Ethiopia Part II

Tourism in Ethiopia is a lot different than in Egypt. Instead of learning “Ha’ram” (forbidden) as one of our first words, in Ethiopia we learned the word “Firanji” (Foreigner). We must look like quite a site and even more mysterious after a brief conversation.
Young Child: “Mister. Mister.” (Referring to both me and Alberto)
“HELLO. HELLO. Where are you from?”
Me: “The United States.”
Young Child: “Obama.” Now, to Alberto, “Where are you from?”
Alberto: “Guatemala”
Young Child: “Oh.”
A puzzled look clearly sweeps across their faces… of children, guides, and hotel receptionists as their clearly memorized conversational piece is promptly interrupted by the strange word.. “Guatemala”.

In fact, there were so few tourists in many of the towns that Paul, someone we met in one of the small towns, simply asked young boys on the street, “Where is the young man from Guatemala and the young American woman?” Signaling correctly, the young boy pointed to a restaurant saying, “They are eating at that hotel restaurant, but they are not staying there.”

Yes, being a firanji in Ethiopia oscillates from being completely comfortable to completely exhausting. Most of the time we peacefully cruise through the streets replying to friendly “Hellos”. However, the boat captains in Bahar Dar (luckily, we were “saved” by our newfound Rastafarian friends) were very aggressive. They attempted to use dishonest tactics and would follow you for hours walking around town.

In our next town, we were greeted by a similar group of young pushy males, but this time the attraction was not a boat trip, but a beautiful trek in the Simien Mountains. They awaited us like vultures immediately outside of our hotel. After demonstrating “Assertive + Stern” Kimmie once while alone, they never approached us again.

Ethiopia also has beautiful children. Their beauty is matched by their tenacity. “Hello. Mister. Money.” Alberto and I have had children follow us for more than a half hour running alongside while we were biking! Child begging has always been a conundrum for me. If I give to one child, aren’t they all equally deserving? The next issue is that money is a positive reinforcement for behavior. By reinforcing their behavior am I showing them that begging is a good way to live? What happens when they are 25 and not so cute anymore? If I don’t want to support begging, than do I want to support them providing a service – like selling candy or shoe shining? I also don’t want to condone child labor. What I want for them is to go to school, but I don’t know if that is a viable option for all of the children in Ethiopia… so, I’ve refrained from giving to children. But you can see how they are so well trained, as we witnessed one particularly obnoxious tourist (not American!) literally handing out 1 Birr ($0.10) bills, and then filming the children. It was pretty weird.

Regardless, we were able to enjoy our time in Gonder, the Simien Mountains, Aksum and Lalibela.

Gonder is now a small town located in Northern Ethiopia, but in the 1600s it was Ethiopia’s regional center and in 1636 became the Nation’s capital. Ethiopia was able to fight off first the Muslims by calling on the Roman Catholics – particularly from Portugal. Priests were sent and one Emperor, Susneyos (1607 – 1632) even converted to Catholicism leading to internal disaster. Catholicism gained a strong hold in the government, upsetting many Ethiopians and leading to uprisings. The Catholic bishops ordered the suspension of traditionally important orthodox practices like male circumcision, observance of the Sabbath and dietary restrictions. ecognizing the error of his ways, Susneyos abdicated his throne to Fasiladas (1632 – 1667), who practiced Orthodox Christianity.

Enter Alberto and I now to crumbling castles and baths built by Fasiladas and his descendents. The structures have a beautiful style – a mixture of Portuguese, Indian and Moorish influences. One building was destroyed by the Italians, and remade into their headquarters during their occupation in the 1930s and another destroyed by the British bombings to remove the Italians. The buildings remain magnificent. In the new complex Fasiladas built a large palace complete with a water reservoir, while his sons added to the complex by building stables, meeting buildings and mini residencies. Surrounding the town of Gondar lie baths, additional complexes and
beautiful churches (still in use today).

After gawking at the majesty of manmade structures, Alberto and I ventured to get a glimpse of Ethiopia’s natural beauty in the Simien Mountains. After bumming some expired Diamox (altitude medicine) off of Paul, another traveler doing the same route, I was ready to handle our peak altitude of 4070m. We began our hike with a lively young British couple, Ruth and Glenn, who had just spent a month “Bush Camping” in Rwanda and Uganda. We ended up picking up Paul on the way in an act of good faith after he was unable to arrange a cheaper tour from the tiny outpost town of Debark. So, the 5 of us, a young Ethiopian guide, 2 cooks, 3 mules, 1 mule-handler and a scout embarked on a 4 day trek.

To say the Simien Mountains are breathtaking would be an understatement. Think the vastness and dramatic views of the Grand Canyon except in the hues of yellow, green and brown. Replace desert with jungle creeping up the sides of the canyon and yellow savannah-like grasses covering the top. When we reached one of the most beautiful summits, Imet Gogo (3926m), after a difficult climb, my jaw nearly hit the floor.

The Simien National Park was designated a World Heritage Site, and is still inhabited by the local villagers. We were greeted with friendly smiles by adults and children alike on the trail. They may have asked for money, but our scout armed with a Kalashnikov, a stern eye and a wagging finger prevented any regrettable interactions. Aside from the people, we saw incredible wildlife including the walia ibex, a deer sized animal. The males have giant crescent shaped horns with both males and females have block rings around their legs. The park is also filled with groups of baboons, who spend the day picking the ground for roots. We were able to get within feet of these animals. Much like the animals in the Galapagos Islands, these animals show little fear toward the approaching human. The baboons were the size of small to medium sized dogs, and I felt an immediate connection to them due to their large and out of control mane of hair. Ruth and Glenn quickly identified it as “Tina Turner” hair, and I couldn’t agree more!



My last morning in the mountains was definitely my favorite as a large male ibex and a group of baboons both decided to breakfast near our camp, Chenek. After getting close to the baboons – and one actually having picked up my notebook – we went on a short walk were we saw the Ethiopian Wolf, the rarest canid on earth. It looked like a small fox running through the grassland.

The Simien Mountains are definitely a highlight of our trip, although I’d be lying if I said that by the end I wasn’t anxious to get under a warm shower and rinse the immeasurable amount of dust that seemed to cover me everywhere – from my earwax to my gumline!

I hope you’re getting outside now that it’s warming up!