The Outtakes

Everyone wants to get a good photo on their holiday, right? So, 4 people on holiday...how many cameras...like 6..!!?

(Seriously-I bet that none of my friends...including myself...even know where we were at this point!)

I took a ridiculous amount of photos of Bleeding Heart Baboons (or mountain monkeys)...why? I deleted all but one. I don't even like the things!? Truth be told, we all got a bit done with taking photographs-I didn't take my camera out of its case for the last 3 days.

I did take some good photos (for me). But I also took c**p  ones. (Hey-Bridget said it doesn't count if you put the stars in!)

(Really UNESCO- your subtle shelters ruined my photos!)

 (Taking photos, whilst riding a mule uphill, was never going to go well!)

But...we did have fun taking some silly pics...like tying to perfect the jump and smile photograph..(Maybe it is an American thing, as I think I found it the most difficult to do this..!?)

hehehe!

Another tricky photo was of the group trying to do a fist pump (now, I know this was my idea...but again.. for us Brits this is quite tricky. I expected my old work colleagues Brandie or Heather to run up to me at any time and want to 'hussle' or high-five me!)-but we did get half-decent photo in the end. You can see it here on Fist Pump Friday.

Happy Friday!

* Just read that the person that designed the UNESCO shelters/covers for the churches, won a competition.  This designer came first!!??

Ethiopia - the essentials

While it is still fresh in my mind, I thought I would write a little packing list for those travelling to Ethiopia, specifically the North. If, like me, you have done (did) no research into what you might need to take with you on holiday, this may be useful! (Read-learn from my mistakes!)

•  lip balm - an essential item. It is super dry in the North or the country and your lips become so chapped it is hard to smile without them cracking. My friends and I were all swapping methods of how to help them recover - the best being to use a sugar cube to rub Vaseline into your lips (great tip Sib!). 
• thick moisturising cream - your lips are not the only part of your body to get dry! The cream will also come in use for any chaffing that might arise after long mule journeys! Mary how did you do it??
• warm clothes- one jumper is not enough. Think woolly socks, or tights and boots for the evening in Addis.
•  plastic bags-although this item is not essential, but if you are a twat they may come in handy. At each church we visited (yes, all 51 of them!) you take off your shoes before you enter. We noticed that some anal tourists decided to have there feet in plastic bags, inside their shoes. Then when they take there shoes off their feet are still in the bags. Genius...or ridiculous...you decide!
• hats- it is hot during the day, that together with the high altitude is quite a combination; take a sunhat. As soon as that sun goes down, it is mighty cold-my advise is to take a woolly hat -or if you don't have one of those-a Santa hat will suffice!

 

• fly repellent (sure there must be such a thing!)- seriously, the flies in Ethiopia are like no others. It was not the famine in 1984 that made these winged annoyances crawl all over lips- they are EVERYWHERE all the time; mouths, ears, lips, eyes. If you are going for plastic bags, you may as well throw in one of those netted hats!!
• an extra bag - why? well, if you are like my friends, you will need it for all the things you haggle for and eventually buy in the markets. (Hey-not that I'm saying that 4, 5, 6, 7 8 crosses isn't one to many!! And no lady can have too many scarves!)

•  Sopadeine - (or another pain-relief pill!) an essential for most holidays (or events...right Jo!), but sun, high altitude AND teg (Egyptian honey wine) followed by beer and tequila, oh and I nearly forgot about the khat does not make a 9 hour car journey very pleasant.

Weighing the khat-the leaf of all evil!

• Motion/travel sickness tablets- read above; also useful for journeys on boats, burgads (tuk-tuks) and mules!

•  An up-to-date guidebook -( not that I am dising the 1998 Spectrum, honest Sibyl!) although some things, like the 12th Century churches haven't changed much, it is good to have. Or better yet, get a guide! Our tour was organised by Tarik at Yama Tours and was fantastic. He soon got to know us and modified removed all hikes physical exercise from our itinerary and added in more time for relaxing to shop and drink! It was a holiday after all! We spent 12 days in the North of the country and really you couldn't do it justice in less (but you could cut out more drive time with cheap internal flights)-I will have to go back one day to explore the South of the country!

And...don't forget your toothbrush!
 

PS-Hand sanitizer, Imodium and re-hydration salts are a given...! Obviously!

A Christmas Story in Photographs-Ethiopia

Addis Ababa

Bahir Dar/Lake Tana

 

Gondar and the Simien Mountains

Lalibela

The Journey

2011 was quite a journey. Although I had some great adventures, I am not going to review the past year, but  rather look forward to the road ahead.I went for a long run/walk in the forest by my house today. The sun was shining and the Vervet monkeys and dik-diks were abound  - it was a great way to start 2012.

But..talking of journeys, they are sometimes my favourite part of a holiday; anticipating the unknown or excited for the familiar. It was like that when I was little. I used to love the bus ride from the village primary school to the swimming pool for lessons, which is half an hour away. Arriving always seemed a bit disappointing.

The idea of journeys reminded me of a conversation I recently had with someone over a beer before the holiday exodus from Nairobi. He was telling me about the new KLM booking feature (have you heard about it?) that lets you use its Facebook page to pick who you want to sit next to on the plane. It is basically like a matchmaker service, you decide who you fancy and choose to sit next to them. Not quite sure if the other passenger has any say in the matter!?? My friends and I were then discussing the subsequent scenarios that this may cause.

This booking feature is not (yet!hhhaaaa) available on Ethiopian Airlines (hello- in flight entertainment would be nice!). So, when I checked in for my recent flight from Nairobi to Addis and was declined an upgrade (How dare they?Don't they know who I am!?), I then requested not to be sat near any children...harsh, but I am on holiday you know! I did however, forget to say, "Or next to any morbidly obese people that read broadsheet newspapers"....just my luck!

This time the journey was just about the arrival...

...then the real adventure began!

PS- Another bizarre moment on the plane, was when I realised that the music on the plane tannoy system was 'Do They Know It's Christmas' by Band Aid...on repeat (quietly, but still-repeat all the same!)...to Ethiopia...!