Monday, February 13, 2006
Gondar
"That's the way things work in Africa, mostly they don't" - Eddie from African Routes
We got into Gondar, Ethiopia, where we are perched on a mountain on the lawn of a hotel, just before dark last night. The ride was over 100km on dirt and gravel and we gained over 2km in altitude (that's a lot of climbing on a bike). It was also the last day of a 7 day stretch of riding. On rest days (today) we usually wash, do laundry, eat, charge our machines, and email, however the power was out in the town so we could do none of the above. No one here but us is bothered - for them, sometimes things work, somtimes they don't.
Finishing Sudan was much of the same, sand and dirt and desert, great people, dirty camping, and even a little pavement now and then. The border crossing into Ethiopia is a bridge overrun with donkeys, goats and people at all times who are free to cross whenever they want but are supposed to be on the appropriate side, depending upon their citizenship and visas, at night. The Ethiopian border station was a mud hut with one desk and a bunch of kids running around outside wanting to change your money. We had a crazy Sudanee guy follow us for 4 nights and try to sneak in with us, he would tell officials he was with us, we would tell him to go away, and he would freak out and say it was his land, we weren't welcome, and many more offensive things, while trying to follow us. Upon corssing the border at the end of a day's ride, we stayed at a farm of sorts, with bulls and goats roaming through our tents, but the farm was also a brothel. We were supposed to be allowed to shower at the brothel but couldn't. Our tour director was up half the night trying to keep cows from running over his tent, while local kids hit them with sticks to try to scare them into the tents. Welcome to Ethiopia.
Anytime we stop we are surrounded by 100 kids who just stare at you. On the road they yell 'youyouyouyou' and chase you, some throw rocks. Allegedly when we get further south we have to put a perimeter up around our campsite and there will be 6 rows of people just watching on all sides until dark. The kids can throw rocks quite hard and can run quite fast. It's a really tough blow to the ol' self-esteem at the end of a day like yesterday when your legs are shot and you are trying to climb a huge hill and a seven year old without pants on is running beside you yelling "youyouyou gimme money gimme money". Your response "Get away from me! I'm a serious adventure athlete and need to concentrate on this hill!" does little but make him laugh and more of his half-naked, malnourished friends decide this is the greatest thing they've seen since the day the white people came on bicyclies last year and join the train and try to unzip your bag while you ride. Add to that dodging trucks, goats, bulls, and donkeys, and you've got a heck of a ride. The front line view of the living conditions provide a lot of insight as well. I have a lot of social comments to make but will just say for now that enducation to limit the number of kids families are having is much needed, as well as to allow women to reap the benefits of the work they do.
Jokes aside and political comments aside, it is beautiful and breathtaking here. Ethiopia allegedly has some of the oldest geography and hills in the world and I will get some pics up soon. The ride is going well, I had my toughest day last week but am able to say that it is good for me when I get a chance to catch my breath and am regularly mind-boggled by life in Africa. The layers of the cyclists and staff are peeling back and the tour is getting interesting on a lot of dimentions. Although I'll be beat again tomorrow, I'm feeling good today and can appreciate what I've got and what I'm gaining in doing this. Thanks for reading, I hope you are well, and I'll post again soon.
