I woke up still with 44km to go until the border town of Galabat. I wish I could tell you what happened in those 30 miles but I can't as my day and memories have been taken up by the first impressions of Ethiopia.
In Galabat I tried to get rid of my Sudanese pounds by buying some dry food and a few drinks. This worked well and I ended up enjoying some food with the shopkeeper for free. Despite the curry sauce blowing my head off, my belly was full and I proceeded to the first of 3 custom areas.
I bumped into 4 dutch guys that were going through the same process but they had land rovers so no cycling buddys unfortunately. Firstly I had to get a stamp to say I was leaving, then onto the next building where I filled out a form to say I was leaving. This took around half an hour but I had to get a wriggle on as the border was closing in 10minutes.
I then good robbed blind when I changed my remaining pounds to Ethiopian Birr which was always going to happen. The man gave me half the exchange rate and then had second thoughts as if he was losing out and tried to get his money back as I crossed the border. I was having none of it and just carried on walking the 20metres into Metema (Ethiopia) and he couldn't stop me. I needed at least a few Birr for my first couple of days.
I don't know what his problem was as it was literally a few quid but I suppose what was a tiny difference to me, was a huge difference to him, I still lost out a lot! As I entered Ethiopian customs he couldn't get past and I met up again with the Dutch guys as they were always a step ahead. They had a helper, I just asked the army.
It took a little longer to get through Ethiopian customs as the technology was visibly better. We needed to scan our fingers and thumbs and they actually used computers to record our details instead of pens and paper. After this I had one final check where I had to unpack Nigel to show them I wasn't smuggling any RPG's and then I was away and free to roam in Ethiopia!
The whole process from Sudan to Ethiopia lasted just over an hour and I left the Dutch guys at the border as I cycled into my 16th country! Metema was instantly different, lined with colour and bars and big flashy signs I immediately felt more of a buzz. Although not completely English speaking, the greetings turned to "hello" and "hey" and a few signs of "Dave's club" and "St George's bar" made it seem like I was cycling through a lads holiday resort.
As I got out the otherside of Metema the best two words to describe Ethiopia compared to Sudan and Egypt are colour and wildlife. The women are all dressed in bright colours and the men are no longer in plain gowns. The colour of the landscape became a rich, darker green with purple and yellow flowers and everything was more lush and bushier. The amount of different species of birds instantly increased and the noise was much louder and noticeable. My ear plugs officially broke beyond repair (a day and a half they lasted) so I was left with no music other than the sound of crickets and birds singing or laughing as one bird sounded like.
Ironically the road kill made me aware of the life I would have to expect in Ethiopia as I cycled past a dead jackal and then a porcupine. Both can be quite vicious creatures so I had to be away aware of the African dog and African hedgehog when I wild camped.
The villages were completely different. The buildings were mainly made from wood and every building looked the same. There was no obvious market or shop as you may at least find a building with a counter or a sign outside in Sudan. Due to this fact you have no choice but to fully submerge yourself into the village to get what you want. This I did and I believe it helped me to get used to a very diverse country a lot quicker than if I just tried to buy food and keep myself to myself.
My first stop in a village called Meka saw me get led to the "Beauty house" of food by a local and I sat with around 6 others to eat lunch. Their standard food is injera (phonetic spelling) which is best describe as a giant pancake with different currys and sauces that you use your hands to mix around. The pan cake has a bubbly/rubbery texture, its very nice but it does feel exactly like eating a bath mat. There were 4 different vegetable curry's and some piccalilli which I wolfed down.
I sat and had coffee with them also and I am going to say that it was the best coffee I have ever tasted. I can't compare it with many coffees as I really don't like coffee and I'm not just saying this because of the experience of being in Ethiopia. I'm not just saying this because I was thirsty and I'm not even rating this coffee against nescafe back home. I'm rating this coffee as a drink in its own right up against fanta and beer and this coffee was very good!
After two cups of coffee and two wedding proposals I moved on. My first stop eased my worries about Ethiopia and I happily peddled onwards through more wildlife, screaming kids and broken villages. It became quickly apparent that finding safe drinking water in Ethiopia is going to be a lot harder. There were not shops in every village and even then not all of them sold bottled water. There were no pots in shelters like in Sudan and the state of the rivers was pretty dank.
I soon found myself gasping and had to stop again in another village called "Derek Abay" (no idea who he is!) This "shop" was more like their house and I had a couple of cokes (probably from their family fridge) and then the mother poured some water into my bottle. I decided to save it and purify it later. I feel a little stuck up purifying the water that the locals have to drink constantly but I'm going to try and hold back the toilet monsters for as long as I can, especially as there are meant to be other little monsters to deal with in Ethiopia!
After two good stops I felt fully in the Ethiopian lifestyle. I just needed to find a good place to camp and I would put today down as one of my best days. Finding somewhere secluded is impossible, there are kids farming everywhere so I just wanted to find somewhere quiet. I chose a spot off the main road by a track that ran alongside a grassy field. The grass was high, about 5 feet and although I could hear voices and laughs I couldn't see where they were coming from so I just decided to pitch up.
After setting up the tent and preparing to cook dinner I was spotted by two lads. They were covered in bits of field as they had been sithing there way through the crops. I said hello with a big smile, (always the best greeting) and received the same back. I had had a long day and all I wanted to do was get some rest. One guy was great, he said goodbye and walked away but the other one had a problem. He kept looking at my tent and shaking his head and just wouldn't leave me alone. He tried to tell me that I was in a dangerous position by the track and so he cut an opening in the middle of a field and sliced down a crop circle for me to stay there. I humoured him and said thank you and got up and moved all my things into the circle.
Still just wanting to start dinner, his friend left again after helping cut the circle yet he stayed. Just standing and staring at me, I knew he wanted something. I didn't give him money but I gave him some noodles. I knew he may go if he had at least something to take away. He annoyed me as I knew his intentions from the start and I just wanted to eat and sleep, I was exhausted. This is clearly not possible in Ethiopia and so lesson learned, stay in hotels from now on if you want some respite from constant attention.
I found myself with no dinner and in the middle of a thick field where the noise was deafening. To say I had jumped into Ethiopia with both feet was an understatement and I don't think anybody can deny that I had embraced the country I've been most worried about with everything I had.
Another crazy day, hard work on the body and mind and I could tell Ethiopia was not going to be easy. My worries had all been eased though and I thought the kids were great if I interacted with them. This was easier said than done as there were hundreds of kids and keeping up the smiles and hellos through 6 hours of tough cycling is not something anybody is used to. Their constant "you, you, yous" can get very annoying as well and without my music I would have to put monumental efforts of patience in just to keep sane and keep moving forward.
I've said it before and I think its fair to say that the one word to some up Africa is Relentless. In so many ways Africa is relentless, the question is, How strong am I to cope with it alone?
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