Awassa

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Trip Start Sep 01, 2005 Previous
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  Awassa, Ethiopia
Wednesday, December 14, 2005

The second morning after we arrived in Addis, we departed. We caught a taxi to the dilapidated bus station and edged our way through the touting "guides." Erin anchored herself to a small steel bench with a well worn foam cushion. I took the bags and negotiated them on to the roof and under the tarp. Another Ethiopian bus and once again we were the only farangi on board. It seemed that most of the tourists that we had met had either opted for the flights, or for the prearranged tour group minibuses. We had learned the folly in asking how long the rides would take or when the bus would leave. Instead we starred out the window and smiled at our neighbors until the bus filled.
We exited downtown, creeped through the squalor and rolled into the arid plans of southern Ethiopia. We decided to stop in Awassa so that we could have a break from the long days of travel that lay behind and ahead of us. The large lake there was supposed to be nice. The road was smooth tarmac, there was no exhaust in the cabin, no hills to accelerate beyond control and only one person who threw up many seats in front of us. A four hour drive followed by another quick transfer to the small city.
We exited the minibus and caught a taxi to a hotel on the edge of town. Erin asked the driver if he was from Awassa. He smiled broadly and pointed to his teeth, happily answering "yes, Awassa, yes." His few teeth, stained rich brown, looked like the inside of an old timers coffee thermos.
He pointed at them again and said "water."
Erin asked if the water in Awassa did that to his teeth.
With a proud smile he replied "yes, Awassa."
It magnified again the differences in culture and the way that we see the world around us. In Ethiopia, as with so many struggling places, there is no time for vanity. We saw men wearing dresses, detachable jacket hoods used for hats, shoes three sizes larger than feet. If you have clothes you are doing well. If you have shelter, you are dong well. If you have teeth, you are doing well. A man on a bus asked me "is it true that in your country people try not to be fat?" Vanity is a luxury unknown to so many.
When we arrived, we found another part of Ethiopia that delighted us. We stayed in a government run hotel that was on the banks of Lake Awassa. The large bungalows were spread out through large trees and thick gardens. A national park surrounded us. There were monkeys running through the grounds like squirrels run through parks in the states. There were a couple of sticks resting by the tables on the veranda so that one could chase away any primate that became too pesky. The monkeys had black faces, grey fur and long thin fingers. The males chased both the other males and the females around. When they stood, it was easy to see where Mother Nature and the laws of natural selection cut right to the chase. Resting proudly below their light underbellies was a robin egg blue scrotum and a bright red wiener.
The protected nature around us created a sanctuary for many types of birds. Sitting on our porch the air was filled with their songs. It was like staying in an aviary. Faced with the route ahead of us, we decided to make our stay last a few days longer than we had planned. We took walks through the park, drank macchiato on the veranda and listened to the birds in the mornings.
On our final night in Awassa we ordered the vegetarian "national" food platter. Six types of spicy food all prepared with vegetables and served on top of ingera, the infamous fermented pancake that replaces utensils. Each portion had distinct, exotically spiced flavors which entertained our pallets. However, I woke the next morning in pain. That day we would begin our long journey south. That day I would fast... again. What I would have given for Kraft mac and cheese or Campbell's tomato soup.

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Lake Awassa

watching the sunset

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