5/4/19
Today we drove to the Bale Mountains National Park. On the way we stopped at the town of Shashemene, home to the Rastafarians that Emperor Haile Selassie had given land to. The Jamaicans and original Rastafarians believe that Emperor Haile Selassie is God, and they believe that it is supported by Biblical text. Haile Selassie is believed to be the direct descendent of the child that Queen Sheba and King Solomon had. The Rastafarians believe that Ethiopia is the homeland and that eventually all black people in the Caribbean will go back to Ethiopia. The name Rastafaria comes from Haile Selassie's pre-regnal title Ras Tafari Makonnen. Haile Selassie is a figure of salvation and it's believed he will redeem blacks form white suppressors, reuniting them with their homeland, Africa. Some more information here if you are interested:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/rastafari/beliefs/haileselassie.shtml
Upon entering Bale Mountains NP, we saw so many animals: Menelik's Bushbuck, Reedbuck, Mountain Nyala, warthogs, and baboons. We're camping at a really nice spot amongst all the animls, which aren't really that shy. I took a walk out with all the animals in the evening. Really good food was cooked tonight, and we sat around a nice fire.
5/5 Elisha's Birthday. Feliz Cinco de Mayo!
Had a really good breakfast that Will cooked for Elisha's birthday, then we headed out for a 10 mile hike in the national park. It went through a valley, again with all the animals everywhere. The trail also went past a little waterfall.
When we got back to the campsite, we surprised Elisha with balloons, a banner, and cake. Again, I took a walk around the camp, hanging out with the wildlife. My group was in charge of dinner, and we made a mashed potato and vegetable dish and some Ethiopian shiro. At night we sat by the fire and watched a movie (The Lion King) projected onto a tarp and sang along!
5/6/19
First day of Ramadan. We drove up to the Sanetti Plateau (13,000ft). On the way and on the way back, we saw a total of 6 Ethiopian wolves! They are the rarest canine species in the world and the rarest carnivore in Africa, so it was a special site to see. They look more like coyotes or foxes than wolves, but they are indeed wolves. We also some quite a few hares, which I'm sure are wolf food. The Sanetti Plateau is a high desolate area, with no trees, but a couple interesting flowering plants. Also quite a few little tarns scattered about.
A few of us in the group hiked up to the top of Tulu Dimtu (14,400ft), the 3rd highest peak in Ethiopia, despite the sign at the top claiming it to be the 2nd highest peak in Ethiopia. It is the highest peak in Ethiopia outside of the Simien Mountains. The guides said it would take 2 hours to make it to the top, but I made it up in 45 minutes as I didn't feel the altitude at all. Elisha didn't end up attempting the hike because she had been having some weird heart palpitations and felt it unwise, in such a remote place at high altitude to try stressing her body. There were very nice view from the top, including of an approaching hail storm and clouds moving in over the plateau.
After dinner, we sat around the fire and played some games (psychiatrist) and then watched a movie by the fire. Our campsite is so nice! It's clean, green, and fresh. And warthogs and mountain nyala walk all around our camp and tents.
5/7/19
Today we drove to Wendo Genet lodge, which has nice grounds and a hot springs pool. We swam at the pool for awhile. The shower scene was hilarious! There were 6 or so spickets of hot spring water, each shared by 5+ Ethiopians who were simultaneously sudsing up and taking selfies! It was really hard to get a shower. One had to be a bit pushy and aggressive. It was the same scene in the girls shower area. Apparently so much so, that Elisha took her pre-soak shower in the cold waterfall near the the springs.
The Ethiopians definitely liked to watch us Farangi swim, and they weren't shy about taking pictures of us. It was really nice to swim in the hot water after 4 days of camping in the chilly Bale mountains.
When we returned to the truck after our soak, there were a whole bunch of vervet monkeys hanging out at the truck, attempting to sneak into the truck.
From the hot springs, we drove to Awassa. It's a nice city. We enjoyed a juice and then walked to the lake and along the lake walk. At one of the lake viewpoints, there were many Ethiopians wanting to take selfies with us. We had dinner at a nice Italian restaurant, a relic of old Italian occupation.
Today we drove to the Bale Mountains National Park. On the way we stopped at the town of Shashemene, home to the Rastafarians that Emperor Haile Selassie had given land to. The Jamaicans and original Rastafarians believe that Emperor Haile Selassie is God, and they believe that it is supported by Biblical text. Haile Selassie is believed to be the direct descendent of the child that Queen Sheba and King Solomon had. The Rastafarians believe that Ethiopia is the homeland and that eventually all black people in the Caribbean will go back to Ethiopia. The name Rastafaria comes from Haile Selassie's pre-regnal title Ras Tafari Makonnen. Haile Selassie is a figure of salvation and it's believed he will redeem blacks form white suppressors, reuniting them with their homeland, Africa. Some more information here if you are interested:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/rastafari/beliefs/haileselassie.shtml
Upon entering Bale Mountains NP, we saw so many animals: Menelik's Bushbuck, Reedbuck, Mountain Nyala, warthogs, and baboons. We're camping at a really nice spot amongst all the animls, which aren't really that shy. I took a walk out with all the animals in the evening. Really good food was cooked tonight, and we sat around a nice fire.
5/5 Elisha's Birthday. Feliz Cinco de Mayo!
Had a really good breakfast that Will cooked for Elisha's birthday, then we headed out for a 10 mile hike in the national park. It went through a valley, again with all the animals everywhere. The trail also went past a little waterfall.
When we got back to the campsite, we surprised Elisha with balloons, a banner, and cake. Again, I took a walk around the camp, hanging out with the wildlife. My group was in charge of dinner, and we made a mashed potato and vegetable dish and some Ethiopian shiro. At night we sat by the fire and watched a movie (The Lion King) projected onto a tarp and sang along!
5/6/19
First day of Ramadan. We drove up to the Sanetti Plateau (13,000ft). On the way and on the way back, we saw a total of 6 Ethiopian wolves! They are the rarest canine species in the world and the rarest carnivore in Africa, so it was a special site to see. They look more like coyotes or foxes than wolves, but they are indeed wolves. We also some quite a few hares, which I'm sure are wolf food. The Sanetti Plateau is a high desolate area, with no trees, but a couple interesting flowering plants. Also quite a few little tarns scattered about.
A few of us in the group hiked up to the top of Tulu Dimtu (14,400ft), the 3rd highest peak in Ethiopia, despite the sign at the top claiming it to be the 2nd highest peak in Ethiopia. It is the highest peak in Ethiopia outside of the Simien Mountains. The guides said it would take 2 hours to make it to the top, but I made it up in 45 minutes as I didn't feel the altitude at all. Elisha didn't end up attempting the hike because she had been having some weird heart palpitations and felt it unwise, in such a remote place at high altitude to try stressing her body. There were very nice view from the top, including of an approaching hail storm and clouds moving in over the plateau.
After dinner, we sat around the fire and played some games (psychiatrist) and then watched a movie by the fire. Our campsite is so nice! It's clean, green, and fresh. And warthogs and mountain nyala walk all around our camp and tents.
5/7/19
Today we drove to Wendo Genet lodge, which has nice grounds and a hot springs pool. We swam at the pool for awhile. The shower scene was hilarious! There were 6 or so spickets of hot spring water, each shared by 5+ Ethiopians who were simultaneously sudsing up and taking selfies! It was really hard to get a shower. One had to be a bit pushy and aggressive. It was the same scene in the girls shower area. Apparently so much so, that Elisha took her pre-soak shower in the cold waterfall near the the springs.
The Ethiopians definitely liked to watch us Farangi swim, and they weren't shy about taking pictures of us. It was really nice to swim in the hot water after 4 days of camping in the chilly Bale mountains.
When we returned to the truck after our soak, there were a whole bunch of vervet monkeys hanging out at the truck, attempting to sneak into the truck.
From the hot springs, we drove to Awassa. It's a nice city. We enjoyed a juice and then walked to the lake and along the lake walk. At one of the lake viewpoints, there were many Ethiopians wanting to take selfies with us. We had dinner at a nice Italian restaurant, a relic of old Italian occupation.
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