Ethiopia: The birthplace of mankind.

After the monotony of East African cuisine, Addis Ababa sent our tastebuds into convulsions. Colourful dollops of spicy wat on top of tangy injera, Spaghetti piled impossibly high, mouth watering pizza dripping in cheese, freshly squeezed mango juice, strong honey wine, served in glass vessels resembling flower vases and piping hot macchiato, available at cafes every 5 steps or less. After months of eating tough boiled meat with tasteless Ugali, Juho and I were in food heaven.

Addis is a chaotic city of more than 2.8 million people, and it seems to be ever expanding, as half the city is under construction. I immediately felt very underdressed as gorgeous specimens strutted past in 10 inch heels, immaculately dressed as if they had stepped straight off the catwalks of Milano.

Beyond the gates of Addis Ababa the country changes dramatically, gone are the flashy clothes, replaced by faded robes, bare feet or cheap plastic sandals, and donkeys laden down with heavy sacks. Three hours into our journey north to Bahir Dar, our bus broke down on the side of a mountain. We sat outside and marvelled at the view over the deep gorge and the Blue Nile River, which snakes through the valleys on its way to the Red sea. This was enjoyable for the first hour, but after 6 hours of sitting in the baking hot sun, not so much.

Eventually the part we needed arrived and we were on our way again in the late afternoon shadows. Creeping down the narrow mountain pass, our bus side swiped a truck and lost the side mirror, leading to another lengthy delay as the bus driver had to report to the police station to file a report.

We arrived in Bahir Dar close to 11pm, and half the bus (including the poor driver) piled exhausted into the closest hotel. Bahir Dar sits on the shores of Lake Tana, which is the source of the Blue Nile River and home to island monasteries from the late 16^th century. Recovering from a bad cold brought on by the cool climate change of Addis, and the traumatic bus journey, Juho and I spent lazy days sitting on the balcony overlooking the wide, palm lines streets that border Lake Tana.

From Bahir Dar we travelled north to the ancient kingdom of Gonder. Bus rides in Ethiopia are something else entirely; winding through fields and villages, surrounded by crumbling rock fences, past shepherds tending to their flocks, and donkeys transporting wares, you can’t help but feel like you have been transported back to another age. In the Ethiopian countryside people live much the same as they have for thousands of years, in the same kind of stone houses; following traditional farming practices, preparing the same injera outside their huts. To top things off buses here blare religious Amharic music at full volume, making us feel as if we are living in a bizarre film clip.

Not only does Ethiopia have its own language (Amharic) complete with a beautiful, baffling script, but they also have their own calendar and concept of time. At 6am it is 12 o’clock, after one hour of sunshine it is 1 o’clock, and when sun sets instead of being 6pm, it is once again 12 o’clock, pretty rational really, but it does make it confusing when finding out what times buses leave. The Ethiopian calendar ( based on the ancient Egyptian Coptic calendar)  puts Ethiopia 7 and a half years behind, so I have been transported back to my early 20’s and lets not even get in to how old Juho is.

Gonder castle, sits on a hill in the centre of the city, behind high stone walls. It has a history to rival the drama of Game of Thrones. Gonder was a place of extreme brutality and endless conspiracy, of queens, kings, ladies, lords and priests all trying to undermine and overthrow each other. From the towers you can see to all corners of the kingdom, and it is easy to imagine armies of horsemen approaching in the distance.

Leaving Gonder took us though the stunning Simien Mountains of jagged peaks, deep valleys and soring eagles. Unfortunately it also took us down and up extremely narrow mountain passes, along unsealed rocky roads, in an ancient bus, packed with people and chickens. We arrived late in a one horse town south of Axum where we bedded down for the night in a flea bag hotel for the grand price of $5.

Aksum, the Queen of Sheba’s capital, dates back to 400 BC and was the centre point of a powerful empire which dominated the sea-borne trade between Africa and Asia. Today Aksum’s secrets remain largely undiscovered, buried in tombs underneath the ground, real Indiana Jones kinda stuff.