Impressions of Ethiopia

You’ve heard what we’ve been up to, but here’s a taste of what we experience everyday. "you you you you you you you you you you you you..." "hello pen? Hello plastic?!" It is almost impossible to stop for a pee or a lunch break without faces appearing within minutes of stopping the truck. But usually the children are kept entertained and distracted by Mike teaching them juggling, or Graham testing their knowledge of capital cities.

Sour injera that looks unappetising but has grown on some people (and repeated itself on others). Bread, and more bread, and more bread. But very tasty.

The roads are built for animals – goats, cows, sheep, donkeys – they rule the road and decide to cross when they want to. Windy, hilly roads, often at over 2,000m, with spectacular views and sometimes sheer drops.

Coffee ceremonies that involve drinking 3 cups of coffee from the same brew. Or for the coffee fans, cappuccinos and machiatos are readily available.

Fresh mango juice with a squeeze of lime.

Perfect piles of straw, carefully trodden by the animals. Skins used to carry straw, or even other animals. Sacks, with stripes in the Ethiopian colours. Scales for weighing what goes in to the sacks (you should have seen the commotion at the weighing station as all our belongings were carefully weighed to determine how many mules we needed for our overnight trek in the Simien Mountains – each mule can carry 45kg).

People robed in white shawls that somehow manage to stay clean.

Priests clutching Coptic crosses, sitting next to a shrine on the side of the road.

Service charge and tax often not included in prices.

Ethiopia, dry and dusty at this time of year. And now we bid farewell to this fascinating country and head to Sudan.