Day # 2
DEPARTURE TO ARBA MINCH
One hour flight
4 hours delay
mechanical
lost a day
morning preparation
breakfast
and signing for our 3 days deal with the agency at the hotel
tour guide jeep driver for our expedition but at the last minute the travel agent decide not to give it a go.
WHAT !
Yes, you hear me, the night before dinner, we had spend an hour with the travel agent to organized all this and here come morning, suddenly, mister, decided we would have to pay him cash, that we could not pay with our credit card any excuses...name it. his secretary was not there yet, we would have to wait....
Bottom line: He was screwing our long week end get away. My vacation. Oh! No! This will not end like this. Its been 6 years I didn't take a few days off beside going to visit my sister in Metis and it won't happen like this. My sister already bought the airplane ticket confirmed, not stand by, so we are going to go no matter what.
We will go down at least to visit Arba Minch and worst come to worst we will not be able to see the beautiful Mursi women.
When you travel on a budget, like no money actually this is where the limit stop.
So we decided to go and give it a try and explore Arba Minch hoping to come across with some tribal people at the market perhaps the Dorso ladies who live the area of Arba Minch.
Time to pay my portion of the hotel room, another surprise, their credit card machine doesn't work.
Well its not my problem, is it ?
Addis Ababa the city where 200 diplomats live you are not going to tell me they dont use credit cards these people im not in the bush just yet! The city of the African Union come on go try this on somebody else will you and come back with the bill.
You posted we can pay with credit card, therefore, it's your problem not mine. You will get paid on my way back. Meanwhile get your machine fix if you want to be paid.
Since my sister has to spend 1 month at this hotel, the man had no choice to have his machine fix. Worst come to worst, my sister will pay for me but I doubt it, on her $14.00 per diem...there is very little money here left.
We are actually in a poor country where in our own country we are actually very poor. It's quite ironic since we are here making this trip, no !
Well, she does it to see the world, in exchange of her talented expertise, and I used my airline pass (59 hours to find a flight, booking, to register on stand by, to do it again and again because of over booking and wait in line after all the passengers...)
6 years I didnt go on a vacation. I'm on the verge of a break down seeing everyone goes on vacation beside me, the one that work on the plane, that serve coffee to millions of passengers. I'm glad I have a plastic card.
Find the error, so we both are lucky to be there in Ethiopia and living it to the max before we get old and grompy.
So we arrived at the airport, numerous security checks later, we find out our flight is delay.
So we sit and wait. Eat a $5.00 US french frie and drink a $3,00 US Fanta at the airport.
Expensive but it was the best choice at that moment.
And this where my sister tought me about the muslim fanta or the jewish fanta...
4 hours later, we went...
kind of spoil our joy here.
Luckily, while waiting, we met some new friends, one in particular was the owner of a banana plantation. Very nice man indeed. We manage to do a few phone calls during our wait and find someone to do our trip. Thank god we had a phone with us. Definetely is a must here to do all the booking ahead in time.
Yeah !
However this being said, we had to stay one night in Arba Minch because in Ethiopia outside big cities, pass sun down:
NO ONE DRIVE ON THE ROAD
So we end up in a slizzy hotel for the night that gives you the chill, just to look at the bed cover...
We hurried up to freshin up and left in a hurry to go for dinner next door, at the tourist hotel restaurant.
Why didn't we go there at the first place?
Because my sister told our new friend, we were on a budget.
right!
And we were.
So we had nothing to say here however for next time sake we will stay at the Tourist Hotel. (the name doesn't sale it at all unfortunately)
We had a lovely dinner at the tourist hotel:
Outside in the lovely gardens.
st george beer
chicken rice
I must say chicken was hard to chew but here everything is hard to chew ok
(its like chewing in a box of elastic bands and after a while you give up, spit it out and try again)
Let's put it that way: Lucky we had food in our plate !
That night, I discover the green sauce, the green Ethiopian sauce...forgot the name.
It's to die for unless you die before iii; excellent.
(Better to discover it in the comfort of your home just in case ...the fire burn in every direction...)
I love that sauce, the taste. It's like a green salsa with a fuel injection kick to it; if you know what I mean and that is just for a drop of that precious sauce.
I really didn't know Ethiopian ate spicy food at all or food for a matter of fact.
I think the entire world is stuck on those starving images we saw 20 years ago where people die of starvation. Its sad but its true and I'm glad I came to see, that, they have food to survive on.
Our new friend came to join us, we chat over St George beer and sprite and finally give up to stay awake any longer.
Night was over, we went to bed happy at last.
Darkness is not something I get acustom to too often especially at home so imagine in a foreign country where light is luxury.
We walk down the street in pure darkness stop at the store that close at 3 oclock in the morning to buy 6 pack of water bottles for our trip.
I was quite surprised to see so many organic food in one tiny little store. They eat really well here.
No Mc Donald around and no Monsanto to destroy their beautiful organic crops. Everything is organic, seeds after seeds, sordhoe, morenga leaves, bananas, ....no fast food, no bad things for you to eat up and destroy your diet and healthy manners. No desert either ! You will get your sweet with 2 table spoon of sugar in your coffee.
So up we go, to the third floor in totall darkness with our flash light, to spot the way up and there we went in our basic hotel room.
Wash ourselves with basket full of water....
wash our teeth with bottle water
and hurried up to close everything before the bugs gets in before you or in your suitcase.
For girlish girls like us maybe it wasn't perfection for us. ( me in particular me me me )
I was far away from Melia Hotel in Paris here. Yes mam!
Yah right.
Under the net we went.
On top of the bed I went.
My sister was brave like usual and went under the sheet....
Suddenly we felt the heat of close windows under the net...
hot
night
no way we are going to open the windows
so I stayed there listening to sounds
too hot
we finally call for a fan
ah way better but
it ain't air conditioning
then 3 oclock came
more sounds
The singing prayors of the christian orthodox priest
all over town over a loud microphone across our hotel room
we didn't think of
didnt see this coming
too busy dealing for our next day trip on arrival there, that, we had a surprise.
For every morning we stayed in Ethiopia, beside the city nights, we woke up to the sound of prayors for a couple of hours starting at 3:00 a.m. until more sound
the muslim prayors
started over the top ...until sunrise. you can see this was not Brother Jack song at all.
.......................................................................................................................................
domestic terminal in Addis Ababa Ethiopia
my sister is very happy to have a person to share her exciting trip
just like me.
Finally when we see things we will say did you see this
so cant wait to go
delay
now turns out to be a mechanical
volcano at 45 minustes form Addis Ababa
never blew up
quite impressing from above
nous voila!
Here we are on the ground
it was quite spectaculor to look outside on our way here and the color of the water almost pink unfortunately with the window of the plane it didnt came out right but
you must do it and on the left side of the plane if you want to have the volcano on your side
ARBA MINCH
WE CROSS THIS BRIDGE AND WE SAW THESE BIRDS WOA SPECTACULOR....
My sister love to get involve and be in charge it takes one person not 2
I know how to walk back and let go
Im checking the luggages
oh well it looks like this.
view of our hotel we didnt spot the holy church that is actually on the left
it is so useful when you travel for many many things
so most of the tables are in the garden we took shelter on top of the balcony of this beautiful old hotel restaurant the tourist hotel.
this is
being together in same room demands logistic for
plugs
plugs
and more plugs please
but we can not complain we have electricity so far
but
and then more logistic
how to sleep
one wants to go to bed right away the other one doesnt
omg
Lets pray together
omg
SPENDING:
Aiplane ticket ( cheaper if you came in with Ethiopian airline):
Addis Ababa to Arba Minch
breakfast included in hotel room
Tip for the shuttle bus
lunch
french fries and a fanta any of them I dont car muslim or jewish it all taste the same.
tour guide advance paiement include
3 days
chauffeur jeep
fuel
shovel
charcoal
hotel room
dinner
chicken and rice
st george beer
sprite
water bottles
souvenir: free wonderful pciture of our ride on the plane sit on the left side to see volcano
ok rap up of the arrival
it gives you a good idea 2 day drive for 1 hour flight
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