ROAD TRIP TO SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA

I'm lazy. So the pictures are not chronologically ordered, and quite in a mess. But it will give you an idea of how our trip was. We had a great time, and a lot of fun, we met many strange people and I felt quite cut off from the world. But we survived:)

The Norwegian tourists surrounded by people from the village of Chencha. Everyone was eager to sell their clay products. By this time, at the end of the trip, I had no patience left for this type of interaction, and was ready to explode any minute. I made it back to the car without humiliating myself, though.

From the inside of an orthodox church in Chencha

Chencha is the village where they produce a lot of cotton blankets and shawls. We visited the place where the weavers were working.

Perfect monkey (apparantly baboons aren't really monkeys....?)

Rosalind and I in New York

New York in Ethiopia. Globalisation has reached a new level.

"Tsehay! Tsehay! Buy something!"

A little girl from Jinka. I agree, mango is really nice!

The air port landing strip in Jinka........

The area we visited.....and a little more.....

From the museum in Jinka.

In Turmi, where the Hamer people live. We stayed at a very primitive camp site. I've never felt so far away from everything before....

A Hamer woman. Notice her hairstyle. I gave her the last sip of my Ambo (sparkling water), but her reaction wasn't exactly what I had hoped for. The boys sitting around us where laughing, saying "she's grumpy, it didn't taste sweet!"

A Hamer guy. Not the grumpy one.

The swarm of grasshoppers. It was a pretty amazing experience!!!

Omo Valley

Mikel the man

In a cloud of dust!

Lunch time

Joachim, Rosalind and Birgitte

Actually, it's mostly women who are working in this country! Endee!!!

The waiter. "My name is James" he said. "James Bond".

Some guy who wanted to follow us around the market in Jinka. I'm veeery sceptical. No thank you!

From the rooftop of the landcruiser.

Yep, me and the baboons. We became good friends!

Instant friends! Miss Mursi and I:)

"Hm, what kind of a cracker is this????"

"Look at this tea - she put a ton of sugar in it. And I specifically requested her not too. What can you do?????"

Photo stop

On the rooooooad.......

The girl on the left spotted me taking a picture of her. "blablablablaphotoblablablamoneyblablabla!!!!! She got furious, and showed quite an attitude. Joachim was a peace mediator, and agreed to pay her for a picture with him. She was content.

Mikel and his tea. And sugar.

A young Arbore-guy. Pretty amazing, eh?

"Don't take any photos of us! Uahhh! Help! Let's run!"

View from the lodge in Arba Minch

ISHI!!!!

CHRISTMAS IN ETHIOPIA

I know, I know, I'm bad at updating my blog......but since I got back to work after Christmas, I've been busy doing other things, so the blog's been neglected for a while. Thought I just post some picures from my first Christmas away from Norway, far away from moose steak and snow. Instead we had monkeys, crocodiles and flies. My father and brother came to visit, along with my uncle and aunt and their family and friends, and we travelled south to Arba Minch and Langano, where we spent Christmas Eve. It was a different Christmas, but a very good one.
My brother and I, after a bumpy ride in the the Nech Sar National Park. Did we see any animals? Nah, not really, a couple of zebras and some other deer-kind-of-animals, but it was still a nice ride.

Chrismas cookies brought all the way from Norway. And chocolate! Mmmmm!

Well, I have to say, I could've been without the Christmas dinner. This is what I had, some kind of steak, soaked in butter.....don't think I should say more......but what will forever remain imprinted in our memories is the famous "baby goat" that most of the others had, which turned out to be mostly bones with a littlebit of dry meat on it. We all had a good laugh about it, and ate the chocolate and Christmas cookies instead. And the lunch on Christmas Day was marvellous!

Not a Nyere-village, but Sabana Lodge in Langano. Very sleek for Ethiopia, and very comfortable and nice, with a beautiful beach.

On our way to Arba Minch. We were late, so we had to drive in the dark, although you're not supposed to. But there is something really nice about driving when the sun is setting - the beautiful light, the scent of dusk - the day cooling off and the smells of the surroundings, the fields, the hay, the flowers, enhancing just slightly, before the cool night embraces you.

On our way to Nech Sar National Park. The road was so steep and bad that I was freaking out, and decided to run to the top instead of being trapped in the car.

Swayne's Lodge in Arba Minch. From our rooms we had a beautiful view of the two lakes close to the town.

A happy little girl from Arba Minch.

We went to visit the village where my uncle grew up, Gidole, and we went for a little walk in the beautiful green area. My cousin, her brother, my brother and my cousins husband. After a while we had a little tail of curious people following us.

Mu uncle's childhood friend invited us to his home, where we were served coffee, bread and eggs. My father was shocked to see the way they did the dishes, and was struggling with drinking the coffee. Well, it was a truly unique and "native" experience, and this is the way most Ethiopians live. Most of the population in Ethiopia live in rural areas, and are poor. Coming to Addis after a visit to the countryside is like coming to a different world.

Happy reunion of my uncle and his friend.

My birthday flowers from the waiters at Swayne's in Arba Minch. Very thoughtful of them!

Crocodiles at Lake Chamo.

A little stop to stretch our legs - on the way to Arba Minch.

My brother and my father - in the minibus. As it is my mode of transportation, I had to take them for a ride. I think they found it slightly uncomfortable, and for my 190cm tall dad the space was a bit of a problem. But they both survived.

Merry Christmas!