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Diary This is Jan's diary. If you want to receive this diary by mail, write your mail on the contact form.
‹ Previous (12/10/2007) MONTH Next (2007-12-11)› ‹ Previous (2007-10-29 - Tanzania) COUNTRY Next (2007-11-24 - Ethiopia)› Kenya Mombasa (see on map) 14/11/2007:
Mombasa is a multicultural city, with influences of Arab, Swahili, Indian and European. This cultural diversity is noticed in the religious temples, schools (some of which, Koranic), in the different architectonic nuances of the buildings, in the trades, but especially in the way othe people dress, dominating the European style with Muslims completely covered with black chilabas or Indians covered with colourings veils. Also there were differences in the transport: matatus (small buses or vans) that repeated in all Africa or the tuc-tuc (motorised tricycles) that reminded me of India. Naturally, during these five days in Mombasa i have had the opportunity to know different members of the different cultures. One of the first men with whom I maintained a conversation, was a Somali who invited me to take a coffee when i was walking through the old town of Mombasa. The man, which was called Giovani, explained me that he was a Somali refugee ( the same as many others in Kenya). I showed interest in the situation of Somalia and he told me that it was still very bad, that after 18 years of war, many children have grown with a weapon in the hands, and some of them will never let go of being criminals. Then he explained me that in Somalia they are a single tribe, with a single religion and a single language, but even then there is war, because of the factions or clans and the men of the war that want to dominate the country and its riches (oil and fish). As i asked him about the future of Somalia he reminded me that at present there are Ethiopians inside the country maintaining the peace, but he was completely against, because according to him the Ethiopians were enemies in the house itself. Afterwards, while we were drinking a beer (even if he was a Muslim) he explained me something i thought was very funny. he was complaining that nowadays nothing is as before and to illustrate it he commented "before , when i was a child i remember that the chili was very strong, you ate a little and you immediately had to drink water, but nowadays its not like that, you can eat two or three without feeling at all". I assure you that in Kenya the chili still pricks, and a lot, but the poor Somali had gotten used to the hot one and ate up the chilis three by three, and he thought that they had lost the burning sensation. On the following day, the end of Indian year (2064), during which the Indian children threw fireworks and rockets, we met an Indian family that invited us ( the two of us and Sebastian) to visit two Hindu temples where there were some magnificent exhibitions of paintings on the ground made out with dust of colours, some of which were incredibly well made. It is a pity (or not) that on few days the works of art are swept, proving the fineness of the beauty and of life. The Indian family explained to us that they had never gone to India, although they kept preserving the traditions and habits of their ancestors who emigrated to Kenya at the end of the 19th century for the construction of the railway that links Nairobi with Mombasa. At all times, Alexandra appeared fascinated with the Hindu culture, making questions and showing interest on their culture, traditions, religion... I thought that maybe further on the character of Alexandra will change and she will love with the journey, the cultures, the countries, the inhabitants again... After all, it is also truth that she has always expressed (even before initiating second stage) that in general she dislikes Africa. Yesterday I met a boy of the tribe of luo (he dressed as any other black boy) that started to complain about the government explaining that the president was kikuyu and that all the important positions were occupied also by kikuyus, in a bar built with four woods and four irons. But the main problem was not this, but the corruption, the lack of work, the insecurity of the country, and the poverty ( 50% of the Kenyans live under the threshold of the poverty). Anyway, in few weeks there will be ellections in Kenya and he expects the candidate (of his tribe) to gain and to provide solutions to the problems of the country. On the other hand, when asking him about the tribes in Kenya he explained that there are 42, with quite a lot of cultural differences between them, but all friends. Finally we talked about health and Onyango explained me that in Kenya there is a lot of AIDS and that for example he knows more than 50 people that are bearers of HIV or have developed the illness. Yesterday we had decided that today mid-morning we would start to go towards Nairobi, but this morning, a man that lives in the same block of apartments as Sebastian, has presented as professor of journalism at university and has started to show interest in our journey. We have started to describe him our project, but he has interrupted us and he has told us that he would call two journalists so that they did an interview to us. While we waited for the journalists we have kept talking of our journey and afterwards on Kenya and Africa in general. Francis (like this was called) believed that the underdevelopment of Africa was caused by Europe, due to the tariffs or trade barriers. Anyway, he continued explaining that to avoid Europe, Africa is at present opening new markets among the same African countries and with Asia. Francis, also opined that the underdevelopment was bad due to the mistake of leadership and that in general the African rulers were mediocre leaders. But I have wondered whether the lack of leadership was really sufficient to maintain the countries channeled or also there was a problem of general mentality. In spite of everything, Francis was very optimistic with Africa, trusting that it was evolving in the good direction.later , while Francis explained that the Africans continue smiling in spite of the problems that confront, two photographers and two journalists from "Daily Nation" and "Standard " have arrived and they have been interviewing us a good while. Alexandra has been happy that we didot go towards Nairobi until morning, because she is very well in Mombasa and because tonight there was programmed "masais dances" in a bar where we used to go with Sebastian. On the other hand, Alexandra has also felt at ease with Sebastian. In fact, Alexandra has always usually become more friendly with the Europeans (and South African whites) that we have found through the road, however I rather gotten bored when they do not interest me in a cultural way. Alexandra has also felt very happy of having been able to work two days in the company of Sebastian classifying imported clothes, and taking as prize about fifteen products that she had classified separately. She has declared me that it would have pleased her to be working a month in the company to earn money, however I would not have waited. In spite of everything, I have also felt at ease with Sebastián, a boy of 24 years that he has kept opening throughout these days and he knew how us to explain very well that he is living thrilling moments. Few months ago Sebastian smoked frequently marihuana with his friends, without doing anything, but one day, exactly three months ago, a friend called and presented a Polish businessman that needed somebody that spoke English to direct a new company of import of clothes in Kenya, and now he was here, in a completely different country, trying to pull a company that does not deblock, and handling quantities of unimaginable money. Today at night we have gone to the bar where there were the masais dances, a site full of white tourists, of all ages, couples or singles (men as well as women); and many young and attractive girls expecting to hunt one of these men and some masais also snogging one of these women. On time indicated, all the masai have been grouped together in a corner of the site and rhythmic and hypnotic sounds have started while they initiated a joint dance of small jumps. Later, when the rithm has increased in intensity, the masais have started to jump with energy, raising two or three palms of the ground almost without folding the body, basically with the force of the ankles. Alexandra was captivated and has obliged me to making all the while photos, although the lights and the environment of the bar were not very favourable. Afterwards the masais have taken to dance some tourists, and among them Alexandra, which also has jumped happy among the adorned black bodies. We have returned to the car late, after conversing superficially with some masais and buying them some bracelets. During the turn we have been contrasting points of view, I giving an opinion that the masai dance in the bar had been a play, and that i would have preferred the dance in their natural environment; and Alexandra and Sebastian opining that it was positive that the masais came to the city because they could gain money. ---- In Mombasa I took the pulse to the world with Francis, the journalist professor. Francis opined that the main problem of the world is the meanness, the rich ones want more even if the poor ones suffer, provoking also corruption and other problems. The meanness can be eliminated doing a personal change and sensitising the population. The main problem of Kenya is the bad leadership, which keeps them underdeveloped. The expectation is put in the next ellections; the solution only depends on the country. Francis is happy because he has decided not to be annoyed. he would be happier if all the Kenyans had the covered basic needs. The secret of happiness depends on you, have to decide to be happy, to have the attitude. Nairobi (see on map) 15/11/2007:
Today on Thursday we have driven towards Nairobi, crossing the National Park of Tsavo where we have been able to observe from the road only a group of zebras. In theory we have also passed little more than 100 kilometres of the mount Kilimanjaro, but the day was blurry and have not seen it. If i had not see it 4 years ago, we would probably have arrived to Nairobi passing the lap of Kilimanjaro in Tanzania instead of Mombassa. But to see the Kilimanjaro is a milestone and once complied with it loses importance, and on the other hand, Alexandra is not interested in complying with these milestones. At dusk we have stopped in a church in construction to spend the night. A chaplain has approached me and explained that they were of the IAC (Inland African Church), a fraction of the Baptist church. I have commented that i was catholic and that my Romanian woman was protestant (I have made a mistake, in fact the Romanians are orthodox, but as Alexandra always protests sometimes i confuse:). I have had a catholic education, but in fact I do not believe in the church nor God (at least in the same way that the Christians do), but that can be mortally heretical for a Muslim or some Christians, that's why sometimes I say that I am catholic to facilitate the relations. Anyway, if I observe that my interlocutor is open to listen to my opinions, I then explain my convictions and assumptions. 18/11/2007:
On Friday at twelve in the midday Alexandra commented: "the entry in Nairobi is the worst of all the African cities, worse than Luanda". In four hours we had advanced 80 kilometres on a track of rocks and mud (yes, we were on the main road of Mombassa to Nairobi) and we were caught at the entry of the city in the middle of a terrible traffic. But we were late another hour and a half for the ethiopia embassy which was closed until Monday. We had two contacts in Nairobi that had offered a parking place for us, but both contacts lived to the outskirts of the city and due to the traffic we decided to park near the centre, in some hotel. After parking in the parking place of a luxurious hotel we go out to walk a little on the big avenues, with very green and neat parks, wastebaskets in every corner, through the centre of Nairobi, a modern city with big buildings, similar to Johanesburg - Alex commented-,... On the other hand, there were no children asking through the street and the safety seemed much better than four years ago, when the city had the name of Nairrobery (in English: Nairobi + theft). The day after Saturday in the morning returned to walk through the town centre and at noon we met the two contacts with whom we had not been able to meet on Friday. Ken was acrobat and Steve was Rasta and artist. Ken had just gatjered his group of acrobats because in the afternoon they had a performance in a snobbish location, where the entry was 3 euros. we took a Matatu (Alexandra was well scared with these small buses) and we payed our entry and that of Steve, who did not have money. While we waited for the performance of Ken and his group (it was very short but good) Steve convinced me of moving the autocaravan up to his neighbourhood to the outskirts of Nairobi, where the day after (today) we could visit the community and the projects that they developed. But Alexandra was not at all happy with the plan and her bad humour kept increasing as the afternoon passed. When we returned to the autocaravan with Steve, Alexandra already surpassed the limit of my patience, protesting in a bad way against moving the autocaravan in a suburb where for sure someone would attack us. So much she surpassed my limit that, when the three of us were already sitting in the autocaravan, I had to apologise to Steve saying: "I am sorry Steve, we will not go to your home, I prefer going to the airport to send Alexandra to Europe ". Then Alexandra seemed to calm down a bit and, after breathing deeply a few times, I revoked the decision and started to circulate towards Kayole, the neighbourhood of Steve. But the traffic of Nairobi was again bad and we were stuck two hours, holding the unpleasant comments of Alexandra that even directed them against Steve. One of the comments that Alexandra made was that I should sleep in the house of Steve, so, when parking in the parking place of the police of Kayole, we left Alexandra in the autocaravan and did not return until the following day. Steve lives with two other boys, Shakespear, a man that works on developing projects for the community, and Derik, an electrician that also helps Shakespear. Shakespear started to explain curiosities of the 43 tribes (Onyango de Mombassa had said that they were 42) that live in Kenya. For example, Shakespear is from the Luo tribe and explained that formerly, the boys that passed to the adult age had to pull out six teeth from the front (in other tribes the boys were circumcised or tatoos were done on the skin). he also explained that if a man Luo dies, the community chooses irrevocably somebody of the family of the man to marry the widow (even if this is very ugly). If the one that dies is the woman, the family of the woman has the responsibility of supplying the man with another woman (of the family). Steve, of the Kamba tribe, explained that there is a place in his village where there is no gravity, where the water falls up instead of down (it is probably a visual effect). he also explained that there is another place where there is a big stone that can only be surrounded for 7 days of walking, and when a man makes two complete turns he appears converted into a woman. The three hosts, commented me that due to the close ellections, the differences between the tribes are more evident, with the Kikuyo defending the current president of their tribe, and the rest of the tribes advocating in favour of change, supporting mostly the candidate of the tribe Luo. Today in the morning, after having been dancing most of the night in a discotheque of the neighbourhood with Steve, Shakespear and Derik and sleeping in their house, the boys have convinced to me to go to look for Alexandra to have breakfast together. Alexandra had not slept all night and was tired, but she regretted her performance. We have embraced each other and we have gone to the house of the boys to have breakfast, but Alexandra has returned afterwards to the car to rest while I did a hike through the neighbourhood with the boys. First we stopped in the office of the organisation Zindua (tfno. 0734610019 mail: zindua_afrika @ yahoo.com), for which they all work. There they all started to explain problems that affect the neighbourhood of Kayole and its 300.000 inhabitants, and the projects that they are developing or which they want to develop. It was evident that the organisation needed more funds and it was also evident that they trusted completely in my to obtain them. I could only assure them that about 5000 people would read my diary and that maybe one of them would get in touch to help them. The organisation Zindua offers information against the AIDS and distributes condoms, helped by the churches (except the Catholic, the only one that is against). They explained to me that the Kenyan government carries out free tests, the pregnant women are obliged to take tests not to pass the HIV to their children (using drugs) and supplies freely the affected ones with antiretrovirales. Zindua is pulling out another project that wants to promote the crop and consumption of the amaranth cereal, a cereal with many nutrients, that grows on 42 days and with little water but that is still not known by the population (also not known by me). Zindua is also the organisation that collects the rubbish of the neighbourhood ( with the help of the steet children to whom it pays some money) and pours them out of the town. They also talked to me about many other projects to develop the neighbourhood (sport equipment, education, tourism...) however, as I have written before, they had very few funds, though many energies. In the office of Zindua there was a Somali girl, who before leaving demythologised the war of Somalia explaining only that there is conflict in the capital Mogadisho and that in the rest of the country people live in peace (she even invited me to visit the country). From the office of Zindua we went towards the river, crossing the neighbourhood of humble and nice people and high houses with colorful balconies with many wet clothes. The boys explained me that the water only arrives to the neighbourhood on the weekend, moment in which they clean. As i arrived at the river, the soul fell at the feet. The organisation Zindua was collecting all the rubbish of the town and they were pouring them regardless in the river, on the waters that came out with a black colour. They were completely aware that that was not a good solution, but it would still be worse if there were not collection the rubbish and all the neighbourhood had to live on the waste, as it happens in some suburbs of huts. The solution would be to have a lorry to take the rubbish to the official waste grounds, some kilometres to the outskirts of the neighbourhood, but again: they did not have money and either the government or the ONGs (at the moment) did not supply them. Anyway, this was not a unique problem of the neighbourhood Kayole, only 25% of the waste in Kenya is poured controlledly, the rest is poured to the outskirts of the neighbourhoods or piles up in the corners of the houses. The families of Kayole pay half a euro each month for the collection of rubbish, money that is destined to pay the bags and to pay the children of the street who carry out the dirty work. We went to visit the place where some of these children live and the image was not too nice either. Under a hut built with woods and plastics, there were four stingy and rotten mattresses where slept up to 15 children. The hovel did not have potable water although with the money of the organisation, the children had an easier life, without being necessary to ask money or steal. In any case, the children of the street had the option of choosing a life much better, but they refused it because it took freedom away from them. Like this it was proved to me when i visited a governmental orphanage that was not at 100% of its capacity. Many of the children that are received are not really orphan, many of them simply have no home due to family violence. --- In the afternoon we visited the family of Steve and when returning to his home I interviewed the three boys. Derik opined that the main problem of the world is the instability that wars, hunger and poverty provoke,... Shakespear opined that the problem was the passive and pessimistic attitude of the people. The solution, according to Derik, is the understanding among the human beings independently of their culture. Shakespear advocated a change of attitude of the humanity in general. The main problem in Kenya is the administration and the local leaders who do not solve the cause and the roots of the problems. The solution would be to vote correctly in the next ellections; the people should express their needs and not wait for the decisions of the politicians; the leadership should come from the community. They both try to mobilise the community so that it acts to solve its problems. Derik was not happy because the changes for which he fights are not immediate. The situation of Kenya saddens Shakespear, but he is happy because he fights to change it. The secret of happiness according to Derik is to comply with the dreams, and for Shakespear is to work for the community. Moyale (see on map) 22/11/2007:
We lost half of the day to obtain the visa of Etiopia, to go to the embassy of Spain so that they informed me about the possibility of renewing the passport and one hour connecting to Internet, so in the afternoon we started to drive towards the north, towards Ethiopia. Anyway, we were late retained in the traffic of Nairobi and we had to sleep out of the road not at many kilometres from the capital. The day after we followed the route through a good road up to Nyeri, some town where Baden Powel spent his last three years of life. In Nyeri there is a small museum dedicated to the scouts (boys and girls scouts), world movement founded by Baden Powel. I had been part of an association of scouts in my town and it was funny for me to visit the museum, which in a small room illustrated the world of the scouts, present on all the continents. Observing the photographs of the museum I recognised the importance of the movement for the growth and young development, even if in its times I did not like some of its dogmas, as the obedience or the faith, too much. More in the north we stopped in the town of Nanyuki, where the equator passes. On the contrary to the crossing of the equator in Gabon, here there was a big place, with many shops of craftsmanship in front of the lap of mount Kenya (the peak was covered up by clouds) and we also enjoyed demonstrations of the power of Corioli. A man with a bucket with water and a wash basin with a small hole, showed that at 20 meters in the north of the equator the water came out clockwise through the hole and in the south in oposite direction. While the man showed the circular movement of the water in the south of the equator, I approached and with the finger I made the other direction and this made the water change the direction. I thought that to the equator the forces of Corioli had to be very weak and that the circular movement of the water depended basically on its initial movement (caused deliberately by the man), but when the man showed that in the equator the water was falling without circular movement, I thought perhaps that i had made a mistake. In the afternoon of the same day we reached Isiolo, the last town on the tar road, little more than 500 kilometres away from the border. We sleept in a police station after having recurred about 30 kilometres in an hour and a half on the bad road. On the following day in the morning (yesterday), we continue driving on the terrible track with the same average of 20 km/hr. If before reaching Isiolo we had found a landscape with great cultivated extensions, after Isiolo the landscape turned arid and stony, with few villages houses made of straw or of iron and the inhabitants (many of them masais with coloured ornaments and clothes) guarding flocks of goats, cows or camels and the children asking us for charity quite aggressively. Anyway, as the track improved, we entered a volcanic region of reddish earth and green vegetation arround mid-afternoon. In any case, the masais inhabitants continued with their farming habits and there was little cultivated land. Yesterday we have covered 240 kilometres in 9 hours of driving; and today, with the idea of covering the remaining 250 kilometres up to the border, we have woken up very early. Soon, the humid and volcanic landscape has disappeared again and we have been in a landscape still more arid and desértic than on the previous day, without vegetation or trees up to the horizon only perforated volcanic rocks. The track also passed through the middle of the rocks, therefore the driving was really complicated, with the car swaying among the stones. On one of the multiple occasions that the autocaravan touched the ground, Alexandra asked me: - It does not break up you the heart to feel the car as it suffers? - No, because to be in this road is part of the journey - I answered without thinking. - But would you not prefer that the road was asphalted? - Maybe yes. But then we would have little adventure, the journey would be too straight. Anyway, the road did not improve and in another conversation we qualified it the third most complicated track of Africa, after that of Congo and Angola, not only for the difficulty but also for the extension. Later we had a wheel bursting out (literally). But these were not the only damages, the fridge was broken again by the vibrations and the iron of the engine was crushed against it making all the vehicle vibrate. Alexandra was not only worried by the state of the road, we had read that the isolated and solitary road was frequented by bandits of Sudan, Somalia and also Ethiopia. At about 120 kilometres of the border we have found a military control where they have recommended us (or required) to be escorted by two armed soldiers to the border. That, instead of calming down Alexandra has still alarmed her more, because she thought that not only the bandits could steal us, but also the soldiers. Anyway I have convinced Alex that the soldiers cannot atack us and they are protecting us, and after negotiating the price of the bodyguards (10 $ for head) we have continued the track that miraculously has kept improving up to the border, where we have arrived at sunset. Ethiopia Awasa (see on map) 24/11/2007:
After covering 500 kilometres of impracticable track, Ethiopia has seemed the paradise to us. We have not had to pay anything on the border; the penitence of 4 months and almost 20.000 kilometres of driving on the left side of the road (I now feel like home and i do not need the collaboration of Alex to advance the cars) is now finished; all the road is asphalted (with some holes); the diesel only costs 0,35€/l, marvelous! Apart from these joys, Ethiopia has turned greener and more mountainous, with big termite mounds among the trees. There is little traffic, because of that, in the villages the people occupy all the road just for walking, letting the cows and goats graze and even stop to talk. We also found the first ruins: an unmarked castle that by the inscription in a tomb seemed Portuguese. Yesterday we slept in a forest hidden from the road, despite having observed beforehand some herdsmen with kalasnikovs on their shoulder (I do not think that it is the best weapon to kill animals). But we have slept well and this morning we have followed the road towards north, stopping to visit some archeological rocks called Tutu Fella: in a small stony wasteland were raised about 80 menhirs or dolmens thin and sculpted with faces or geometrical forms. The truth is that I do not know in which century they were built nor their purpose, although they could have been tombs,and in the end the place was interesting and emergent. Next we have continued the road towards Awasa, crossing villages that were linked along the road, with houses of straw or of bricks well taken care and with the lawn cut thanks to the cows and the goats, and over us eagles that from time to time were falling to hunt some small animals or reptils. It has surprised us not to observe much police presence; it did not seem either that there were too many local shops; but what in no moment stopped existing has been the presence of children next to the road that greeted us shaking the hands and screaming "yu yu yu yu...". I felt as the king of some country, greeting all the time and also receiving some stones. They had explained us that the cyclists that cross Ethiopia sometimes are attacked with stones by the children, but i also observed in the rear-view mirror that a child of about two or three years threw us a stone without aiming. 25/11/2007: Awasa is a big town resting on the edge of a lake that we only saw on the way despite being one of the main attractions. Anyway, in Awasa we have stayed two nights, basically thanks to the economic camping that we have found (Adenium Campsite) in which different travellers were also lodged: a Belgian couple that trotted through the world for 14 years now, lately with a 4 x 4; a motorcyclist from Canada that left home four years ago; a couple from Switzerland that wanted to cross Africa backpacking; and another globetrotter from switzerland who wanted to travel for five years. We spent many good moments with the travellers who, on the other hand, have announced us on the difficulties to obtain the visa for Sudan; they have informed us about the state of the roads more in the North (it seems that they will not be as bad as those of Kenya); they have communicated the wild costs of crossing with the barge from Sudan to Egypt ( 300 € to 1000€ they have recommended us casarnos to be able to follow the journey through Saudi Arabia; they have explained to us that all the roads from Egypt up to India are in good state and asphalted (hurray!); they have warned us that to enter by car in China means to pay 100 $ daily, and that if we enter in China we will be able to continue the journey towards Indochina and afterwards Australia... All in all, yesterday afternoon and all the day of today, they have been very beneficial for the continuation of the journey and also it has been very rewarding for Alexandra that has been able to communicate and to interact with travellers of her tribe - expression used by one of them. 26/11/2007:
Today in the morning we have arrived to Wondo Genet, some town where there is a fountain of thermal waters, to whom therapeutic powers are granted. The entry was very economic and immediately i have thrown myself into the hot pool, but Alexandra remained outside, because the pool was quite deep and the water was not clean. Afterwards I have walked the mountain above looking for the birth of the thermal waters, but these went out boiling among some stones without offering too much show. On the exit of the springs, we have gone towards the promised land of the Rastafaris or Rastas. The Rastafaris, mostly original from the lower classes of Jamaica, considered that the coronation in 1930 of the king Haile Selassie of Ethiopia - the only black kingdom in Africa - was the acomplishment of different biblical prophecies and they started to consider the Ethiopian king as the reincarnated God. Tied up with the bread-African feeling (united by the oppressed African descendants) a new religion was born with strong components of social claim but also many doctrines among which the vegetarian diet and the sacradeness of marihuana. As it seems, the king Haile Selassie felt uncomfortable of being considered a deity, although little before being dethroned he gave to the Rastafàrian community the promised land, also prophesied in the Bible. And here it is where we have arrived this midday. Alexandra has stayed in the car while two rasta boys (only one of them had the a little long and dirty hair) but too smoked have received me on the entry of the church of the Rastafaris. I have told the boys that i felt like knowing how the Rastafaris lived, but the boys seemed very hermetic (or too high) and they only seemed interested in knowing what i could pay them. I have played ambiguous and started to ask them about the community, but their answers were also ambiguous, although i understood that there were about 500 Rastafaris living on the promised land. Seeing that the conversation did not advance they have driven me to see the three old men (or spiritual leaders) of the community, with white beards and distant looks (one of them in front of the television). Neither there has been any type of interaction and, in the end, observing the hermetism of what started to seem a sect, I have gone out of the enclosure that was painted red, yellow and green (flag of Ethiopia) and with portraits of Haile Selassie and Bob Marley and I have returned to the car, where I have paid the boys the equivalent of a dollar: - Only that? - they have asked. - Then you have had luck that I have not found a smaller note - I have answered. We have kept circulating towards Addis Ababa, where we had the intention of entering in the morning, and mid-afternoon we have camped on a precipice from where we had a view on lake Langano, full of brown waters. Although the place was pretty, Alexandra was not too convinced and thought that immediately we would be surrounded by children. And she was right. The children of Ethiopia are the most curious (and maybe anoying) of the continent, but seeing how they approached the selfcaravan from different points, I have gone out outside and sat on a rock looking at the horizon of the lake. The children have surrounded me from the back, without saying anything, until in the end, the only one who spoke a little English has started to show interest in me and in our journey. The language was an important barrier, even so, the boy has explained to me that at school they learn the language of his tribe (oromic), the language of the country (Amharic, which uses unique and indecipherable characters) and also English. When the sun has set, I have announced to the children that i return to the car and, having satisfied their curiosity, they have returned to their homes and they have left us calm during all the night. Adis ababa (see on map) 30/11/2007:
On Tuesday we entered Addis Ababa immersed in a chaotic traffic and crossing a square in works and with the roadway made of earth and rocks (confusion square). We wanted to go to the embassy of Spain to carry out the renewal of my passport and afterwards to the embassy of Sudan to carry out the visa. But at 11 in the morning we were exactly crossing the centre. I was looking the map choosing the best streets to arrive in the North of the city when wrongly I situated on the lane of the right reserved to divert to the right in the following crossroad. But I was still straight and a guard, observing my mistake, stoped me. Imperturbable asked me the driving licence and, when i thought that it would start the typical game of patience to earn some bribery, the guard told to me that he is giving me a fine and that the driving licence would be retained until i paid the fee. I protested vigorously - I even tried to steal my driving licence - but in the end i accepted, in spite of the endless advises of Alexandra, that i should follow the legal procedure. We wasted two hours seeking the office where to pay the fine, paying it and looking for the police station of the police where in theory they had to return me the driving licence (they did not have it until the afternoon). In spite of the insults of "corrupt" that Alexandra still uttered, perhaps it had been better that they were corrupt, perhaps we would have paid a little more (or less) but would have wasted less time. In the embassy of Spain we were analysing the possibility of renewing the passport (I only have two blank pages) without anulating the one that I have at present where we think to ask for the visas of Sudan and Egypt. In the end we agreed that they would ask for my new passport and that they would send it to me to the Spanish embassy in Egypt, where they would cancel the old passport for me. On Tuesday we had no time to go to the embassy of Sudan, but we went Wednesday in the morning. When asking for the forms to carry out the visa they told us that before we had to obtain a letter of invitation from our embassies. I already had it, but Alexandra did not. The ambassador and secretary Romanian talked with Alexandra only in Romanian, but she explained to me afterwards that they resembled her parents, when hearing of our intention of entering Sudan and were worried about her stay in Ethiopia (the secretary did not go out from the embassy and washed herself 10 times per day fearing of becoming infected). When returning again to the embassy of Sudan, they informed us about having to return the day after with 61 $ each. Curiously the Ethiopian banks do not sell dollars if you are not resident, but for luck we could buy dollars on the black market the following day, Thursday. Anyway, we wasted all the morning buying them and when arriving again at the embassy this was closed until the afternoon. In any case, we did not turn until the following day in the morning and we used the afternoon to do some repairs to the car. And at last, Friday in the morning they accepted us the forms to carry out the visas and they asked us to phone Monday, according to the news that we have, it can take the Sudanese visa about 2 weeks to be carried out. In the afternoon we returned to the service and finished fixing the car very professionally and taking very little money (basically fixed and reinforced the protection of the engine, in another factory welded an escape from the radiator without charging us anything, and in another made a new part of the fridge that had been broken, also without charging us anything). Maybe the Ethiopians are generous, but it is also true that the owners of the factories were friends of Claudio, a man of Italian origin that has hosted us in the parking place of his home. Claudio explained that during the reign of the king (or emperor) Haile Selassie, there were about 60.000 Italians living in Ethiopia, but the subsequent socialist revolution and the nationalisation made run away many Italians and at present there are only about 3.500, although they probably continue being the most numerous European community (Ethiopia had been an Italian colony for 5 years). Claudio usually meets almost every afternoon with different expatriate and Ethiopian friends in a room in his house, where they sit on mattresses, they talk, they play cards, they read and they chew chat, some bitter leaves that as they said had a similar effect (but softer) to the cocaine. Afterwards, they go to a bar to empty one or two bottles of vodka, because - they explained - they could not sleep. We also joined (Alexandra without chewing chat) and in one of the multiple conversations, the friends of Claudio explained us how the calendar worked and the also the Ethiopian clock. For a part, the Ethiopian clocks generally go 6 hours slower, because traditionally they mark the hours from the sunrise (seven in the morning is 1 because only one hour ago the sun has gone out) or from the setting of the sun. On the other hand, the Ethiopian calendar is also slow - about 8 years - from the beginning of the Christianity, due to the use of an alternative calculation to the birth of Jesus. on 12 of September, they celebrated the change of millennium and in many points of the city there are many "happy millennium" and "happy 2000". The months neither are equal to those of the Gregorian calendar, have 12 months of 30 days and one of only 5 or 6 days. To finish, the Christian Ethiopians (orthodox) neither celebrate Christmas the same day that the rest of Christians, due to the differences of calendar, celebrate it on 7 of January (14 days later), so - if everything goes well - instead of celebrating these holidays among Christians in Ethiopia, we will probably make it among Muslims in Sudan. 01/12/2007:
Since we have initiated this journey in Africa, many times I have been about to send Alexandra to her home. Throughout this journal I have described almost all these critical moments, but a very few times I have described the many good moments that we have passed together. It is true that I have always thought that traveling was better alone to modify my dream, my journey. But I am also conscious, of being hard to find somebody that was adapted to me as Alexandra did and that at the same time held my occasional bad humour. Alexandra also loses many times the patience, i would hardly find such a girl, that is so patient with me. Until now, Alexandra has made sacrifices for me, but still dreams in following my travel in my accompany. And it is for everything that (and also because I love her) that today I have made a thing that i had not made during the 35 years of my life, despite living previously with three different girls two years each. I have bought a ring of gold with the intention of asking Alexandra for marriage. On Monday its the anniversary of Alexandra, she will be 24 years old, but Alexandra wanted to celebrate today Saturday. We have gone to eat in a good restaurant and shared the afternoon with Claudio and his friends afterwards. At night, we have gone out to the bar of the previous days, where they waited for us with a cake that i had also bought in the morning. Alexandra has blown the candles touched and I have then give her a telephone where her elephant Tuki had recorded a video message for her: We, Mami, have bought a gift for you because we want you to be your family. Do you want to be with me and with papi"?. While she listened to the message I have situated a little box in front of her. When discovering it she has opened it touched and when seeing the ring she has embraced me happyly. Its been time since she insinuated me directly or indirectly that she wanted a ring and, sometimes, that i asked her to marry. 04/12/2007:
After a Sunday of hangover, on Monday we went to change the ring of Alexandra that was too small and she bought me one for me so that from now all the girls know at first sight that I am also engaged. Next, taking advantage of not having more work with the Sudan visa or with the car, we did a little tourism in Addis Ababa, a city at about 2500 meters over the sea level, that despite being the fourth biggest city of the continent with almost 3 million inhabitants, it does not stop being cozy, with modern buildings, trades of every type, monuments, big avenues and, yes, a chaotic traffic. The museums are one of the appeals of Addis Ababa. We visited the National Museum where there is, a female of 1,1m, the skeleton of Lucy that lived about 3.2 million years ago. When it was discovered in 1974, they thought that Lucy was an ancestor of the humanity, a sort of grandmother, but today it is thought that Lucy was rather an aunt. the same with 4 other skeletons found more recently in East Africa, South Africa and Chad, from different periods (one of them of 4 million) but without being direct ancestors of the humanity. The museum also shows other fossils of disappeared animals, thrones and crowns of the old monarchy and a magnificent exhibition of paintings and sculptures by local artists, which contrasts with the absence of craftsmanship in Ethiopia. Another appeal of Addis Ababa are the churches and orthodox cathedrals, however, when they said that we had to pay some 3,5$/person to visit one, we discarded them. So, while we waited for the negotiation of the visa for Sudan we have had quite a lot of time to work and to be with Claudio and his friends. Today Tuesday, Claudio has explained to me that the Ethiopians are very proud and even racist with the other black Africans. In fact, up to the Italian occupation, in Ethiopia there were markets for black slaves for the internal consumption and for Middle East. Part of the Ethiopian pride is due to the brief colonization that they suffered (5 years), which on the other hand keeps them conscious that the problems of the country are their own and not caused by the colonizing Europeans. Claudio also told me that as the Ethiopians, the expatriate Italians are also very proud and that they are much more racist than the Europeans that are not born in Ethiopia. That proved to be true when he decided to marry an Ethiopian girl, costing him the friendship of some Italian friends and strong familiar discussions. They all told: fuck the Africans, but do not marry with them". In another conversation, Claudio explained to me that he pays 40$/month to the guard of his house. It seemed very little, but afterwards he kept explaining me that with this quantity he feeds his woman and son, pays the rent of the house, the education of the son and still has 5$/month to pay another worker than helps his woman. It can seem completely exaggerated, but talking with other people I was informed that a waiter gets 12$/month (+ tips) or that a guard does not usually get more than 20 $ in a month. It is not surprising - also Claudio commented it -, that with these salaries there are so many people asking for money through the streets, cause little or a lot, they can accumulate the same money monthly. Of among many other anecdotes, Claudio explained one that left me amazed. He explained that one of his friend was hired for the Italian embassy Italian in Kenya. There he bought a new and expensive 4x4, but few months later it was stolen. He had the 4x4 assured for every risk, so he could buy another one identical, but despite having it parked in a safe place, after three months they stole it again. Already annoyed, the third one was bought, but this time he put a small bottle of good whiskey with poison in the fridge of the car and expected them to steal it again (this time without taking care so much). After 20 days they stole again the car and... - here a little tension is required, who was the thief? Did he die? - the day after the police is going to search for him and report him that he has 24 hours to abandon the country, because the head of the police of the neighborhood and his assistant had died poisoned. And the diplomatic passport probably saved him from a death or safe revenge... maybe he was happy to abandon such a corrupt country. Harar (see on map) 09/12/2007:
Tuesday in the afternoon we called the Embassy of Sudan and they informed us that they had not received the confirmation from Khartoum and they are not able yet to carry out our visas. They said that the confirmation could take a week or more so we decided to discover the East of Ethiopia up to Harar and on Wednesday we started to go in the morning. We stopped after a while, in Debre Zeyit, a town where there are different volcanic lakes. We visited Lake Hora, in the North of the city, where there was a recreational area where we walked and contemplated some of the few birds that populated the edge. Little afterwards we followed driving towards the East, arriving mid-afternoon to the National Park d'Awash, where birds and some antelopes can be observed. The entry and camping were accessible and we planned on spending the night near the river observing the animals. But at the entry they informed us that in the Nature Reserve armed assaults could take place and that it was obligatory to pay a bodyguard during all the stay. Having somebody next to the autocaravan during all the night was unacceptable for Alexandra and we decide to follow the road (crossing the Park and observing some órixs) and we slept a few km further on. On Wednesday we start to thread the mountains of Chereher that extend along the last 200 kilometers before reaching Harar. The road passes above the careens, where there are the villages and the crops thanks to the most temperate temperatures. The sights during this part of the road was splendid, with distant horizons, wide valleys, occasional forests, golden fields or mowed down, homes of mud and roofs of iron, very nice people... Finally, we reach mid-afternoon Harar, a walled Muslim city that had been the most important market of the Horn of Africa. On Thursday in the morning, we got out to discover the city of Harar in depth, although in some moments I had to drag Alexandra so that she followed me. The main street of the walled city did not have too much interest, there were some trades and small markets, but what more surprised us was the great quantity of misery that there was, with men and women sleeping in the street or asking for charity. At the end of the street we diverted through small labyrinthine alleys with the homes painted in white and some of bright colors: green, red or blue. Towards the centre of the villa we found a square with about fifteen eagles resting on a wall, and when we arrived a man started to throw bits of meat so that the eagles hunted them by flight. Anyway, the main tourist attraction in Harar is the hyena men that every night feed these animals with meat. Alexandra stayed in the autocaravan and I arrived there with a tuc-tuc (tricycle). In a higher area going to the town there were ten hyenas expecting a man with a basket full of meat to give them the food. It seems to be that, the tradition of feeding the hyenas comes from a lonf time, but at present it rather seems a representation for the tourists, they are frightened surrounding and the hyena men who charge some 5$/turista for the show. Yesterday on Saturday we decided to start going back towards Addis Ababa, but before we visited the market of another city few kilometers in the North of Harar, Dire Dawa, that has prospered much more than Harar, thanks to the train that passes connecting Addis Ababa with Djibouti. The market was in a walled enclosure, with the vendors selling their products on the ground. In an end I discovered some boys that played the "bingo" (they called the game like this), betting small quantities to see who entered more wooden parts through some small doors in a big board. After entertaining myself a good while with the boys of the "bingo", I returned to the car and we followed the path towards Addis Ababa, crossing the mountains of Chereher again and marveling with its sights. Today on Sunday we have stopped in Nazret, about a hundred kilometers away of Addis Ababa. There we have met Hibre, who has invited us to his home to take coffee and to observe the ceremony of its preparation. The mother of Hibre has started to toast some seeds of coffee in a small silver on a brazier, meanwhile burned a little incense, triturated afterwards the seeds of coffee blackened and poured them into a teapot of mud that she had put to warm up in the hot coals and from which after a good while, they served the coffee of a strong and delicious taste. While we took the coffee, Hibre has surprised Alexandra explaining that he was listening to Radio Romania International for more than 5 years, and to prove it he has shown us three diplomas that he had. Afterwards, Hibre has explained to us that Ethiopia works as a federation of tribes or cultures. he did not like the system, because he was AMhara but he is living in the region Oromo and he can not obtain work in the government if he doesn't speak the language of Oromo. I explained that in the region that I live, in Catalonia, the people would prefer an "ethnic federation" for Spain, although this federation also provokes injustices as the one that he lives. Hibre preferred the Ethiopian Nationalism, defended by the opposition party, which will hardly be able to access the government, because the current government is supported by the United States. Besides - he has ended up commenting - in Ethiopia there is not freedom of the press and even of expression, and many of the ones that try to challenge the government pay with prison. ‹ Previous (12/10/2007) MONTH Next (2007-12-11)› ‹ Previous (2007-10-29 - Tanzania) COUNTRY Next (2007-11-24 - Ethiopia)› |
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