BootsnAll Travel Network



Archive for the 'ethiopia' Category

« Home

Ethiopia – The Roads

Tuesday, December 18th, 2007

I traveled over 5000 kilometers of roads in Ethiopia on this trip. Other than the trails I was on last year in the Congo, these are the worst roads I have seen. Aside from the minority of well-paved roads, the roads are either pothole-covered asphalt, poor gravel roads or extremely poor tracks full of ditches and rocks. Many bridges do not exist and you have to traverse through the water. Given how poor is Ethiopia, the amount of mountains and other difficult terrain that must be traversed and the rains that wash away the land, it is not much of a surprise. The big surprise to me was finding more roadway projects being worked on than I have ever seen in my life. The projects far exceed what could possible for a country with limited means. My first day out of Addis Ababa gave me a taste for the difficult roads and the construction projects going on. I met a British couple that night who are living in Ethiopia and were just finishing their loop by road of the northern sites. She complained about how Ethiopia needs to spend money on education and not roads. I said that the roads are so bad that they need to upgrade their infrastructure as well as education if they are going to joing the 21st Century. I did not understand what I was talking about!

[read on]

Ethiopia – The Hotels and Food

Tuesday, December 18th, 2007

In a brief description I can only say that the hotels in Ethiopia SUCK. The worst places I have ever seen overall and one in particular in Konso was the worst place I have ever slept (see another story for this one’s details and the one with rats). Most of the hotels I stayed in are owned the government and they take government services and properties to a new low in my mind. None of the employees are competent and it shows in every respect. From the poor food and poor services to the rooms that are filthy and falling apart. Ethiopians know nothing about maintaining anything. The only two things that I saw well-maintained in the country were the vehicles I drove in (thankfully). Every government room I was in was falling apart. Many of them had plumbing problems including drains that did not drain. They often turn off the water during the day, but they provide each bathroom with a bucket of water to make this OK! All of the hotels look like they are straight out of the 1970s. The Ghion in Addis Ababa is the best of the lot yet I was amazed to hear that it was refurbished recently given that it, too, looks like it was from the 1970s and it has maintenance issues.

[read on]

Ethiopia – The Children

Tuesday, December 18th, 2007
The children are everywhere in Ethiopia even moreso than in other African countries. Each time we would pull over on a road, kids would appear as if they were coming out of the rocks rather than the woodwork. Each ... [Continue reading this entry]

ethiopia – the farms

Monday, December 17th, 2007
The farms are everywhere in Ethiopia. The mountainsides are steep and rocky, but Ethiopians have built amazing terraces with those rocks and they are planting everywhere. The main crops are grains including barley, wheat, maize and sorghum, but the ... [Continue reading this entry]

Ethiopia – The Churches and Monasteries

Monday, December 17th, 2007
As I wrote earlier, this is a land of 37,000+ Ethiopian Orthodox churches. It also has a lot of mosques and other Christian sect churches, but I was not hear to look at them. Of the 37,000, three hundred are ... [Continue reading this entry]

Feeling Dirty In Ethiopia

Monday, December 17th, 2007
This is the dirtiest country I have visited. There is dust everywhere. A few days ago we drove through Konso town and I commented on how the government should pave the road in that town since so much dust ... [Continue reading this entry]

Ethiopia – Land of Beauty Filled with People of Faith

Monday, December 17th, 2007
Ethiopia is not a destination for newcomers to the impoverished world. It would break you in two very quickly. This is the poorest country and the most broken country I have visited so far. Now I know the image in ... [Continue reading this entry]

Quick Ethiopia Update

Wednesday, December 5th, 2007
I came to Ethiopia because I thought it would be different than everywhere else on earth.  I am absolutely sure of that now that I have completed the northern circuit which took me to the historical, cultural and holy sites ... [Continue reading this entry]

Ethiopia

Thursday, November 29th, 2007
That's where I am.  I still have more Kenya and Uganda stories, but they will come out in some order that will probably be confusing.  You'll survive!  Ethiopia is... WEIRD!  But that's for another blog entry in the future.  The ... [Continue reading this entry]