EA IV: Christmas in the Simien Mountains

We posted a picture from our Christmas Eve camping trip to the Simien Mountains in an earlier post, but here are a few more. I'll start with my favourite -- my best from the mountains, I think, and maybe one of the best photos I've ever taken:



I don't think I've ever properly used the term "awesome" before we visited these mountains. It was truly awe-inspiring.

The morning of Christmas Eve, our regular guide, Seyoum, handed us off to another group for the trip. We had a driver, a guide, and a couple of extra guys in the back; we weren't sure of their roles. The van was fully loaded with gear or people in and under every seat and tied to the roof rack.

We drove from Gondar along a very twisty bumpy gravel road for a couple of hours until we arrived at Debark, a tiny town near the entrance to the Simien Mountains National Park. There we stopped for lunch and made arrangements in the park for a an armed scout to accompany us (a park regulation requires it) as well as an "official" park guide. Altogether we were a group of eight.


We all piled back into the van and continued on a smaller, rougher and twistier road into the park. After about another hour, the van pulled over and Jason and I got out of the van with our guide, the park guide and the scout. The van would carry on to the campsite with our gear, and we would hike the rest of the way.

And what a hike! Holy dinah! The path was a bit frightening (for me, Wendy) in that we strolled along some fairly precipitous cliffs, but oh so beautiful.



Although the terrain we hiked was not particularly difficult, we did find it rather rough going in the altitude after living at sea level for the past five months. I kind of pooh-poohed the idea of altitude problems, thinking that we're strong healthy kids, but uphill climbs were particularly hard -- after any exertion it felt impossible to catch your breath and we had to rest every few minutes when climbing. The guide were understanding, if mildly amused.

The scout had been carrying a traditional Ethiopian lunchbox (kind of a woven circular container with a strap) and we were surprised with what our guide said was a travelling lunch of sambusa (delicious!), bananas, boiled potatoes and eggs. It was so nice to sit amongst the trees, admiring the view, eating sambusa. Best. Lunch. Ever.

Here's some video footage of the scenery, which was too large to fit into a single camera frame:



Our scout, Desalega Admasu, was armed with a kalashnikov, which he'd had, he told us, since the war with Eritrea. The park's list of "wild animals we might see" didn't include anything that sounded overly carniverous, so it was a bit unclear as to why he had it (fend off angry baboons?).

Desalega didn't speak any English, but through our guide's translation, he said something vague about hyenas, not that we saw any. But he was an interesting guy to have around. He later showed us his war wounds -- a bullet scar in his chest, and more scars, possibly from shrapnel, in his leg. He seemed pleased when Jason told him he must be very brave.

The scout

When we arrived at our camp, we discovered the true luxury of travelling on a tour. Our tent was already set up, with blankets in it and our gear right outside. AND, it turned out two of those extra guys in the van were the cook and his assistant!

Seriously! We went camping with a chef!

So when we clambered over the last ridge into the camp area, the group had set up a folding camp table with to folding canvas stools, and hot Ethiopian coffee and tea were waiting for us. What a way to finish a day's hike!

Here's the view from the camp:



And here's the outhouse. Talk about a loo with a view! But it DID make a girl rather nervous to use after dark!



That evening, the chef and his assistant worked over a campstove for hours and made us a special Christmas dinner, with fancy fish and rice and even a big cake-sized bread that had "Merry Xmas Wendy and Jason" written on the top in ropes of dough.

I know! Camping with a chef! Now THAT's the way to camp, if you ask me.

We sat around the fire with a handful of other campers, sang a few Christmas carols (the Ethiopians sang some, too, although the Orthodox Christmas wasn't until Jan. 7, so they weren't celebrating.)

And it was cooooold! Well, cold by the standards that we're used to: it was close to freezing. But since we don't have any proper winter clothing, it seemed especially cold. Our tour guide lent Jason and I jackets, but all we had were our sandals, and the weather was rather brisk for sandals, even with socks!

In the morning, we woke just after sunrise to find hot coffee waiting for us and the chef just waiting for us to throw the eggs in the frypan. Really roughing it, ha ha.

We took a short hike in the morning while the rest of the crew packed up the van, and then we headed back down the bumpy road to Gondar.

Here's our group:



Back row: Jason, chef assistant chef Eyayaw Bayu, driver Fikadu Mulugeta, chef Abebe Teshale, park guide Amare Shiferaw. Front row: scout Desalega Admasu, tour guide Nurhussen Agazhe, Wendy.

It was definitely a Christmas Eve we'll never forget. In all the excitement and exertion, we barely had time to remember how sad we were to have missed the holidays with our family and friends. Like how we missed this:



(sob!)