2020 Ethiopia Boris and Yammy

Anyways back to Addis, we came and then the flight home to Frankfurt and then Vancouver. We are just recovered from the jet lag. Our six weeks in Ethiopia seem a distant memory and we are getting on with our current boating venture. Once I get my sightings on to Ebird , Ethiopia will be a finished business.

We both liked the Bale Mts and the Bale Mts plateau. The air was clear and the temperatures more moderate. The Bale Mts also have the highest percentage of endemic birds in Ethiopia. There are not a lot of birds but the ones that are there are special for Ethiopia. We were very lucky to see the Simien Wolf while we were here. There are only about 200 left on the planet and we saw two.

Our bird guide's name is Bereket. He is an outstanding bird guide. He also has the roles of protector, logistics coordinator, diplomat, and bon vivant. Bereket is on the Left and on the right is our driver Engda  We were really lucky with out driver Engda. He was a very competent and safe driver. Our vehicIe is a brand new Toyota Landcruiser. If you are a Landcruiser aficionado you will notice that the body is the same body they have been building since the eighties. The vehicle is very simple and functional, not spruced up like the new vehicles you get in North America. Here are some more bird pictures.

One of our legion of fans has requested more bird pictures. Ok there are a few. More to follow.

We are staying at this guy's resort.  Hailie Gebresellassie grew up in a small mountain village in Ethiopia. He ran 10 km to school and back every school day. He was 5 ft 5 in tall and weighed 119 pounds. He became one of the most famous long distance runners in the world. In the videos I have watched he looks like a pigmy as he runs down and passes much taller long limbed runners. He has a distinctive running style, having his right arm crooked as a result of carrying his books to school every day. He won gold medals at two Olympics and won the world championships four consecutive times. He still holds some world records to this day.  Anyways his resort is great. A little above our heads but we endure.

Eleven days, about 3500 km of driving, about eight intense non stop birding days three days where we were given a break in the heat of the day and culminating in our last day in a luxury resort. Tomorrow Addis And our late flight back to Vancouver. On our first day our guide and driver picked us up early and we drove out of Addis. Our first stop a overgrazed field strewn with garbage. Immediately our guide, Bereket started a rapid fire string of identifications of wagtails , larks, pulpits and other common birds. Within minutes my head was spinning.  From there we hit three successive wetlands  and the species kept coming in  tidal wave.  Finally a lunch break then a long drive interspersed with lurching stops to identify a new species. As sunset beckoned we approached Awash National Park and our slightly run down lodge perched on the edge of a magnificent waterfall. That was day one. Quickly eat...

So we are on our birding trip, travelling down the highway to our next destination.  We come around the corner and there is a local bus pulled over to the side with all its forty or so passengers lined up along the side of the road. On the centerline of the highway a donkey is kneeling with its forelegs tucked in . He or she is staring placidly ahead with its donkey like calm. The only sign that something is wrong is the pool of blood under the donkey.  At this point someone has been dispatched to get the donkey's owner. I imagine the majority of the bus passengers own donkeys or goats or other livestock. There is no doubt the driver of the bus will have to make things right. I also imagine most of those passengers will offer their advice during the upcoming negotiations. Meanwhile the donkey stares calmly into the distance, a passenger is stroking it's long furry ear and the pool of blood continues to grow, and the donkey's life ebbs away. Heartbreaking.

Some guy told us those branches and sticks stuck on the back of trucks was to keep the tarp from flapping. Not so. It is to keep children  and others from riding on the back bumpers of the trucks. Of course I forgot to take a picture. Flying or driving around Ethiopia you quickly realize that every square foot of land is being used for something. Cultivation, grazing and wood gathering have transformed the landscape. Of course the large numbers of goats and camels have grazed everything down to the ground leaving thorny trees and bushes and cactus. Of course there are a zillion people trying to eke out a living from the land ,the same way they have been doing it for the last couple thousand years. I don"t think they would appreciate any advice I would give them on their farming practices. Today we took the public minibus from Harar to Dire Dawa. As soon as we arrived at the bus station we were grabbed and pushed into a pretty new bus, it soon became apparent they wante...

It was a pleasant enough drive . The thirty kilometers out to the camel market were mostly paved and the scenery was interesting. There were many checkpoints and at the last one we were told to pay a fee as we were entering the Somalia region of Ethiopia. As we neared the camel market the big surprise was an enormous refugee camp composed of hundreds of makeshift tents covered with pieces of plastic. There must have been thousands of people there, displaced from Somalialand. We were told strictly not to take any pictures. REFUGEE CAMP IN THE DISTANCE The camel selling ground was nothing special except for the hundreds of camels sellers and buyers milling around. All the camels had been herded here some from as far as 20 kilometers away. A lot were being sold for meat. We were told that a young attractive virgin bride could bring a price of a hundred camels. So yes women are valued in this country. Her virginity is guaranteed b...