Feb 14th   Stoned- a sobering experience.

Highlights of the day;

1 Young lad, maybe 8-10, stops, while carrying a massive load of straw on his head, to wave.

2 Vultures, by the side of the road, pick a recently-dead animal clean.

3 Young boy, on his own, picks up a stone while I am still 50m. away; as I approach, he waves, I wave back. As soon as I pass, I look behind and he is ready to throw.

4 Passing a bus at 60 kph while viewing the panorama below.

5 Lads holding on to a wooden rail while rubbing leather skins with their feet.

6. Young girl wants me to stop to buy a bunch of onions- customer research needed?

Dist.  111kms.   (Lost other details).

Leaving Gondar in an outpouring of friendliness has to be the overriding emotion.  During our 2 days’ stay in the town, the hotel could be forgiven for it’s lack of constant hot water, the electricity going off, the shower door coming off its hinges, the indifferent food, just for the wonderful view of the town and it’s surrounds as you exit the spacious lobby and walk onto the terrace. But then you add in the genuine, I mean “not money-seeking”, helpfulness of the hotel porters, who even wanted to help me clean my bike, and you might appreciate the kind of people they are.

Alright, I was hit by a stone in the body, which did not hurt at all, and several other riders had problems. (A week ago, two boys were seen were slingshots, which could be a worrying developement). It also riles you that you are trying to acknowledge the wonderful reception you are being given, which can become quite tiresome when it is unending, and you are thrown at. But for every bad one there are hundreds who look you in the eye and are so thrilled by a wave, who will sprint across a field just to wave to you, who will stand in a group and clap you.

You may already know about “chat”, their green gold. It is grown in great quantities in Ethiopia, and is chewed by a lot of people for its drug-like properties. . There is more than one way to get stoned. It is not a trip I am about to take!

For some of us, the last few days, and indeed still today, the onset of fever, diarrhoea and vomiting, has proved most disagreeable. For the rest of us, today has been perhaps the best day so far- two tough climbs, but otherwise super cycling in warm conditions through mountain scenery made more interesting by the human activity, rather than massacred.  About 3000BC, oxen were first hitched to a wooden plough to till the Nile valleys; 5000 years later, they are still doing it.  It has been very relaxing.

Our only concern centres on the drove of kids that come right up to the rope of our little enclosure. One girl has already been seen coming out of one of the tents during the riders’ meeting. So tonight, it could be a case of putting all our gear in our tents for those of us who have no lockers until the dinner truck is mended.

Tomorrow is a supremely easy day, 60kms into Bathir Dar.

Feb 15th. Bathir Dar.

Dist.: 58kms.   Time cycling: 2 hrs.16   Av.speed: 25.7

I laughed yesterday evening when one of the riders, Rod Atkinson, a very organised person, explained how he had made a mistake with his tent; it was already starting to tear. He said he should have known better – it is called “The Weekender”!!

This morning, the joke was on me. I had got up at 5.15, used the toilet, and started to dismantle the tent. One of the two poles snapped. I do have one repair sleeve, which I used, but to what long-term effect?

We also found out last night, that there are 14 riders still EFI, ie they have so far cycled every fabulous inch.

The light, hilly ride to Bathir gave us the opportunity take in more of our surroundings. There are many trees and shrubs growing wild that we pay good money for in Spain. In Bathir itself, there are palms, hibiscus, oleander, and bougainvillea. The hip-moving, short-stepped gait of the professional walking athletes is exactly that used by the men – and boys-  who can be seen carrying huge bundles of straw on their heads for long distances. There were quite a number of little gravel -making operations. It seems that a lorry drops off rocks. A young man breaks them into smaller pieces with a sledge hammer. Then a host of people go back and forth with plastic tubs, carrying the stones up a high wooden ramp. They drop them into a small, rock-crusher which churns out the gravel. When a lorry requires filling, it is hand-shovelled up into the vehicle.

Riding into Bathir, we cross the Blue Nile which feeds Lake Tana.

Our camp is at a hotel. Some, especially those not well, have taken rooms. Most of the rest of us have set up our tents on a third-floor terrace. As I put strain on my mended pole, it snapped in two places, either side of the new sleeve. To the rescue Rick Gervais!  Ever-willing to help others out, he used some spare sleeves he had, rearranged the parts, and with duct-tape got into one piece. For now at least it is working.

After changing my tires to slicks and doing the washing, I walked up the street to a little wood and canvas drinks place with an earthen floor and had two juice mixers. I believe you get these only in Ethiopia. Three fruits, in this case pineapple, avocado and papaya, are juiced and placed on each other in a glass. They are delicious! (Cost is 6 birre, about 30 pence).

Tomorrow a number of us are paying $20 for a boat-trip and guided tour to the 14thc. monasteries on islands in the lake. I chose to walk a path to the lake and get an idea of how it looked. A young student started to talk to me, his name is Tadesse. He wanted to keep in contact, so I gave him my email address.

As I write this, I am drinking Tej, a local wine made with honey.  I was told it contained no alcohol; well it certainly seems to have a kick!

I want to emphasise how welcome your comments are; they really help to keep me going. I wish there was more time, so that i could acknowledge each and every one. I hope you will understand that it is taking a lot of time to keep up the blog, and I always intended that the blog would be central to me doing this trip. So please tell me if i am writing about issues that are of no interest or if there is something I should be adding in.

Feb.16th. Rest day in Bathir Dar.

Smog has the same effect as mist; the view over Lake Tana, 3rd. largest in Africa, left much to the imagination. The shoreline remains undeveloped.  We have a one hour ride by a small motor launch, to see one of the 37 working monasteries on or by the lake. A white line on the horizon becomes a colony of pelicans. A fisherman in a papyrus boat paddles the opposite way.

The monasteries maintain a tradition that is based not only on the bible, but on all other holy books, or apocrypha. These are stunningly depicted in paintings on canvas, covering the Holy of Holies in one of these monasteries. The Holy of Holies is square-shaped, perhaps 10m. square, and houses a faithful copy of the Ark of the Covenant. The original is in Axum. Only one person can ever see it. Before he dies, this privilege, or duty, is passed on to another.

Food:

If you ask for fast food here, it is not a hamburger. For the 2 months before their Easter, they abstain from meat completely. Thus fast food is what you see on the injera in the photo.

Last night I went to a local place and asked for macaroni off their menu. 15 mins. later, still waiting, i ordered a beer. Someone knocked it all over me, saturating the front of my only long pants.  I went to wash them, hoping nobody thought I had wet myself. For speed, I decided to eat in the hotel restaurant and ordered grilled fish and vegetables. Half an hour later, nothing. I asked again and 10 mins. later it arrived, stone-cold. I sent it back and waited another 5mins. this time when it arrived, the fish was warm, the veg. still cold. An insect was rushing from the veg. to the fish, perhaps for warmth. But this fish was one of the tastiest I have EVER had.

Emboldened by the experience, I tried to repeat the pleasure at lunch today in one of the backstreets. The fish was in batter, and without any exaggeration,  the fish was totally anonymous. Still hungry, I went across the road and asked for an omelette. Over half an hour and I was ready to leave. But when it arrived, rich in texture and sprinkled with fresh garlic, it was divine. Patience is obviously rewarded.

Charity

I rose at 5am this morning and went for a walk. Even that hour, white clothed figures flitted through the dark streets. In the backstreets, i saw a few women, cooking over charcoal fires, probably preparing injera. At 6, I sat for a coffee and got talking to a local lad. As a UN vehicle passed, he mentioned “Save the Children” and then said, “Save the money, kill the children!” Shocked, I asked what he meant. He explained that it was a common phrase in Ethiopia, referring to how so much money that is sent from abroad stays in the first hands that touch it.

Tomorrow we head for Addis Ababa, four days that will include the ascent of the Nile gorge.

Best wishes,

Eric.