Just a quick post to let you all know that after two days on the bus from Lalibela (and two days on the bus from Gonder to Lalibela) I’m back in Addis Ababa. I had Nachos Ole for dinner, yum. I’ve lost a bit of weight in Ethiopia, for lack of anything I want to eat outside of the capital. That’s why it was so funny today when the man eating at my table at lunch told me (repeatedly) how fat I am. It’s funny how I’ve gotten used to being called “so fat” right to my face. I laughed and told him my pants were falling off but it didn’t quite translate.

I’m working on my Madagascar itinerary (tips are welcome!) and once I book a ticket and coordinate the inane five day drive to Nairobi I will be out of here. I’ve been slowly updating the gallery so check in if you like. I will post when everything is finally online. For those of you keeping track, my package from Egypt just arrived back in Chicago—sea mail took less than one month. My brother will be happily smoking his new sheesha soon.

Tonight is my thrid night in Bahir Dar. The minibus came to my hotel in Addis at 3am (one hour early) and after a quick rush to get things together I ended up sitting on the bus until 4:30, when we finally left town. Although the sunrise was really beautiful over a patchwork of green fields I was too tired to appreciate any of it’s beauty.

We arrived in Bahir Dar at 2:30 but I didn’t get a room until 5:15. It was so ridiculous, waiting around that long, that I thought I might be on candid camera. Add to the frustration a lingering case of flu and no sleep and you get one angry Megan. Once I was given a room someone was already in it so I was told to wait while another room’s key was found. Twenty minutes later I stormed up to the front desk to find all of the staff laying around with no intentions of giving me a key. And to top it off the shower was not only not hot, but it was ice cold.

So my time here didn’t start off well and today I was completely undwhelmed by the monasteries I saw on Lake Tana. The first was one was from the 80’s… the 1980’s! I can only assume the boat drover got a comission for taking us there. The second monastery we stopped at only allowed men so three of us gentle folk sat around for an hour while the two men on our boat saw “the most beautiful monastery ever.”

The third monastery was fairly interesting and had the added bonus of a funeral outside so our tour was accompanied by a lot of wailing and chanting. On the way back the boat driver decided to bypass the other monastery we were supposed to visit and pretended to have no idea what I was talking about when I questioned him.

I’m happy to get out of this town tomorrow morning. It might take a few hours of waiting around to secure a spot on a minibus for the three hour ride north to Gonder but I think staying in Bahir Dar any longer will only further my “mood.”

It’s been raining and gloomy for the past four days here in Addis Ababa. On the afternoon we arrived back from Southern Ethiopia I started to feel unwell and by dinnertime I had a fever and runny nose. I braved it out for a while, resisting the urge to panic and assume it’s malaria—according to my guidebook malaria presents with flu-like symptoms.

By the third day I was getting worse and dropped into the hospital to see what was wrong. After I paid 35 bir for the consultation I was told to sit and wait. After ten minutes I was called and brought into a second waiting room where fifty locals sat with their eyes glued to CNN. It was amusing being there with so many people who most likely didn’t speak English, watching the weather report for the US.

Within one hour I had my blood pressure and weight (but not temperature) checked by a nurse and was examined by a nice English-speaking doctor. After I agreed to try the local raw meat dish he proclaimed that my lack of appetite was not because I don’t like Ethiopian food… it was because I had the flu. Apparently there’s been a bad strain of flu going around here for the past two months and I’m it’s latest victim.

After a few days of medicine and sitting around watching DVDs from the rental shop next door to my hotel I’m feeling a little better. Today the sun is shinning, I had banana bread for breakfast and I found a minibus to Bahir Dar tomorrow for 100 bir less than my hotel was charging. I’ve managed a measily one gallery of photo uploads for you guys—The Mursi. Enjoy!

We arrived back in Addis yesterday afternoon among a steam of soot-spewing trucks in a traffic jam. When I first arrived I didn’t realize how poluted the air is here, but I guess it was fresh compared to Cairo.

I wasn’t feeling well last night but woke up refreshed and after a nice (hot!) shower my Omo Valley travel mates and I left for some shopping. We started at the merkato, which had little to offer but they both bought clay coffee sets. Then I sat back and watched as they raced around town buying as much as they could carry. I didn’t buy anything but did fall in love with the wooden chairs here. In any case I have an idea of what the prices are and what’s available. I might pick up something before I leave the country but I just can’t fit anything into my bag. I might have to start throwing away clothes… my Indian-made shirts are starting to fall apart anyway.

Down in the Omo Valley I bought a small carved gourd container and a Hamer headrest at the Dimeka market and a clay Mursi lip plate in Jinka. They won’t fit in my bag either. Sometimes I think that I shouldn’t buy anything but the things here are so amazing that it’s hard to resist. Everything, including the chairs, are a fraction of what they would cost at home even after shipping.

Amongst the shopping frenzy we squeezed in The National Museum to see Lucy’s bones and had a tour around the famous church which I promptly forgot the name of. The church itsel wasn’t interesting but the guide gave a demonstration of the singing and instruments used.

My two travelmates are flying up North tomorrow so I will once again be on my own. You know I’m heading straight for the Tex-Mex resturaunt. For someone who doesn’t like to experiment with food I’ve eaten a lot of Ethiopian food so far. Last night we went to a great Ethiopian resturaunt and I actually like the fasting shinto I ordered. But I admit, injera still leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

Before Easter it was no problem—Orthodox Christians were fasting for 55 days so I got vegetarian food. I’m not a vegetarian but I don’t eat nearly as much meat abroad. It’s usually tough or fatty or sitting out in the sun. In Ethiopia’s case much of it is served raw. Unfortunately, after Easter they get a 14-day free pass to eat as much animal products as they like so many resturaunts don’t serve the “fasting food” on Wednesdays and Fridays like usual. Easter morning we were told we would be served meat and were presented with a plate full of plain roasted meat, and only meat. I can’t say I ate much of it.

Once I feel rested I will head North to start “the historical circuit.” I plan to catch a bus to Bahir Dar first to see the monasteries around Lake Tana. You can imagine my frustration that the best ones are off limits to women. The internet connections are slow here so I’m afraid that uploading photos might not be possible until I reach Nairobi but I will see what I can do.

My Southern journey is almost over—I’ve arrived in Awasa and expect to get back to Addis Ababa tomorrow afternoon. During my trip around the South I saw zebras, hippos and massive birds. I drove by a naked boy painted white walking on stilts and was kissed by a teenage Hamer girl at a traditional Hamer night dance.

My patience was tested by kids yelling “youYouYOU!” and by others asking for water bottles. I taught two little kids in Tingri how to do one-handed cartwheels on Easter after driving around for four hours unsuccessfully trying to find a Jumping of the Bulls ceremony. At the Dimeka market I made a friend named Galteh who asked me why I was wearing so many clothes.

Overall—despite the food, crummy hotels, crummier roads, biting flies and constant request for money—it was an amazing experience. I spent well over twice my target budget but reaching these last remaining traditional tribes was more than worth it.