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