Day 2 Driving from Addis to Kombolcha
Estimated Travel Time: 10 hours, Approximate Distance: 376 km
I woke up with a headache, this time I couldn't blame it on the altitude. I was late for breakfast so I just grabbed something I thought was a Pancake. It was spongy and had a sour and fermented taste. I sent some ugly thoughts to the breakfast chef who i believed was incompetent in making something easy as an pancake (Later on I found out that this was my first taste of injera the national dish of Ethiopia, It is made from the tiny grain, teff. In making injera, teff flour is mixed with water and allowed to ferment for several days).
Today it was a fully day drive across the Shoan Plateau, the largest area of continuous altitude on the whole continent of Africa. Roadside views included fields of teff and barley, shepherds, with sheep, goats and cattle, and Amhara women in their pleated highland skirts.
In the afternoon we had panoramic views across fringes of the Rift Valley. When we got down from the plateau we travelled through the tribal areas of the nomadic Afar people and other Somalian tribes. They are known for their fearless warrior mentality so I felt a bit uneasy. Suddenly the road was blocked by a group of exited armed men, they were shouting and jumping with their AK47's in the air, they surrounded our buss. My first thought was of the kidnapping scenarios at the Red Sea. Then I realized that most of them where smiling, f***i told us that they were celebrating a wedding and they were hoping of getting a contribution from the few passing vehicles. I went spastic with my camera and they did not seem to mind.
We arrived at our hotel in Kombolcha in the evening. The town was dark an empty, strangely the place was full of small bars, we went in to one of the quieter ones and had an 30 euro-cent beer. Did you get that, the beer in Etiophia is only like 2,50 NOK, and the beer is excellent! The waiter was an pain in the as do, after paying the beer, he constantly said that we should give him money, not like begging but just like "give me money". His language skills where not the best good so he could not explain why we should give him money, he just said he wanted money. Sadly this occurred often on the rest of the whole trip, some adult and kids just rudely shouted give money in a demanding way.