Relaxing in Kilembe

Jan 10 - walked down to the next hut at 2,580 m. Tomorrow down to the hostel at 1,450 m. Cold & foggy here but was windy & colder above.

Looking forward to hostel w/shower, laundry and seeing if I can get some cheap replacement glasses for the ones broken in Ethiopia as well as make arrangements for visiting Queen Elizabeth park. Just finishing Darkness at Noon which I enjoyed re-reading.

Differences  Ethiopia vs Uganda

Ethiopia
   - person serving meal will bring out handwashing soap, water & basin before and after meal
   - shake hands & shoulder kiss
   - coffee ceremony & great coffee
   - people OK w/pics being taken

Uganda
   - lots of OK w/pictures being taken even in crowd
   - not good coffee (so far)
   - small motorcycles (boda boda) everywhere
   - no livestock on roads
   - less openly friendly

Taking Cypro and starting to feel better - stomach flu or ? If I have healthier I think I could have made the summit.I was ascending at the same rate as the younger people but I don't feel bad about not summitting. The whole summit idea was too tied up with personal ego. Coming down slowly has given me a greater opportunity to relax and see the Rwenzori. The trail is so rugged & steep it is necessary to keep your eyes on your feet & where you are going to place them almost all the time and equally so on the way down.
Joshua has given me some ideas. I still have days I paid for so I could stay at the Trekkers Hostel
with that paid time and do my laundry and do some errands/spend some money in Kasese rather than in Kampala. eyeglasses, gifts, post cards & stamps etc. I hung out w/Joshua as he made dinner. he was asking me about Canada & The US & I was asking him about Uganda. He has a lot of respect for the Aussie John who owns the hostel and Rwenzori Trekking Services (RTS). Says he expects hard work but works quite hard himself & is working hard on expanding RTS so it is less seasonal & more consistent and should help the business grow and employ more people. He knows Joshua likes books so when I am in Kampala I am going to ask him to bring Montaigne over for Joshua.

Jan. 11 - Back at the Trekkers Hostel - got going at 8:20 this morning & descended about 1,200 metres in about 3 hours. Trail got better as we got lower. I'm staying on a couple of days at no additional cost. sort thru my gear so I can give some away. Cold weather stuff & boots I don't need,don't want to carry that other people can use. Had a shower & washed my hair and felt great. Clothes are being washed. Went into Kasese on a boda boda which was kind of fun when I got used to it. Old bike of indeterminate age and origin. Noisy. Gauges don't work. Neither driver or I had helmets. I had ugly wrap around sunglasses & longer than usual grey hair blown back in the wind. I was sitting behind and a bit above the driver & felt like a bit like an aging Canadian Jack Nicholson.

An aging Canadian jack Nicholson- can you see it?


Got lots of looks from all the people we passed because, of course, I am a crazy old white guy & none of them were any of these. Road from the hostel for the first 5 K or so was CRAP and the improvised bridge the locals built when the rod bridge was destroyed by flood in 2013 was really amazing.
Sunday AM back to Barclays & maybe the internet cafe. Monday Barclays, maybe new glasses & a tour of the town with Joshua & then take he and his wife to dinner. Tuesday off to Q E Park or at least that is the plan. Karen at the hostel was unsure about how the Q E Park bit was going to work but someone was going to drop by and inform me.
January 12 - he came & explained and it seems good. He is coming Monday to give me details & costs & we leave Tuesday for 4 days & staying at a different hostel. then back to the Trekkers Hostel. I was thinking of back to kampala after that but I asked Karen what else I might do from the Trekkers Hostel

This is the Kilembe hostel and the two women who I dealt with most frequently and who seemed to keep the hostel working smoothly


and she suggested a "community" walk. Sounds good. Then, probably, back to Kampala. We'll see. Its Sunday and I'm going down to Kasese for money & internet. Maybe a bit later in the morning than I thought originally as I think most people, including my ride, will be in church. In both Uganda and Ethiiopia religion plays a stronger and more visible role in society than in Canada.

JOBS - with jobs all is possible. Without there is idleness, frustration & the inability to build lives.
When you visit a foreign country you can view it from behind the barrier of a tour bus or from the safety of a tour group or you can try to experience the normal reality of where you are at least temporarily and, of course, in small part.To travel is, or should be, to expand your understanding of what "normal" can be and to have a better & clear of that which is comon to us all. What would Christianity be if we stripped the bible down to the life and teachings of Christ? Better I think.

I can hear the music of the church below my hostel. So different from the church music I am used to. It has a rhythm and a beat.It doesn't have the complexity of western church music but I think there is an element in it that allows the individual to more easily become a member of the group. Something like that which I feel but can't express well. Good drum beat.

A small lizard moves across the area I am sitting in moving about a foot at  a time. It is about 20 cm long including the tail & light green w/brown markings on its back.  
Back in Ethiopia Linnea said the churches in Sweden chose not to send clothes to Africa believing that this practice would hinder the development of a textile/clothing industry in Africa. With all the very cheap clothing textiles already being manufactured in Bangladesh I think they are wrong.
I am sure I will like London & have fun but after Africa it will be somewhat dull & bland. 

Jan. 13 - Went down to Kasese yesterday. The day before I clutched the luggage rack of the boda boda with both hands but yesterday I was more relaxed & taking selfies of myself on the way down.

Me being relaxed and taking a selfie when travelling on the back of a boda boda



Not all that bold considering that half the women I saw were riding in skirts and sitting sideways behind a guy and were quite casual. I saw 4 guys on one boda boda going down to Kasese but I don't know if it could handle the same load coming back up the hill to Kilembe. Used the internet at the White House hotel and bought some papers & back to the hostel. Met 4 older Slovaks going for peak. One had great pics & video of the Gorillas. two Brits also but not for the peak. One is a natural history (exp. birds) guide & has guided all over the world (15 times to Costa Rica) and was quite interesting. (Greentours.co.uk) It is interesting this morning to watch two parties getting organized to go, sorting out loads, organizing the many porters etc.

There are many more people wanting to be porters than needed. This is a poor area I think. There was a copper mine here in Kilembe owned by the Canadian company Falconbridge but it has been closed for decades.

This picture is of some of the old mining buildings from the Falconbridge era and also giving an idea of the scope of the floods in the spring of 2013 that washed out the road bridge about a kilometre above this.



 It has now been bought by a Chinese company and there is much scepticism in the community about how well the chinese will treat the locals ie safety & wages. Chatted with Joshua for quite awhile. He has lots of questions, not all of which I can answer. Discussed the scientific determination that homosexualtiy is something a person is born with and not a choice. Its interesting this morning to watch the two other parties getting organized to go, sorting out gear, organizing the many porters etc.

Waiting to go down to Kasese and there are 4 bedframes on the grass waiting to be carried up the trail. Evidently they are being carried up the mountain 1,100 m where they will be used in two new shelters. Won't be an easy carry.

Down to Kasese and got some cash for the Q E Park trip & postcards. Met with guide for QE Park and it will be fine and I look forward to it. Joshua has an amazing thirst for information/opinion about the larger world outside Africa. Local papers have no  coverage outside of outside Africa & he has limited internet. I have seen nothing giving giving international coverage in town. He would love the Economist with its news coverage. (Joshua is a high school geography/history teacher and he guides on school holidays).
A very pleasant going away meal with Joshua, Jessica (his girl friend) and Priscilla (his 2 year old daughter).

As we were saying goodbye he said that my decision (not to keep on going up) was a good one as they had many clients who continue when they are sick even hiding their condition or medication from their guide. They sometimes have to be brought down on stretchers.

Leaving Ethiopia Arriving in Uganda

Sunday Jan. 5 - I'm in Kampala having a quiet relaxing day. Endless frustrationing delays yesterday. Multiple delays with multiple inaccurate & unconvincing & contradictory explanations. Very frustrating, irritating and unsatisfactory. Got to hostel in Kampala late & to be & to sleep.

Backpacker's Hostel - Kampala, Uganda


Got up this am and sorted out my stuff putting the stuff I won't need in the Rwenzori aside for storage while I am away. I had no Uganda shillings so walked down the street to an ATM that would give me no money on either my bank card or Visa. So still no local money. With generous guidance of a young man I walked to the old downtown where all the Forexs where shut as it was Sunday. I ended up changing $100 US for 245,000 shillings from a guy on the street but I will need to get more money before leaving Kampala for Western U and the Rwenzori. I also have to pay at the hostel for the remainder of my tour in the Rwenzori and for my trip from the airport.

(Coffee in the hostel a disapointment after small strong Ethiopian coffee)

So I figured out how to get money from the ATM!

Traffic drives on the left but for safety don't left or right but 360 degrees and to cross the road find a local crossing the road and shadow them. Boda bodas go everywhere including sometimes on the sidewalks where there are some. Traffic flows like water but with few rules except taking the path of least resistance.
Power off & I didn't feel like reading by candlelight. Introduced myself to Joe who was temporarily by himself and we talked for a couple of hours about rafting on the Nile, politics in his home country of India, travel to Turkey & Istanbul, walking the Camino, Mountain rescue with helicopters etc.

                                                                                                       Joe

Jan. 6 - talked a bit more with Joe. He is a helicopter pilot with the Indian military flying for the UN in the Congo as part of the Indian commitment to the UN. Transporting supplies, medical evacs etc. His chopper took a bullet once but not in a vital spot. I think when I come back from the Rwenzori this will be a good place to base myself from as they organize rafting trips form here and I can do tours in Kampala from here as well & just walk & explore & hangout. Talked to Haffie & paid what I owed & she arranged a taxi for me to the bus park after hearing that I was afraid of the boda boda. Packed away what I wasn't taking with me.

Got to the Link bus at the Bus park & it was intense.

Multiple vendors walking the aisles selling drinks, fruit, papers, bread, jewelry etc. Took a pic out the window as we were leaving & a guy got quite unhappy and excited.

Turned my camera off and put it in my pocket and he wasn't much happier.

Trip was about 7 hours (25,000 shillings = $12) with a nice young guy next to me & some salesman using the bus sound system to pitch medicine etc for 2-3 hours. Then gospel music for the rest of the trip. Driver slowed down for chimpanzees on the side of the road. Saw a boda boda (small older motorcycle with a live pig trussed up and strapped to the luggage rack) Lots of tea plantations as we got closer to Kalase. From Kalase I took a private hire car to Kilembe hostel over a homemade bridge. I was impressed that he got it over the homemade bridge without destroying the car (2 wheel drive Toyota) and wants to come back to give me a ride when I need it.

Relax at the hostel and chat with Jakob and Mathilde from Denmark. They tell me that the ATM withdrawal limit seems to be only for Stanbic bank and not Barclay's which is great and simplifies my life. Yeah!
1,000 m elevation gain first day trekking - trail sucks. 1,100 m on the second day & I am not feeling good. Elevation compounded with something else? The Danes, Mathilde & Jakob, seem to be having health issues too but mine seem to be worse. I have very little appetite the last few days so there may be something interacting with the altitude which by itself shouldn't be having too great an effect on me. Joshua says the next camp is 400 m higher (4,100m)  and about 4 hours away. Sounds attractive but I will see how I feel in the morning. If I feel worse it will not be easy to come down quickly as the trail is steep and rough. Hang around a campfire w/Mathilde & Jakob.

 Porters getting ready to eat

my guide Joshua

Camp 2 a bit more than 3,700 m

Got up next morning not feeling great. Had porridge for breakfast & in a few minutes vomitted it back up. I'm going down. Will take 3 days to come down what I came up in 2 days but I am unsteady and it is not the kind of trail to come down carelessly. Joshua says they have carried heavier guys than me down but that is an experience I would prefer to avoid.  Descend 600 m slowly w/o problems except a fall which gives me some rib pain.

Is the term "planned adventure" an oxymoron?

Friday January 10 - This camp is perched on a ridge & very windy with a loose tarp that is quite noisy and amplifies the noise of the wind.

I think I may have stomach flu - not much eatting and lots of crapping. I remembered I had cypro with me so took one and hope they will help me over the next 3 days. We are going down at after lunch & Joshua has lent me Darkness at Noon to read. I think I will send him Montaigne's Essays. A young Norwegian couple came into camp in the late afternoon. They have been to the summit and are hurrying down as she has only a few more days in Uganda before she has to go home to work and wants to go to Queen Elizabeth park and see the hippos and other large animals. They are both tired and this isn't good as this is he kind of trail that you have to look at to make sure you don't tumble so you don't see as much scenery as you might on one of our "park" trails. I'm usually looking at my boots and the next metre or so of trail. The guides are friendly and helpful but there isn't a lot of social interaction and I learned more of Uganda on my bus trip from Kampala.

NOTE - Taking pictures in Ethiopia was rarely a problem but much different in Uganda. Usually I ask permission of taking a picture of an individual but not a crowd but in Uganda many/most people don't like having their pictures taken. I'm told this is because they believe tourists will take their pictures and then sell the pictures to magazines. Who knows but I am very careful to ask permission when taking pictures or take them very unobtrusively.

My continuing African trip

Tuesday was a quiet day w/Baye and Linnea helping me take care of minor errands. Met for breakfast at John Cafe with a very friendly hostess

 If I ever get back to Lalibela John Cafe is probably the first place I will go back to.


and bought some souvenirs there as well. Got some cash from the bank but not able to use my bank card. I had to get a cash advance on my Visa credit card.Bought some replacement shoes for my damaged boots and bought some souvenirs and mailed them home. Tiny poor post office but the young "postie" seemed quite efficient. met Mallie & Harry at breakfast. Expat teachers from New Zealand.Changed hotels. Went to dinner at Ben Abeba Restaurant -

food was good with a varied menu but the architecture was completely amazing and like nothing I have ever seen before. Chatted with Susan for a while with Susan, a Scottish woman a few years older than me who is a co-owner & co-manager. On the way home Harry was very unhappy with the cost of the transportation (which he misunderstood). he got out and took his wife with him. His problem not mine.

Jan. 2 - I went with a different guide (licenced to guide in Lalibela) to see the rock-hewn churches which were crowded with pilgrims and tourists with more to come. Churches were like nothing I have ever seen before. Churches were massive and carved downwards from ground level.

The modern roof above is to protect the church. These churches are believed to have been built in the 12th and 13th Centuries.

Above is a religious ceremony which I didn't understand. It involved pilgrims and related, I believe, to the coming Christmas which is celebrated in Ethiopia in early January as their calendar is not ours.

Detail from within one of the Lalibelan rock hewn churches

Some pictures of the most distinctive of the rock hewn churches which give a sense of the scale of the churches. There is a belief that these churches were built when pilgrimages to Jerusalem became too difficult because of the growth of Islam. Christianity goes back to at least the 4th Century AD and possibly the 1st Century AD.


The amount of faith required to do the work sustained over decades is hard to comprehend & this is still a religious nation. Witness the many many pilgrims, not all of whom were Ethiopians. Saw blind people including one blonde middle aged woman being helped around by a local guide. Praying for a miracle?

Feeling overwhelmed with old churches I decided to not do an afternoon tour but to hang out. After a relaxing lunch w/Baye and Linnea I mailed some postcards and got some money. Baye picked up a small flashlight for me and I went back to John's Cafe and bought a small wooden cross as a further souvenir. Linnea and I hung out while Baye did an errand.We were going down to our hotels when I went over to Elleni at John's Cafe to thank her for her hospitality. She pulled me over to the souvenir shop and told me to take something. I took a scarf and thanked her again. If I come back this is the first place I will come back to! We went over to the Old Abyssian for dinner which was quiet with incredible views. One last shoulder dance with beautiful young woman & back to my hotel for an early night to bed and an early ride to the airport. The possibility exists of a wedding invitation in the future.

Jan. 4 - Baye dropped me off at the Lalibela airport for an uneventful trip to Addis.Got a ride to the office of Tesfa Tours where I picked up the gear I had stashed there & had a nice chat with Mark Chapman the owner of Tesfa Tours. They found me a taxi and negotiated a good price for a ride to the Caravan Hotel. The hotel was very nice but like the others I have stayed at in Ethiopia had plumbing issues.I had a shower but the tub drain was closed and I couldn't figure out how to open it so the tub didn't drain. The shower head was a nice design to allow variability of the shower height & direction but there was a piece missing and it didn't work. The shower curtain was closed but the bathroom floor still ended up covered with water. Ethiopia needs more skilled crafts people like plumbers.

Got to the airport and found out I couldn't change all my birr so ended up buying some more souvenirs. Not what I planned. However a helpful Ethiopia Air ticket agent helped me make a change on my ticket from Kampala to London at a much lower cost than shown on the internet. Very good news. Flight was delayed from 10:55 to noon to 6 Pm to 8 Pm and lifted off at 8:45. Very frustrating especially as there was no one who could speak to the problem or give us good information as to what was actually happening. I think the airline officials actually avoided us as many of the passengers were getting very angry. Had a coffee with three other passengers who were waiting and they turned out all to be UN workers in Uganda. All were African and it was an interesting conversation. One spoke of cycling to school in Nova Scotia in the winter when he was so bundled up that you couldn't tell he was African! They warned me to be very very careful in Uganda of the boda bodas which are small motorcycles used to get around in Uganda. One of the UN workersAlso a problem communicating with the person who was to pick me up at Entebbe airport as I couldn't get good info as to when my flight was arriving as I couldn't get that information. Many times the waiting passengers on my flight would find an airline employee who gave information that turned out to be wrong. Very frustrating.

Next update >>> Uganda!

Further travels in Ethiopia

Dec. 27  Said goodbye to Ryan & Lance and will send some info on Ugandan community based tourism to Baye. They seem to have people stay more in villages than in Ethiopia > more $ for the villages. After Ryan & Lance left we had a short stiff walk. steep downhill with some exposure & quite rocky. Got to the guesthouse and found the part of the sole of my boot was coming off. I taped it back on with Duct tape. Not sure it will last. Tomorrow it is downhill then up 700  m then flat - an early start. When we stopped for coffee this AM wood that was burning on the little burner was frankinsence. Smelled nice. The broken shoe seems somehow part of the whole African experience. Hope it holds together.

So here I am relaxing on a bed high in the Ethiopian highlands relaxing. 4 more days of trekking before Lalibela and my boot is held togetethr with duct tape.the same boot I will need for trekking in the Rwenzori mtns. I don't know how long the boot will last or where I will get a replacement. I stink & have no clean clothes. A shower tomorrow - a bucket of water and a pitcher - and laundry, hopefully, when I get to Lalibela. All is good. My mattress is 3 - 4 inches thick pad on a concrete slab & I am sleeping fine. Maybe an expensive mattress has less to do with a good night's sleep than I have been told.

Sitting on a bench in the dusk overlooking rural Ethiopian farms. Baye says there is a place in lalibela where I can get replacement shoes which I am sure I will need. Something will work out and I hope the Rwenzori will work out.
 
Lalibela - shower, internet, laundry, shoes, organize Q E Park tour? Ethiopian Air change?
Hyenas in the night.

Dec. 29 - gained about 700 m. I'm slow and wondering about the Rwenzori. At the top of a plateau we took a break and I saw a group of baboons including some young ones. took some pics without getting too close.

 Passed thru some more farming activity along the way to our lunch spot. Children not as outgoing & saw some toddlers with flies in their eyes. Baye says we will get to the guesthouse early and have time to relax. Young guys on the hillside & teen guys with us scamper about the hillside. I PLOD. Baye says I am definitely not the worst & by my performance he ages me at 42. Young children (8 yrs old?) herding animals. I now better understand clothes for Africa though I am curious about the process. Most of the day to day wear is tattered & crudely repaired with old guys wearing old suit jackets and a variety of inadequate footwear. Most men about my height and totally lean.

At the lunch stop I saw a guy loudly jumping down a steep hillside. I wondered why and wandered to the edge of the escarpment. Turns out he was scaring a group of baboons who had been eating the locals chickpeas crop. Baboons here - deer in Canada.
Watching the goats reminded me how much goats & farmyard scenes were included in cartoons of my youth but probably no longer part of popular culture. 3 more days of trekking.
? - Next day - Easy 17 k although at first the young guys had problems w/donkey that had a mind of its own. It threw my pack to the ground

but the only thing breakable was my tablet which I don't care about so it is fine I am sure. Easy walk over relatively flat & open farmland. Saw more baboons- a group of about 20 all ages plus two adult males. I am relaxing this afternoon & Baye has gone to town to charge his phone. I have been gently educated at several points that it is not for me to carry my own daypack or jacket or water bottle. That it is someone's job and they are happily willing to do it. Two more days and I hope my boots make it.
I saw lamagarands (quite large birds). Baye is reorganizing so we go into Lalibela a day earlier than planned which will work better for both of us.

From  ___________ village guesthouse.  After dinner several of us (I was the only guest) sat around camp fire in the guest house shoulder dancing - me included - to Baye's singing & a beat kept on an empty plastic water container. Later a selection of music was played on a cell phone. I went to bed with lots of blankets as there is a wind & my hut is drafty & high - 3,400 m. Plans change and all is good.
 
Next Day - Last night we heard hyenas & imitated them & Baye was careful to show me how to bolt my door from the inside so I went to bed thinking that hyenas roamed the camp during the night. I woke up during the night sure that I heard them. I woke up in the morning and found I was quite wrong. I woke up quite warm  though as took all the blankets from the double bed and put them on my bed. Program for today is light. The people at my guest house will do my laundry. There is evidently limited laundry facilities in Lalibela & this will be more convenient. We are going to walk over & see an elementary & secondary school. Baye has been talking to his girlfriend & we will have dinner with her and she will come with us to a monastery.
Also we are going to lalibela a day early which is fine with me as there are several things I would like to do in addition to seeing the stone churches. Wandered around this AM before everyone got going thinking of things/changes to do after I get home. Set up for student renter, fix roof, fix window etc etc Think about changes to my life!

An easy day and a good one. The women here

did my laundry & it is drying here on the woodpile. Baye and I walked into town. He put his phone to charge & we went to Helen's birthday party at her home. helen is now 2 years old & her friends and family were stopping in to celebrate. I had a glass of homemade beer - barley & hops only - and after showing helen her picture

 I stepped back across to where I was sitting and stepped on my glasses and broke them. I don't like my spare pair but am glad that I have them. A good afternoon. Tomorrow Lalibela and some errands & old churches. Cold & windy tonight. I am under 4 blankets & liking it. Neither the door or window are at all draftproof & the candle flickers and may go out. Talk after dinner of Sweden & ethiopia w/Baye & Klaus the IT entrepreneur/Mountain runner.

Dec. 31 - so far an interesting day. Chatted with Klaus this AM before he ran off. Interesting guy.

A researcher in IT who got his PhD & started a software company15 years ago. Sucessful and now less in the operating side and looks for long distance mountain runs for holidays. We talked of Ethiopia and he was thinking of what he might do to help Ethiopian tourism.  Afterwards we walked into town to catch our ride to lalibela but first we went to market to buy Baye's mom a sheep for Christmas. Several hundred people, at least,

on a hillside & I follow Baye and someone else going from farmer to farmer squeezing and lifting sheep which should be around 800 birr ($40) but because of the coming Christmas season are around 1,100 birr ($55). Baye settles on one and the other guy hoists it on to his shoulders

and we walk back up to the highway where I buy the sheep carrier a beer.  Our ride comes and we toss our packs in the back as well as the trussed up sheep in the back of the Land Rover. Driving to Lalibela we drop off the sheep at Baye's mom's place to the delight of his sister and niece.

Driving here is interesting as the road is shared with large numbers of pedestrians of all ages, some carrying heavy burdens, shiny Toyota Land Cruisers with tourists, small very full buses, trucks, goats, sheep, donkeys and cattle. The horn is in frequent use, not to express irritation or frustration, but to warn people of our approach. So I get to Lalibela and check into my hotel and have lunch and we are off to a monastery church 42 k out if Lalibela. On the way out of town I see the Ben Abeba restaurant looking incredible on a hillside.

Ben Abeba restaurant is in the background. I' with Baye (behind me), Linnea (to my left) and fellow travellers met in Lalibela.

Ben Abeba is run by an older scottish woman and her business partner an Ethiopian.

42k to the monastery of, at times, quite hairy mtn driving. Monastery was old, in some ways powerful & unlike anything I have seen before. Forgot to mention that Linnea, Baye's swedish fiance was with us. She is very nice, smart & attractive & is working hard to learn Amharic. Problems with the hotel over a quote on rates they don't want to live up to so we all move on the next day.

Baye and Linnea above


When we were talking to town this morning we overtook about 15 men taking turns carrying an improvised litter with someone who was ill or injured on it. I have no idea whether they will be able to get the help they need in the village on the highway.
I have flea bites from the bed in the last guesthouse and on the drive to lalibela I saw a tree bent on the riverside and a goat in the tree.