, that is ubiquitous here (in other countries as well – and especially Yemen, I’m told, but Harar is the first place I’ve seen it). It is sold by the bagful on the streets and everywhere you see people chewing it, often while reclined, the effects are reportedly increased wakefulness and pensive thought and if you chew enough of it you achieve ‘merkana’ (spelled phonetically), a peaceful and relaxed state. The guy whose house it was gave me a handful to try. It tastes awful, bitter, like a vegetable that you shouldn’t eat. Often they chew peanuts with it to kill the taste. One handful was enough for me. I did not notice any effects.

Then they started the coffee ceremony. There was a young woman who did all of the work (of course). She took a pot of hot coals and sprinkled incense on it. Then she took another pan of coals and, using a shallow pan, roasted fresh coffee beans. This smelled amazing. Then she took the pan outside and pounded the beans into a fine powder with a heavy metal rod. Then, very slowly, the coffee was mixed with water in a clay pitcher and heated over a fire. The coffee was served in tiny cups ad, oh my god, it was the best, freshest coffee ever. This was repeated until everyone had 3 cups – they said you need 3 cups: one for the eyes, one for satisfaction, and one to think “all of the thoughts”.

All if this occurred while we smoked shisha and listened to music – a mix of traditional Egyptian, Swahili hip hop, and Lil Wayne. The whole experience lasted about 3 and a half hours and was very relaxing, a great experience.

Africa Ethiopia Ethiopia Trip 2015

Addis Ababa

I arrived in Addis Ababa at 6am, just as the sun was coming up. Got my visa at the border and changed some US dollars to Ethiopian Birr. Caught a taxi (a bright yellow, decrepit Lada) to my hotel. There wasn’t much in the way of lovely sights on the drive in. Busy streets with traffic, pedestrians, and donkeys. Aside from a few nice churches and mosques, it’s all just very shabby, which is, what i expected. What was nice though was seeing the crowds of people going to church, dressed in white robes and veils and some of the residential side streets we drove down, which were very poor, but i liked seeing all of the people out starting their day.

My hotel is a a chandelier-crazy 3 star (ish) hotel. When i arrived, all of the staff were crowded around a tv watching the Mayweather flight and when the bell boy (he was probably 40 but his badge said “bell boy”) took me to my room he immediately put the boxing match on my tv too.

My room looks out over tne city and directly down on a corrugated tin conglomeration of houses.

I headed out to explore. All i knew about Addis Ababa (which means ‘new flower’ is that it is about 4 million people, home to a handful of decent sights, and according to most reports is poor and one is likely to be harassed, cheated, and mugged. Oh and i was told that you shouldn’t walk anywhere. So of course i spent the whole day walking. The weather was warm and lovely. The streets are admittedly not good for walking. Only intermittently paved and when they are they are broken and often you have to walk with the traffic, but if you don’t walk you can’t really experience things.

Today was not only a Sunday but some sort of a holiday so many businesses were closed but people were out in throngs. I walked past hole in the wall stores selling beverages and fruit, at least a hundred shoe shine guys, several blocks of shops selling colorful, fringed coffins and flowers, and tons of butchers which were either marked with a cross or a moon and star so you can tell the christian from the halal meat. And there were people on the street selling peppers, limes, books, bits of wood that people chew on instead of brushing their teeth, candy, and cigarettes. Lots of very thin homeless people, often crippled or high on glue or gasoline, I am told. Also in the streets are dogs, goats, sheep, donkeys and a few cows.

Was it charming? Not at all, but i really liked it. It was bustling and interesting and sometimes I would meander off a main road into the side streets where i caught glimpses of very simple homes. There were many things that i wanted to take photos of but didn’t, as people didn’t seem keen on having their picture taken and it was impossible for me to be discrete since in every scenario, as I was the only tourist/white person and i attracted a lot of attention. But I took some pictures of people.

I went to a few churches, where people were praying or in the midst of weddings – lots of weddings with enthusiastic singing and dancing.

I walked past multiple squares and countless streets, until i got to Meskel Sqaure, which last week was the site of violent protests. No so today. I visited the Museum of the Red Terror, which shares the history of the oppression and genocide by the Derg regime, primarily in the 1970s. They killed a half million people and tortured countless more. It was very similar to what you see and hear in Cambodia – photos of the dead, mass graves, human remains, general misery. It was however very interesting.

By mid afternoon i was exhausted and starving. The people who approached me on the street were friendly and curious, but by this point i was too exhausted to be pleasant. One guy came up to me and I blew him off but he kept walking along side me and talking and, well, he was actually pretty nice. When i said i was starving and vegetarian, he took me to the historic Taitu Hotel, which although recently damaged in a fire, was till open for business. It had a cozy interior and a shady patio and, most importantly, it has a daily vegan lunch buffet of Ethiopian delights. The food was awesome and it was $3.50. He didn’t eat but had a drink and we carried on chatting. After that we went to a rooftop cafe and had coffee and smoked. I had a really nice time.

Refreshed, we parted ways and i went back to my hotel, where i crashed. I had thought i would go out again tonight, but it is intimidatingly dark out in this neighborhood (like no street lights, power outage dark), so i am at the hotel cafe having a sandwich and trying not to eat this delicious looking salad they brought be which will certainly make me sick.

Oh, I must say something about the coffee. Ethiopia, being the birthplace of coffee, is mad for cafes. There are cafes on every block, tons of them and the coffee is amazing. Basically they serve espresso or machiattos and sometimes they roast and pound to a powder the beans right in front of you. I went to several several cafes, but particularly sought out Tomoca, which is considered to be the best. It is a hole in the wall joint where you order and drink standing at the counter. It’s packed and understandably so. I blurted out “oh my god” after every sip.

My Amaharic is poor, but i have mastered hello, goodbye, please, thank you, yes, no, and coffee. What more could i need on my first day?

Tomorrow i have an early flight to Dire Dawa where i will hopefully convince someone to drinve me to Harar, where i will spend the next few days.
It’s off to a good start.
d

England Ethiopia Trip 2015 Europe United Kingdom

No Place Like London

When I was booking my flight to Ethiopia, i chose the one with the longest possible layover, which was through London. I had about 10 hours. Not a leisurely visit, but more than enough for a good afternoon.

I lived in London briefly from 1994-95 and loved it, but have not been back since. The idea of being back there was exciting and actually being there was awesome. In some small way i was able to tap into the excitement of young me arriving in London for the first time. I couldn’t stop smiling and i just wanted to walk around and see everything.

Of course though, i didn’t have time for everything, so i planned a strategic walk past some key sights and old haunts. I took the train to Westminster and caught a glimpse of Big Ben and Westminster Abbey, before walking up to Trafalgar Square.

I was struck by how lovely everything was and how thoroughly British everything is. Almost to the point of cliché. The architecture, monuments, flags, black cabs, red phone booths and double decker buses, chip shops, mind the gap, and every wonderful variation on the British accent you could imagine. Delightful. Trafalgar Square was teeming with people, but the inside of St Martin-in-the-Fields was serene.

The streets were busier than i remembered and there seemed to be more advertising and you can’t smoke everywhere anymore, but all of the stuff i cared about was the same. I wandered in all of the squares and parks i passed, enjoying the flowers and sculptures and meandered through the streets, enjoying the bustle.

Then, I turned down a street and was met with the Dunhill shop. For those of you who don’t smoke, it is a famous tobacconist shop. I went in and it was beautiful and I suddenly became very conscious of the fact that i looked very shabby. I apologized for my attire and immediately began prattling on about cigars and Dunhill and the man working there – with a posh accent and nattily dressed in fine tweeds – could not have been nicer. I picked a Partagas from the walk-in humidor and settled into the lounge, for a smoke and espresso.

The only other guys there were two very handsome and super fancy looking young men, smoking Cohiba Behikes and playing cards, immaculately dressed. We chatted a bit and then i was on my way and discovered that there are in fact 3 more cigars stores on that block. If i hadn’t had a plane to catch i would have spent all day there, but instead i walked past Buckingham Palace, through Piccadilly Circus, the theatre district, Leicester Square, Soho, and Chinatown, before ending at Covent Garden. I didn’t really do anything; i just walked and took everything in. Finally it was time to head back to the Airport.

Wandering North

Tag: church

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Brussels

Back to Addis Ababa

Travels With My Mule

Aimless Walking in Lalibela

The Churches of Lalibela

Final Day in Gondar

Hararian Hospitality

Addis Ababa

No Place Like London