Thursday, March 31, 2011
pics
31 March 2011
We have arrived in Khartoum after a long hot days riding. We have to register with the police within three days and spent the afternoon being chased from pillar to post trying to get this done. No-one seems to know what is happening and to ride around in the heat and the traffic is unreal! We are going to camp at the Blue Nile Sailing ClubCamp site - there is no camp site and the facilities are disgusting, but at least our tent is clean!! We hope to leave once we have done our registration, can't take a chance with this as there are police check points every 50km or so. I hope that Sudan improves as we get to the further north as we have not been overly impressed with what we have seen so far!
At one of the police check points we met with Yves again, the young Swiss guy we last saw on the Marsabit road and we travelled together. We did try the first camp site called the Sudan National Camp Site just as we came into Khartoum but there are 2000 Sudanese refuges from Libiya been housed there and it was like a mad house when we were there. Cost for that pleasure is $1 per night!!
We managed to get my bike welded again today so hopefully we will be on fair roads from now on and won't have this problem again. Light is fading fast and we have to put up a tent still and I would prefer to brave the showers with a little light. The manager of the camp was really funny when asked why so expensive he replied that it is the same price as in Europe and the States and Yves said but your facilities are disgusting, he honestly could not see that they are bad!! Not even going to check this, light getting too bad! Will try and get photos on later!
At one of the police check points we met with Yves again, the young Swiss guy we last saw on the Marsabit road and we travelled together. We did try the first camp site called the Sudan National Camp Site just as we came into Khartoum but there are 2000 Sudanese refuges from Libiya been housed there and it was like a mad house when we were there. Cost for that pleasure is $1 per night!!
We managed to get my bike welded again today so hopefully we will be on fair roads from now on and won't have this problem again. Light is fading fast and we have to put up a tent still and I would prefer to brave the showers with a little light. The manager of the camp was really funny when asked why so expensive he replied that it is the same price as in Europe and the States and Yves said but your facilities are disgusting, he honestly could not see that they are bad!! Not even going to check this, light getting too bad! Will try and get photos on later!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
27 March 2011
Wednesday 30 March
We are in Sudan and have problems loading pictures or anything at this internet cafe. Very hot here hope to get to the ferry at Wadi Hafi next week Wednesday ,but tomorrow will travel to Khartoum.
Sunday 27 March 2011
We eventually left Addis Ababa on Saturday morning after a breakfast with Harry, Linda and Angela as we are not sure if we will see them on our travels again as we have decided to push to Europe as fast as possible. Getting out of the city was a breeze, lots of new roads and traffic not too bad for an African city. It was a long days riding, started off cold on top of the mountains and got very hot in the valleys. Nice to be on the move again after having spent so much time in Addis getting all our visas! We stopped in a number of the small villages on the way and found that there is a major shortage of petrol around here and so we had to resort to buying some on the black market. The two white faces always attract a large crowd with people asking for money all the time, they constantly touch me and push and pull the bike.
We left the best hotel in Kembolcha (alright the only hotel in town) early this morning heading for Lalibela to see the churches in the town. We drove through a spectacular mountain pass and once we had been travelling for about half an hour Larry suddenly remember our document wallet and portable safe which he had very carefully hidden in the hotel room, so a quick about turn and back to find these rather important items, luckily they were just were we had left them so we were lucky enough to get to do the mountain passes three times!!
There is still lots of subsistence farming in the area, so we were dodging the live stock most of the day. The villages are smaller and the children all coming running out to see the bikes pass through, some of them appear aggressive but most are just happy to see us passing. We did have to slow down for a herd of cattle and a taxi alongside me and a small herd boy of about 14 threw a large stone which hit the bike and bounced off me.
We travelled on another large pass even more impressive than the previous one and up at the top we had our normal picnic lunch of rolls, salami and cheese, it is very difficult to carry enough food and water for a days riding. We then turned off the nice tar road onto a really bad gravel track / road. I said about three times we should look at the maps as I could not believe that this was the road to such a well known historical site, but Larry could not really believe that we were on the wrong road. The road got progressively worse and then suddenly it opened up and lots of work had been done on the road and for the next 500m to 1km we managed to travel at a top speed of 60km. For the next 20km the road was often very bad and then a nice stretch, with Larry telling me very patiently that the road was going to get better – it never did just got worse and worse! It took us about 4 hours to travel these 65km of bone shaking roads! About 12km from Lalibela there was a junction to our left and the tar road which we should have been on was right there! The entire trip on the gravel was spoilt by the locals running up to the bikes as we slowed to go through the villages shouting gemme or money money! Some of them would run alongside the bike and try and push at the bikes and when we don’t stop start getting aggressive. It is not only the children but lots of the adults also expect something, they also need to be educated on the roads, Ethiopia traditionally has not had many tar roads but with the Chinese coming in and building roads they need to understand that if a car, bus or bike hits you it can really hurt. We saw someone trapped under a large bus in one of the small villages, the people all live along the roads and small children, some as young as 3 or 4, are often seen herding goats or cattle along the road and children only just learning to walk playing along the road!
Anyway we are here staying at the second best hotel in town, it is reasonable and has a bathroom with hot water and a big double bed so not too bad.
S
On Saturday we rode nearly 400 km , which took us about 8 hours, with all the villages, stops to look for fuel etc. We also stopped to chat a group of 7 guys, on Ktm’s. All international, with one local guide / tour operator. They are riding for a week. Then there was a German guy, Chris, on a Yamaha, travelling from Europe Southwards. Might see him in SA as well! We were supposed to stop for the day in Dessie, but found a nice hotel – for Sharon 25 km short, in Kembolcha. We also got the bad news that Bagu, our dog, had died. A sad day, after nearly 12 years, and many stories.
Today we really had spectacular riding, 243 km in total. The new tar roads are great – mostly, and we basically rode through continuous mountain passes, the road never straight, with curves and bends, ups and downs all the time! A bikers heaven, although slow, with lots of people, goats, cattle, camels etc a lot of the time. Then we added the 60 km of bad gravel, just to round the day off. Ok, the gps took us the short way – and the map doesn’t show another roads – although it does appear to exist. There are lots of tourists in Lalibela, and we hope to see some of the sights tomorrow.
We have now done nearly 14 000 km , still on the same set of tyres, and hopefully these will see us through, until we can find replacements in Europe .
Probably the most frustrating thing at the moment, is all the kids and youngsters, demanding all the time. Money, pens, waving us down all the time, rubbing thumb and forefinger together – the international sign for money, jumping into the road, throwing the occasional stone, often threatening to throw sticks at us etc. Sharon
We are 2 days riding from the Sudan border, and hope to leave here again on Tuesday, so should be in Sudan on Wed, and Khartoum
Monday 28 March 2011
We spent the morning at the churches of Lalibela, these churches are mainly solid rock churches carved into the mountain, really worth seeing. There are three different sites and eleven churches in all. There has been a fair amount of restoration done on the sites and some of the churches have been covered with a huge roof to try and stop the weathering of these churches. The churches were built during the 12th centenary and took between 23- 30 years to complete by an estimated 30 000 people. The insides of the churches are very basic often with really old artwork hanging next to a gaudy bunch of plastic flowers or furniture. Most of the valuable artifacts have been moved to a very simple museum unfortunately all the descriptions and dates are given in amharic. The churches are still used today as the place of worship for the towns people and tourists are only welcome there at certain times, when we arrived here on Sunday there was a large crowd of local people in the church grounds and apparently the service can last the whole day. The local people of Lalibela are used to tourists and are clearly very proud of the town and always ask how you enjoyed the experience of visiting the churches. Very different to other small villages. Along the roads, people call and shout, occasionally for the normal money money, but here mostly Welcome welcome! Inside the office, a list of do’s and don’ts includes a request not to give money and sweets to children on the streets. Most churches allow photos inside and out, only one requested no flash in the church. One also prohibited women entering.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Sunday, 27 March 2011
Larry & Sharon reached Lalibela (Lalibala??), Ethiopia. It was a lot of good riding to get there, with mountain passes but last 60km however was bad gravel. They will stay there for 2 night and then 2 more days to Sudan. 
More about Lalibala: .........a bit lengthy.......
More about Lalibala: .........a bit lengthy....... The small town of Lalibela in Ethiopia is home to one of the world's most astounding sacred sites: eleven rock-hewn churches, each carved entirely out of a single block of granite with its roof at ground level. Were it not for these extraordinary churches, Lalibela would almost certainly be well off the tourist radar. A dusty rural town nestled into rolling countryside, Lalibela only recently received electricity. It has few motorized vehicles, no gas stations and no paved streets. Isolated from the modern world, the town goes about its business much as it has for several hundred years. Of Lalibela's 8-10,000 people, over 1,000 are priests. Religious ritual is central to the life of the town, with regular processions, extensive fasts, crowds of singing and dancing priests. This, combined with its extraordinary religious architecture and simplicity of life, gives the city of Lalibela a distinctively timeless, almost biblical atmosphere. History The town of Lalibela was originally known as Roha. It was renamed after the 12th-century King Lalibela, who commissioned these extraordinary churches. Lalibela was a member of the Zagwe dynasty, which had seized the Ethiopian throne around 1000 AD. When his rivals began to increase in power, Lalibela sought the support of the powerful Ethiopian Orthodox Church by building the churches in this small town. King Lalibela's goal was to create a New Jerusalem for those who could not make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land (and to create a sacred city to rival powerful Axum, with its Ark of the Covenant). According to some reports, he had been to the Holy Land himself and was inspired by what he saw. But the king made no attempt to copy the churches of the Holy Land; in fact, Lalibela's sacred architecture could not be more unique. The churches of Lalibela were not constructed — they were excavated. Each church was created by first carving out a wide trench on all four sides of the rock, then painstakingly chiseling out the interior.
The largest church is 40 feet high, and the labor required to complete such a task with only hammers and chisels is astounding. Popular legend has it that angels came every night to pick up where the workmen had left off. One of the churches, Bet Maryam, contains a stone pillar on which King Lalibela wrote the secrets of the buildings' construction. It is covered with old cloths and only the priests may look on it. King Lalibela's project for gaining the church's favor had two unexpected results: the creation of a holy place of unparalleled beauty and the king's conversion to a religious life. After laboring for 20 years, he abdicated his throne to become a hermit, living in a cave and eating only roots and vegetables. To this day, Ethiopian Christians regard King Lalibela as one of their greatest saints. The churches have been in continuous use since they were built in the 12th century. The first Europeans to see these extraordinary holy sites were Portugese explorers in the 1520s, one of whom noted in his journal that the sights were so fantastic, he expected readers of his descriptions would accuse him of lying. What to See The roofs of the Lalibela churches are level with the ground and are reached by stairs descending into narrow trenches. The churches are connected by tunnels and walkways and stretch across sheer drops. The interior pillars of the churches have been worn smooth by the hands of supplicating worshippers. The rock-cut churches are simply but beautifully carved with such features as fragile-looking windows, moldings of various shapes and sizes, different forms of crosses, swastikas (an Eastern religious motif) and even Islamic traceries. Several churches also have wall paintings. Each church has its own resident monk who appears in the doorway in colorful brocade robes. Holding one of the church's elaborate processional crosses, usually made of silver, and sometimes a prayer staff, these monks are quite happy to pose for pictures. Some sport incongruously modern sunglasses with their splendid ensemble. There are 11 rock-cut churches at Lalibela, the most spectacular of which is Bet Giorgis (St. George's). Located on the western side of the cluster of churches, it is cut 40 feet down and its roof forms the shape of a Greek cross. It was built after Lalibela's death (c.1220) by his widow as a memorial to the saint-king. It is a magnificent culmination of Lalibela's plans to build a New Jerusalem, with its perfect dimensions and geometrical precision. Unlike some of the other churches, St. George's is plain inside. A curtain shields the Holy of Holies, and in front of it usually stands a priest displaying books and paintings to visitors. In the shadows of one fo the arms of the cruciform church is its tabot, or copy of the Ark of the Covenant. One explorer was allowed to open it and found it empty. No one was able to tell him what happened to its contents. [1] In the "Northern Group" across the main road from St. George, the most notable church is Beta Medhane Alem, home to the Lalibela Cross and believed to be the largest monolithic church in the world. It is thought to be a copy of St. Mary of Zion in Axum. Bete Medhane Alem is linked by walkways and tunnels to Beta Maryam (St. Mary's), possibly the oldest of the churches. In the east wall of the church is an array of geometric carved windows in a vertical line. From the bottom up is: a Maltese cross in a square; a semi-circle shape like that on the Axum stelae; a Latin cross; and a simple square window. The windows illuminate the Holy of Holies in which the church's copy of the Ark is placed. Other decorations include a Star of David combined with a Maltese cross, a Sun with a smiling human face flanked by eight-spoked wheels, Mary on a donkey accompanied by Joseph, and an Annunciation. Next to Beta Maryam is Beta Golgotha, known for its artwork which includes life-sized carvings of saints on the walls. It is also home to the tomb of King Lalibela, over which stands a gold-draped Ark. The Western group is completed by the Selassie Chapel and the Tomb of Adam.
RIP Bagu
Sharon's birthday was a day of contrast with happiness & sadness. Bagu, their family dog ala 3rd child, got lost the previous night and discovered dead late morning,presumably of natural causes. A very good friend remarked that dogs are merely lent to us for about 10 years... We are thinking of Larry, Sharon, family & friend who will dearly miss Bagu!! 
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Happy Birthday Sharon !!!!!
Happy Birthday Sharon!! Hope it's a special one and you are much loved!!Thursday, March 24, 2011
From Larry & Sharon
Thursday 24 March 2011
We left the Oasis International Hotel early Saturday morning for our drive to the Bale Mountains. We were very pleasantly surprised that the road was a brand new road (Chinese built) for about 85km and lots of road works for the next 80km with bits of tar in between. The mountains are spectacular and we climbed to a height of 3600m and it started getting cooler all the time. We arrived at the Bale National Park and went to Dinsho Lodge, this was very disappointing, the lodge was fairly large and obviously someone has spent a lot of money there fairly recently but nothing has been maintained and nothing works!! One non working toilet for about 30 beds and two non-working showers, the geysers are there but no water. A very nice newly built sauna, also not working! The entire complex was dirty, floors not washed and lots of littler lying around. We were very disappointed with the facilities but were pleasantly surprised at the amount of game in the actual reserve. There is a small fenced in section around the camp site, about 100 hectares, with lots of Mountain Nyala, melenic bushbuck, bohor reedbuck and warthogs. These are all tame and come close to the camp all the time.
The bracket on my pannier, where is was welded had broken on the rough roads and we went into the village to find a welder and get this repaired. Ethiopia, like most other African countries has problems with electricity and the welder could only sort out later that night once the power was back on. I just hope that this repair lasts until we get to Europe.
No-one is allowed to move around the park without a guide and so we had to hire a local guide and we decided to hire horses to get into the main section of the park. The horses are tiny and just plod along at a steady pace, we did try to trot at one stage but not a good idea with a broken rib. The park is totally undeveloped and there are lots of animals and all very tame. This appears to be one of the few areas in Africa where poaching is not a major problem. The area was very pretty with lots of open grasslands and also some large forests.
There is also a program run by a young Ethiopian (worked at Shamwari for a few months) for the Ethiopian wolf, we decided that we would not go to the area where the wolves are because of the bad roads and it would take about 3 hours there and 3 hours back for an hour walk.
We left the Bale mountains on Monday morning to get to Addis Ababa late that evening so that we could apply for the Schengen visa on Tuesday morning. We arrived in Addis late Monday evening, after riding 403 km in 8 hours, and checked into Wims Holland House. Here we met two Bristish couples, Rory and Lucy and Ven and Anita and we spent a couple of very pleasant evenings with them. We hope that we will see both couples in South Africa later this year.
Tuesday morning we were up bright and early and walked to the Swedish Embassy, we spent the morning on the pavement, from 9am until 12.30 when the visa application section closes. At about 12.40 we were suddenly shown into the Embassy and a lady had a look at our documentation and told us we needed to pay the visa fee and be back there at 3pm for an interview. We rushed around getting the money paid to the right people and were back by 14.30 and went straight in for the interview. One form missing and sorry we can't do your application. After lots of backwards and forwards they agreed to take the application forms and let us know when it would be ready.
In the meantime we decided to apply for our Egyptian visa, but they won't do anything until they see the Ethiopian visa which is in our passports at the Swedish Embassy!!
We have just been phoned to say that the Schengen visa is ready on condition that we extend our travel insurance for one month and we can collect it this afternoon - fantastic service at the end of the day. The red tape with all the visas has been exhausting, but we should be near the end of visa applications now.
Friday 25
We collected our Schengen visas yesterday, and immediately went to the Egyptian embassy, where we left our passports. This normally takes 4 days, but the kind and efficient lady said we could collect them today, at 1 pm, god willing!! So, tomorrow we will probably leave for Dessie, further north, en route to Lalibela. From there to Bahir Dar and lake Tana, then to Sudan, probably in about a week's time.
The British couples left yesterday, both heading south. In the meantime, the other 3 (Harry, Linda and Angela) on bikes arrived in Addis, and are also frantically busy applying for visas, but I think we will probably be ready to leave a few days before them, so will carry on and maybe see them ahead. We are also looking at the possibility of taking a ferry from Egypt or Israel, to Greece or Italy, to avoid some of the current problem areas in the Middle East.
Internet is difficult at the moment, so will continue to update whenever possible!
L&S
We left the Oasis International Hotel early Saturday morning for our drive to the Bale Mountains. We were very pleasantly surprised that the road was a brand new road (Chinese built) for about 85km and lots of road works for the next 80km with bits of tar in between. The mountains are spectacular and we climbed to a height of 3600m and it started getting cooler all the time. We arrived at the Bale National Park and went to Dinsho Lodge, this was very disappointing, the lodge was fairly large and obviously someone has spent a lot of money there fairly recently but nothing has been maintained and nothing works!! One non working toilet for about 30 beds and two non-working showers, the geysers are there but no water. A very nice newly built sauna, also not working! The entire complex was dirty, floors not washed and lots of littler lying around. We were very disappointed with the facilities but were pleasantly surprised at the amount of game in the actual reserve. There is a small fenced in section around the camp site, about 100 hectares, with lots of Mountain Nyala, melenic bushbuck, bohor reedbuck and warthogs. These are all tame and come close to the camp all the time.
The bracket on my pannier, where is was welded had broken on the rough roads and we went into the village to find a welder and get this repaired. Ethiopia, like most other African countries has problems with electricity and the welder could only sort out later that night once the power was back on. I just hope that this repair lasts until we get to Europe.
No-one is allowed to move around the park without a guide and so we had to hire a local guide and we decided to hire horses to get into the main section of the park. The horses are tiny and just plod along at a steady pace, we did try to trot at one stage but not a good idea with a broken rib. The park is totally undeveloped and there are lots of animals and all very tame. This appears to be one of the few areas in Africa where poaching is not a major problem. The area was very pretty with lots of open grasslands and also some large forests.
There is also a program run by a young Ethiopian (worked at Shamwari for a few months) for the Ethiopian wolf, we decided that we would not go to the area where the wolves are because of the bad roads and it would take about 3 hours there and 3 hours back for an hour walk.
We left the Bale mountains on Monday morning to get to Addis Ababa late that evening so that we could apply for the Schengen visa on Tuesday morning. We arrived in Addis late Monday evening, after riding 403 km in 8 hours, and checked into Wims Holland House. Here we met two Bristish couples, Rory and Lucy and Ven and Anita and we spent a couple of very pleasant evenings with them. We hope that we will see both couples in South Africa later this year.
Tuesday morning we were up bright and early and walked to the Swedish Embassy, we spent the morning on the pavement, from 9am until 12.30 when the visa application section closes. At about 12.40 we were suddenly shown into the Embassy and a lady had a look at our documentation and told us we needed to pay the visa fee and be back there at 3pm for an interview. We rushed around getting the money paid to the right people and were back by 14.30 and went straight in for the interview. One form missing and sorry we can't do your application. After lots of backwards and forwards they agreed to take the application forms and let us know when it would be ready.
In the meantime we decided to apply for our Egyptian visa, but they won't do anything until they see the Ethiopian visa which is in our passports at the Swedish Embassy!!
We have just been phoned to say that the Schengen visa is ready on condition that we extend our travel insurance for one month and we can collect it this afternoon - fantastic service at the end of the day. The red tape with all the visas has been exhausting, but we should be near the end of visa applications now.
Friday 25
We collected our Schengen visas yesterday, and immediately went to the Egyptian embassy, where we left our passports. This normally takes 4 days, but the kind and efficient lady said we could collect them today, at 1 pm, god willing!! So, tomorrow we will probably leave for Dessie, further north, en route to Lalibela. From there to Bahir Dar and lake Tana, then to Sudan, probably in about a week's time.
The British couples left yesterday, both heading south. In the meantime, the other 3 (Harry, Linda and Angela) on bikes arrived in Addis, and are also frantically busy applying for visas, but I think we will probably be ready to leave a few days before them, so will carry on and maybe see them ahead. We are also looking at the possibility of taking a ferry from Egypt or Israel, to Greece or Italy, to avoid some of the current problem areas in the Middle East.
Internet is difficult at the moment, so will continue to update whenever possible!
L&S
Saturday, 19 March - Thursday, 24 March 2011
Ethiopia
Time to catch up!
Larry & Sharon travelled from Awassa to Bale Mountains National Park on Saturday, 19 March
Larry & Sharon travelled from Awassa to Bale Mountains National Park on Saturday, 19 March
Sunday, 20 March - they went horse trekking in the Park. Seems that’s what the Park’s niche market is as well as lots of game & birding.
I thought the backsides will be fine - but apparently horses are harder on some anatomical parts than bikes…!
Facts as taken from http://www.realethiopia.com:
Bale Mountains National Park is an area of high altitude plateau that is broken by numerous spectacular volcanic plugs and peaks, beautiful alpine lakes and rushing mountain streams that descend into deep rocky gorges on their way to the lowlands below.
As you ascend into the mountains you will experience changes in the vegetation with altitude, from juniper forests to heather moorlands and alpine meadows, which at various times of year exhibit an abundance of colourful wildflowers.
Bale Mountains National Park is the largest area of Afro-Alpine habitat in the whole of the continent. It gives the visitor opportunities for unsurpassed mountain walking, horse trekking, scenic driving and the chances to view many of Ethiopia's endemic mammals, in particular the Mountain Nyala and Ethiopian Wolf, and birds, such as the Thick-billed Raven, Wattled Ibis, Blue-winged Goose, and Rouget's Rail.
The climate of the Bale Mountains, as is to be expected in a high altitude mountainous region, is characterized by a high rainfall and periods of damp cloudy weather, interspersed with periods of sparkling sunny weather with brilliant blue skies. The climatic year can be roughly divided into three seasons -the dry, early wet and wet seasons. The dry season is usually from November to February. Very little rain is experienced and temperatures on the clear sunny days may rise to as high as nearly 30? centigrade. Nights are star-filled, clear and cold, usually with heavy ground frosts. Temperatures may fall between minus 6? and minus 15? centigrade in the main peak area of the Park. This is the best period to visit the National Park, especially for walking and horse trekking in the high mountain area. The vegetation can get very dry in the dry season, and fires must then be very carefully tended.
Monday, 21 March - They left for Addis Ababa to apply for their Schengen Visas at the Swedish Embassy and on Tuesday morning they were waiting on pavement in a long line for their visas. As soon as they got their visas they will push on north: Lalibela, Lake Tana and on to Sudan.
I feel less worried about them when I “looked” at their accommodation. Extracted from http://www.wimshollandhouseaddis.nl:
Wim' s Holland House is the most sociable (Dutch) place in Addis Abeba. Wim' s Holland House is not only a sociable bar but offers much more, such as a restaurant/ pizzeria, campsite for overlanders (where he offers different services; from a hot shower till total car care, document accompaniment; carnet, visas etc.), washing clothes, broadband internet service and ofcourse Wim always can serve you with a Dutch shooter or a typical Dutch snack; bitterballen! Depending on the time there is even pea soup or herring! Wim' s visitors are varied. All ages and nationalities are welcome and are often represented!
I feel less worried about them when I “looked” at their accommodation. Extracted from http://www.wimshollandhouseaddis.nl:
Wim' s Holland House is the most sociable (Dutch) place in Addis Abeba. Wim' s Holland House is not only a sociable bar but offers much more, such as a restaurant/ pizzeria, campsite for overlanders (where he offers different services; from a hot shower till total car care, document accompaniment; carnet, visas etc.), washing clothes, broadband internet service and ofcourse Wim always can serve you with a Dutch shooter or a typical Dutch snack; bitterballen! Depending on the time there is even pea soup or herring! Wim' s visitors are varied. All ages and nationalities are welcome and are often represented!
Update for Larry & Sharon: - I had a lovely conversation with John Melchior from US and he & Loretta follow your travels and send lots of love & prayer!
Bagu decided to see what's on the otherside of the fence and got cut, visited the vet and he's fine. I think between Bagu, Cleo, Ginger S & Johan they do a good job looking after Ralph :-)
Friday, March 18, 2011
Pics
Modern buildings under construction,with fancy scaffolding!
17 March, Awassa
Thur 17 March 2011
Lake Awassa, Awassa, just over 12 000km done and very dusted! We spent two nights in Moyale at the Koket Hotel, this is a local hotel and very basic, the whole town does not have water and we only had electricity from about 1am on the second night! We decided to spend two nights there so that we could spend some time getting rid of the dust on ourselves and the bikes. Angela, the German lady showed us how to clean our chains with diesel, we got about half a cup of dust and gravel off my chain!! And the chain now looks new. Bikes were washed and checked carefully for anything loose and just a general checkup on all the bikes after the Marsabit Road. Larry’s bike needed the least work and is going really well – a really great work horse.
Now that we were clean and the bikes clean we have decided that we would like to go to the Bale Mountains, further north. Harry, Linda and Angela decided that they wanted to go to the Omhar Valley further to the west, to see the tribes. So we have split up and will meet again in Addis Ababa. We would like to cross Sudan together and get onto the ferry at Wadi Hafi together.
Our trip was just over 500km to the town of Awassa where we hope to be able to do some shopping as we have to take all our own food into the National Park. We hope to do some trekking into the mountains – will see how that all plans out, and to see some rare game, including mountain nyala. The ride here was very pleasant, very narrow tar roads and having to drive on the right hand side seems very strange. The first section of road was very quiet with very little population and very little traffic. Villages are very small and far apart, the people all very friendly and came rushing out to wave at us, only one stone was thrown at us and hit me on the leg.
The second stage was into the highlands, and was one continuous string of villages and people. We needed to stop and put out jacket inners on as it was really cold – I think that we must enjoy the cold while it is around as I think Sudan is going to be really warm! This whole section of road is just subsistence farming and every kind of animal is wondering the road. Traffic is fairly light and the drivers are a lot better than in Kenya and Uganda. On this leg the people were very friendly and only a mango pip and a piece of mielie cob was thrown at us, if you make eye contact and point at the aggressive ones they seem to back off. Everyone wants us to give them money and sweets not sure where we would keep all of this on the bikes!
We arrived in Assawa at about 5.30pm and found a very pleasant hotel – Oasis International, hot and cold running water, TV in the room that works and a very good restaurant – the best meal we have had in a very long while! We both had fillet steak, which cost about R25, and was really well prepared and nice. Our GPS – and lonely plant guide, initially pointed us to a campsite, but on arrival, it was found to be an orphanage!! So, we rode around, and took a chance on what looked to be out of our price range, the International. Price here is just over R200 for a room, including breakfast, internet etc, and is really nice!!!!
Friday, 18. After a good night’s rest, catching up on news in Libya and Japan, we went into the city this morning, found ATMs that relinquished a few thousand Bir (1 dollar is 16.7 Bir, 1 Rand is 2.3 Bir) It is amazing to see all the construction underway, using trees etc as scaffolding! Monkeys – maybe Samango? Run around town unharmed. The city is quiet, and peaceful, nobody rushing about, and is very pleasant. All signage is in Amharic and English
Tomorrow we will leave for the Bale mountains, some 200 km away, with about 160 km of gravel . Up to 4000 m altitude, we expect to get cold, and probably wet, but will post again in a few days, once back in civilization, probably Addis Ababa.
L&S
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Pics
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