Day 208 - Arba Minch to Addis Ababa
Sunday, January 27th, 2019.
The prayer chanting woke us up at 3:00am today! Who in the world wakes up at 3:00am to pray? OK, I have no problem with anybody praying at 3:00 but to wake up the entire neighborhood by using a loudspeaker? The dogs were howling. I looked at my phone for the time and saw that I still had another hour sleep. I think I dozed but at 4:00am, someone else continued the prayer and it went on like that for hours. It gets annoying after a while. I would rather hear crickets, birds, etc.
We all got ready and called Chu-Chu (I love the name) another taxi driver to make sure he was coming to get us. He was already waiting by the gate on time at 4:30am. He gave us a discount price because he was a friend of staff at the mission. We still thought it was an expensive ride at 200 birr ($7). They explained that they charge more because it is considered night time. Anyway, it was fun to ride the bajaj in empty streets. [Gregory's note: it's always fun to ride a bajaj!]
We have learned that the buses do not leave on time. We left around 5:30am instead of 5:00am. [Gregory's note: who told you the bus would leave late? Hmm?] This time the road felt bumpier, maybe because the driver was going faster. I chose not to sit in the front row because I get too nervous seeing how the driver evades the cows, goats, and people crossing. The driver uses the horn to warn animals and people that he is coming and doesn’t plan to slow down for them. Amazingly, it works (sometimes) but for someone like me who is not used to it, it's a little bit scary. I was trying to read my book but at the same time, I was praying for every living obstacle that crossed because it seemed that the driver was going to run over them. If you add that the road has a lot of holes and that the driver swerves around them, well, you can imagine the ride.
Despite everything, we all managed to sleep a couple of hours. We actually woke up when the bus stopped for a bathroom break. Luckily we didn’t have to go because they stop at a group of trees. Men go to one side and women to the other side. The men don’t care and don’t even bother to hide, but the women do. The second break was around 10:30am when the drivers stop for their meal. He called it lunch but it was breakfast for us. The small restaurant was full and while Gregory and the kids waited for the waiter, I ran to the bathroom. I'd rather not describe the condition and smell of the bathrooms, let me just put it this way: the forest would have been so much better! I hate Turkish toilets. The one thing I noticed here in Ethiopia is that everywhere you go, there is a sink and soap to wash your hands. I’m sure is because they eat without silverware, they use their hands and the injera as spoons, like the tortilla in Mexico. [Gregory's note: you only use your right hand to eat, and there is no toilet paper in the bathroom. Figure it out.]
The waiter never came so we walked around looking for something else. We found another small restaurant but the kids were disappointed because they didn’t have the only thing they wanted: juice. We ordered macchiatos and egg. We force the kids to eat something because you need food with the malaria medicine we have been taking.
After 20 minutes, we went back to the bus. This time I really got into my book, The Map of True Places despite all the honking and moving. We made it to Addis Ababa around 1:30pm. The bus took an extra hour compared to the trip to Arba Minch. Gregory told me later that the driver stopped because there was an overturned bus outside Arba Minch and an overturned truck an hour later. I’m glad I didn’t see that.
After we got out of the bus at Maskell square, we walked to a restaurant-cafe in front of the Hyatt Hotel. It was a dark place and for some reason, I thought of Cuba, although I don’t know why if I have never been.
We couldn’t make up our minds of what to order because Sunshine only wanted juice and I wanted her to eat something but not pizza. I could tell we were confusing the waiter so we let her just order the juice. Gregory and Daniel shared the famous shiro. I wanted Western food and had a chicken sandwich with french fries! We felt better with food in our stomachs.
Gregory ran to the Red Terror Museum which was literally next door. The kids and I were too tired to check the museum. We took Ride, the Ethiopian Uber, back to Henock’s apartment. It felt like going back home. Henock brought out our suitcases. We got settled and I went directly to take a nap. I feel like I’m getting a cold and I have many people on the bus to blame. The woman behind us was coughing nonstop, I wanted to run but where?! We all rested. Thank God for Gregory and Daniel who went to get food for dinner and breakfast tomorrow. [Gregory's note: I love this neighborhood -- everything you need is on this block -- as long as you need only Ethiopian things.]
The prayer chanting woke us up at 3:00am today! Who in the world wakes up at 3:00am to pray? OK, I have no problem with anybody praying at 3:00 but to wake up the entire neighborhood by using a loudspeaker? The dogs were howling. I looked at my phone for the time and saw that I still had another hour sleep. I think I dozed but at 4:00am, someone else continued the prayer and it went on like that for hours. It gets annoying after a while. I would rather hear crickets, birds, etc.
We all got ready and called Chu-Chu (I love the name) another taxi driver to make sure he was coming to get us. He was already waiting by the gate on time at 4:30am. He gave us a discount price because he was a friend of staff at the mission. We still thought it was an expensive ride at 200 birr ($7). They explained that they charge more because it is considered night time. Anyway, it was fun to ride the bajaj in empty streets. [Gregory's note: it's always fun to ride a bajaj!]
We have learned that the buses do not leave on time. We left around 5:30am instead of 5:00am. [Gregory's note: who told you the bus would leave late? Hmm?] This time the road felt bumpier, maybe because the driver was going faster. I chose not to sit in the front row because I get too nervous seeing how the driver evades the cows, goats, and people crossing. The driver uses the horn to warn animals and people that he is coming and doesn’t plan to slow down for them. Amazingly, it works (sometimes) but for someone like me who is not used to it, it's a little bit scary. I was trying to read my book but at the same time, I was praying for every living obstacle that crossed because it seemed that the driver was going to run over them. If you add that the road has a lot of holes and that the driver swerves around them, well, you can imagine the ride.
Despite everything, we all managed to sleep a couple of hours. We actually woke up when the bus stopped for a bathroom break. Luckily we didn’t have to go because they stop at a group of trees. Men go to one side and women to the other side. The men don’t care and don’t even bother to hide, but the women do. The second break was around 10:30am when the drivers stop for their meal. He called it lunch but it was breakfast for us. The small restaurant was full and while Gregory and the kids waited for the waiter, I ran to the bathroom. I'd rather not describe the condition and smell of the bathrooms, let me just put it this way: the forest would have been so much better! I hate Turkish toilets. The one thing I noticed here in Ethiopia is that everywhere you go, there is a sink and soap to wash your hands. I’m sure is because they eat without silverware, they use their hands and the injera as spoons, like the tortilla in Mexico. [Gregory's note: you only use your right hand to eat, and there is no toilet paper in the bathroom. Figure it out.]
The waiter never came so we walked around looking for something else. We found another small restaurant but the kids were disappointed because they didn’t have the only thing they wanted: juice. We ordered macchiatos and egg. We force the kids to eat something because you need food with the malaria medicine we have been taking.
After 20 minutes, we went back to the bus. This time I really got into my book, The Map of True Places despite all the honking and moving. We made it to Addis Ababa around 1:30pm. The bus took an extra hour compared to the trip to Arba Minch. Gregory told me later that the driver stopped because there was an overturned bus outside Arba Minch and an overturned truck an hour later. I’m glad I didn’t see that.
After we got out of the bus at Maskell square, we walked to a restaurant-cafe in front of the Hyatt Hotel. It was a dark place and for some reason, I thought of Cuba, although I don’t know why if I have never been.
We couldn’t make up our minds of what to order because Sunshine only wanted juice and I wanted her to eat something but not pizza. I could tell we were confusing the waiter so we let her just order the juice. Gregory and Daniel shared the famous shiro. I wanted Western food and had a chicken sandwich with french fries! We felt better with food in our stomachs.
Gregory ran to the Red Terror Museum which was literally next door. The kids and I were too tired to check the museum. We took Ride, the Ethiopian Uber, back to Henock’s apartment. It felt like going back home. Henock brought out our suitcases. We got settled and I went directly to take a nap. I feel like I’m getting a cold and I have many people on the bus to blame. The woman behind us was coughing nonstop, I wanted to run but where?! We all rested. Thank God for Gregory and Daniel who went to get food for dinner and breakfast tomorrow. [Gregory's note: I love this neighborhood -- everything you need is on this block -- as long as you need only Ethiopian things.]
For pictures please click here
https://photos.app.goo.gl/MCHLW6Up5ZPrccyC8
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