Day 2 – Our day in Addis – Sophie and Lucy
After a rainy first night in Addis, we had our first real day to look forward to, and we were to have the opportunity to hike up the Entoto Hills and meet some of the locals. With bags packed and the sun blazing, it was time to make our way through the Addis streets to the foot of the hills and begin our trek. We arrived at the bottom of what seemed to be one of the biggest challenges we’d face in the next three weeks, with uneven surfaces and altitude greater than if you were skiing it was sure to be a tough journey. Our first stop was at a trio of ‘souks’ (small shops), and ready to fork out big bucks for some digestive biscuits, we soon learnt that it was worth stocking up with a packet of biscuits was the equivalent cost of 3p. Although we were could feel the thin air, it soon didn’t seem to matter as we were all in awe of the spectacular, jungle surroundings. As we continued through the trees, we thought it would be a good idea to recite 1-10 in Amharic, a far way from fluent needless to say, but we are well on our way to being able to have a conversation to the locals that revolves around numbers! After several glorious photo stops, we came across a little village where we paid for a guide to take us around an old abandoned church. Due to the worry of erosion, a local gentlemen paid to protect the church and leave as much of the building and share it’s glory with those who wish to see it. Shortly after, we made our way through a graveyard and all was silent, we paid nothing but respect, even in the poorest of countries, they still manage to give fallen a beautiful send off, the graves were intricate and stunning.
Not a moment went by where we didn’t have our cameras in hand, taking panoramic shots of the greenery beyond the cliff. It only seemed right to get a group photo, over 5,000 miles from home with sights we will never see again. Heading down the mountain and crossing over some streams and boulders we encountered some locals which were more than willing to take the occasional ‘selfie’. We had a couple of mishaps where we had a few tumbles and scrapes but everyone still has 10 fingers and toes thank the Lord.
On the decent, it felt like we’d walked these paths a thousand times before and that Ethiopia was already our second home. This time around we came across a huge group of children who treated us like royalty. To see the excitement on their faces was something money can’t buy and how it made us feel can’t even be covered when written in words. Many of them were desperate just to speak to us and tried to spoil us by trying to offer handfuls of their cleanest water, which was a deep brown colour at best. As it was time to leave, we all struggled as they begged “please stay, we are so hungry”, hearing this made us all appreciate how much we have and that we take almost anything for granted.
After an exhausting day, we sat down for some hearty omelettes and the best chips we’ve tasted in a while. One more quick Amharic lesson down and we were so much wiser on the greetings front, it was then time for our ‘shopping challenge’, it wasn’t quite Dale Winton’s supermarket sweep but we certainly gave it a go. Without a word of English spoken (nearly) we managed to buy ourselves soap, biscuits, water, bread, bananas, candles, nuts, sweets and many other things a. Our groups met up again for our meal at ‘Chicago’ with hot pizzas and the traditional Ethiopian dish ‘Tibbs’, serious home comforts coming into play. With muddy boots and wet hair we were all ready for a seriously good night’s sleep. This was quite difficult as we reflected on the events of our first day in Ethiopia, who would have thought that two opposite cultures could collide and fuse?