The more you want, the more you think you need

Getting up to speed

evanchartier — Sun, 6 Dec 2009 18:01:00 GMT

hey there! So after I (luckily) saved that last story, the power went out in the entire city and I was unable to get back online. Now it seems to be working, so I just thought I would continue with some random things from my journey...

Bujumbura and Burundi were amazing. Full of hills, I thought it was more beautiful than Rwanda and slightly cheaper as well. Although I would have liked to stay longer both in Bujumbura by the lake and in Burundi, they only issued me a 3 days visa and I did not want to pay to have it renewed. So I left the land of colorful women and strawberrys to Tanzania. I crossed by the Manvoyu border, after walking part way due to a truck stuck in the mud. I kept asking myself why they built the dirt road at a lower level than the hillside? this causes the rain water to get trapped, creating lots of mud and headaches for everyone. Walking through the forest we reached the border post, and it had some amazing views. Remote hilltops in rural burundi/tanzania, many touching the clouds. I would have liked to be a border patrol officer (if there were any) and do guard duty here while eating strawberrys and mangoes every day. After passing through the border patrol where the official tried to get me to change money at a terrible rate, I walked on through the mud till a matatu came whizzing past, unable to stop due to the mud. When it did stop on harder ground, I found out it was headed to Kigoma, the remote port city in western Tanzania where I was headed (for lack of knowing any other place in tanzania!) After a few hours in the van with double the number of people as seats, getting stuck every 5 minutes and pushing while spinning out of control on a road flanked by cliffs (and in general having a great time!) we made it to Kigoma. I was in a hurry, because it was already 4:30 PM and I had only 500 TzSh to my name, about 30 cents. I knew the forex guys would be closing soon (if there were any) and so I ran around looking for a place to change. I met Benjamin and Sigfried, 2 tanzanian guys drinking beer at a local pub, and after exchanging pleasantries asked them where I may be able to change money at a decent rate. They told me to find Mr. Sa'id at the supermarket 1 km down the road, and so I went there to find such a guy. They told me he would give me 1300 shillings per dollar, much better then what I could find elsewhere on the black market. But, alas, he was not to be found. I did find however Mr. Deus who was willing to change for me at the rate of 1310, even better! He became a friend and I have seen him several times since.

Now I have been in Kigoma going on 2 days, and I want to get moving already. I found out about a train which is leaving this evening at 5PM, so I went this morning with a friend to get a ticket. My friend is from Burundi, and is traveling back to South Africa where he works with his family who will stop in Dar Es Sallam, on the coast of Tanzania. They invited me to travel with them on the train. The station manager said that only 3rd class will be available once tickets were being sold. I am sure I can get a 1st or 2nd class ticket from one of the street guys who sell them at much higher prices, but what the heck. No one ever had a good time and a story to tell by taking the easy road! (ok maybe not true, but I have to justify to myself traveling in a cattle car here!)

So we are going back to the station to get a ticket at noon, because they will start selling around 3pm and they sell out fast. At 9am there were already hundreds of people waiting outside, but I have an "in" with my friend the Burundi guy, and he knows the station manager...

Anyway, more will come once I take this journey. I am sure I will have lots to tell!

Some random thoughts...

I love how mangoes are 13 a dollar here, and they are thrown away the day after picking, where the beggars will not even touch them. A land of flowing mangoes, pineapples, and bananas and we are sending billions of dollars in aid here every year?! I agree with Ffyona Campbell in "On foot through africa" when she says Africa should start sending missionaries to the west...maybe we will learn a thing or two.

How can a hotel room with 2 beds be CHEAPER than a room with one bed?

Why are strawberries only to be found in Burundi and not in the neighboring countries?

Why don't African babies cry?

The unanswerable questions continue...

Random thoughts

evanchartier — Sun, 6 Dec 2009 02:49:00 GMT

Hey there! I know it has been a long time since I updated this thing, but I have been enjoying being "off the radar" as much as possible. Heres a little update as to what I have been doing!

I believe I left off in Jinja, where I had a great time rafting and seeing some "white folk" but it got boring quick and I got the urge to move.

On to Kampala, the capital city. Now THIS place made me homesick! Garden city is basically a western shopping mall, and I had a blast. Loaded up on books, about 50 USD worth, and sat around reading for a few days. Of course this is not the purpose of my trip, but can you blame a guy after so long? Books here were actually cheaper than in the states or Israel, but that was the only thing. The movie theater was 6 bucks! That is crazy for this part of the world, as in Ethiopia I was paying about 30 cents, and likewise in Kenya. Uganda was definetly the most expensive place I had reached so far. Although out from the city, there were nice places, like where I stayed in Kabale, on the border with Rwanda. Called Edirisa's Home, it was a museum/hotel/restaurant/co-op/store/cultrual center/movie theater/internet cafe...pretty much anything you could ask for! And it was the cheapest place I could find in Uganda, coming in at a grand total of 2.50 USD a night. Wonderful and I wish I could have stayed there longer, but the travel bug got the best of me.

The next day I headed down to Rwanda, and boy was I in for a suprize! What an expensive country! Although I have noticed that as the country gets more expensive, the standards go up, I wish I could find the grubby 1 dollar a night places I had in Ethiopia. Here, I was lucky to find a 9 dollar per night un-marked mission behind a huge church. I was helped by 2 guys I met at the genocide memorial in Kigali who were volunteering and traveling a bit as well. Nice guys from Norway, and one spoke French so he was able to help me find the cheap place.

The genocide memorial in Kigali is quite impressive. Reminds me of a museum in the states, a big feat when compared to the standards of the other museums I have visited here in Africa. Complete with videos of survivors and lots of information, it was very imformative, but extremely sad. One floor was dedicated to the Rwanda genocide (basically 1 million people killed in 1994 in 100 days, hutus on tutsis, as one will recall from the movie "hotel rwanda.") But this could not prepare me for tomorrow.

Knowing that I had to get out of the big city, as the prices were rediculous, I headed south towards Burundi where I wanted to stop off for a few days. I spent the night in Huye (previously Butare) and still spent 9 dollars for a room, although a much better one. Not that I care about quality! I went as a day trip to the memorial in a town called Ginkongoro, 28 km west of the city. There I walked through beautiful rural Rwanda, with hills and forest, before reaching the memorial. No other visitors in site, I was lead to the back of the compound by a young woman with a large set of keys. The place was pretty deserted, but I could tell they were renovating. This basically means there were 100 men with shovels yelling "white man! white man!" and laughing as I walked past them. I later hung out with them, and what cool guys!

So back to the memorial...I was led to a group of 4-5 very long buildings made of brick. We walked to the end of the buildings, and I noticed the pavement we were walking on was stained brown in the shape of human beings, like the white tape marking a bodies position at a crime scene. My guide lady knew no english, but I didnt need much explaining to get the point: this is where thousands of people were murdered and sat bleeding for a long time.

She then proceded to unlock what seemed like hundreds of doors, each containing up to a hundred white bodies of victims. Their bodies were preserved with lime, thus turning them white. Some still had clothes on, and others were intact with tufts of hair protruding from fractured skulls where a machete was inserted. I had to remind myself that these were actually PEOPLE and not the life-size molds of bones you often see in museums. The expression on their faces and missilanious body parts contorted in ways unimaginable was almost too much to bear. Near tears, I then realized these were little people. Almost 90 percent of the bodies in every room were babies, toddlers, and children. Some you could tell were still in the position of a mother protecting her child, although from the previous memorial I know many mothers were forced to kill their child before being hacked to death themselves.

Ok, I think you get the point. I was then led to a shack with the clothes, shoes, and personal items of the dead, and then past many unmarked mass graves, which I would have played soccer on had there not been a sign. I have no idea how many bodies there were, but it was a lot.

After leaving there, I walked back to town with the workers. It started raining heavily, and we found what looked like an old school room to shack up in until the rain eased up. I could picture the young people running from their homes back in the direction of the memorial, where they all were to meet their ends. At the same time, I was in a room with a hundred people, of which most had either been killers or had their familes slaughtered by their country folk. It was eeire in deed, however the people seemed to feel no tension. Amazing what 15 years can do. What can you do but forgive? They went along as normal, men joking with eachother, women breast feeding their toddlers who seem never to cry. After this I took the matatu back to the hotel to reflect on what I had seen. what a day.

The next day I took a series of vehicles to Burundi, past the border, and on to the capital Bujumbura. This was the 5th country I crossed into, and I was very happy to be here. let me just save this, as we are losing power...

Relaxed Mbale to Adventure in Jinja!

evanchartier — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:03:00 GMT

Hey there! I want to say thank you to Mrs. Zaino for the comments on my last few stories! Thanks so much they were really nice. I miss you guys a lot and I can't wait to see you soon! I have spoken to Sarah a few times, and glad she is having such a great time at Disney.

So I spent a few days in Mbale saving up some money after buying a 50 USD visa. It was a really great town, and I met some really nice people. I stayed at the New Mount Elgon View hotel, with really nice owners, a pool table, and a roof with a nice, quiet view of the city. I met Paul who studies Bible Studies and Divinity and his father, a local minister. They invited me into their home and fed me. We played baskettball with Michael at the local school, and even went to a local missionary's bible study class where we discussed how to choose a profession. I read to them the old testiment in Hebrew and translated it for them, and they were very impressed. I really feel that even though we come from different backgrounds and have different religions, we were able to discuss a relavant issue and agree on solutions to current problems. The next day I went hiking with Michael up the mountain near the town, past waterfalls and children screaming "muzungu muzungu!" This is the term for foreigner or white man and they had a great time chasing after me, as I dont believe many white people have ever passed that area. Then we went back to Michael's house in the "slums" as he calls it, which I really enjoyed. I met his family and friends, who all wanted me to take a picture of them. We then went back to my hotel to make pasta and ate ice cream with Paul. Sadly, it was time for me to move on in the morning and we had to say our goodbyes.

But then I got to the great town of Jinja! Just 2.5 hours from Mbale on the shores of Lake Victoria and the source of the nile river, Jinja is what I would call the adventurous capital of East Africa. Here there is everything you would expect from Uganda's second largest city (still with under one million citizens) and more. Boat rides, bungee jumping, HUGE fish to catch, kayaking galore, horseback safaris, ATV safaris (with kid sized vehicles? WHAT?!) zip lines, and the best white water rafting in the world. How can I choose what to do? Unfortunetly everything here is quite expensive. But I have been saving my money the last few days while staying at Mbale, and I am now staying at the amazing (although very touristy) Nile River Explorer's backpackers hostel and saving more money. Tomorrow there is a festival at the falls on the other side of town at the Nile Explorers' campsite to benefit the White Rhinos who were reintrotuced to the wild not to far from here. So today I was walking around Jinja and having a great time after last night, when we chilled out playing pool and drinking one dollar fresh fruit smoothies at the bar. Oh and I met Marissa, who goes to Notre Dame and knows Sissy Peters, a friend from LPJ rowing. Hi Sissy! What a small world. And of course there are some guys from Spain, England, and Australia as well. Tomorrow I am going to the festival which should be a lot of fun, and I have signed up to paddle in the rafting race on the nile! Its totally free and the winning team can get amazing prizes such as a 6 night stay in zanzibar! Then (with the money I have been saving by sticking in one spot) I will go white water rafting on Sunday! It looks amazing (after seeing so many videos) and I have been speaking with some people here about it, and its right up my alley. I met here the 2 English people I rode with in a truck for 36 hours, and they loved it, and also 2 of the Israelis that I met in the Simien Mountains in Ethiopia and they had a blast as well. I found a nice Swedish woman with a Lonely Planet guide book and I am trying to finalize where I will go next. I believe I am heading out to Kampala (one hour drive- free shuttle for rafters!) and I will stay at the totally inclusive Banda Island! It sounds great, and all the people I have heard of staying there really love it. I will write more when all this happens, but so far so good in the amazing Jinja town!

Peace

Hello Uganda!

evanchartier — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:46:00 GMT

So I did end up going to the Kakamega forest, and it was quite nice. I saw many monkeys and just walking through the forest was really pretty, although still expensive! Then I wanted to go straight to Uganda through Malaba border, but I only had 200 KSH (less than 3 USD) and it was not enough for the ride back. So I headed to Kakamega again to switch some money at the bank, but when I got there at noon all the banks were closed! So to make a long story short I got stuck in Kakamega town with no money for the weekend! It was a good thing in the end. For one, I really like Kakamega and made some friends there at the hotel where I stayed. Also, it let me save some money which I later needed for the Uganda visa. So I returned to the hotel where I had stayed and after begging from the owner to let me stay and promising to pay him monday morning when the banks opened (payment is always made in advance here)I had a place to stay. the 2 dollars I had then (after paying for the ride back to town) I was able to eat and survive the weekend only running out of money late on Sunday night. Monday I ran around to several banks to try and find one that carried dollars. I knew I didnt need too many shillings (kenyan) because I was coming to Uganga and it would be difficult to change, so I wanted to give a 100 dollar bill and change only 20 USD, but no bank had 80 dollars to return to me. Finally I found one, but they took a hefty commission of 3 dollars, or 15 percent of what I was changing. Whatever. After paying my bill at the hotel I was off on my way to Uganda!

I crossed the Uganda border and decided to come to Mbale, as I heard it was quite beautiful and close to the border. The visa cost 50 USD, so I am probably going to chill here a few days till I can save back the money I spent on the visa. I have found a nice hotel to stay in and there is a lot to do in the area, and I can plan my next move from here. I have decided to skip the main tourist attractions, as they are one tons of money and two I have found I enjoy them less than the things which come for free (or at least in my budget!) Hiking the in Elgon national park for 5 days: 350 dollars. Going to a forest to look at animals: 50 dollars. Taking a bus ride and seeing wild animals while holding a little baby girl in my lap while chickens flap about the car: Priceless!

More to come from Mbale, Uganda!

Naivasha, Kenya

evanchartier — Fri, 6 Nov 2009 19:24:00 GMT

So I got up early today and took the matatu from Nakuru to Naivasha Kenya looking forward to seeing the Hells Gate National Park. After walking around a bit and finding the entrance, the admission fee is 25 USD per day, plus 500 KSH (8USD) to camp and another 500 for a bike. So without eating or traveling I would spend almost 2 days budget! anyway, now I am back in town doing nothing because there is no way I was going to pay that much to get into the park. Just because they can charge anything doesnt mean they should, no? Anyway, I might head north to Kakamega Forest today and spend an extra day there before heading to Uganda. I knew Kenya was expensive but this is the first time it affected me! More to come...

Oh anyway I did get a "safari" on the bus ride down here.... from my seat I saw 2 kinds of monkies, a whole bunch of zebras, and what my city boy self would call a warthog...I have no idea what it was! so the day has still been a good one. Yay! peace

Oh did I mention that I crossed the equater yesterday? I did it while flying to Australia once, but this time it was over land! Good times...

Kenya

evanchartier — Fri, 6 Nov 2009 04:06:00 GMT

So after getting the visa for Kenya I headed with my new hustler friend to change money (73 KSH for 1USD, 5.5KSH for 1 Birr) and find the truck which will take me into Kenya. Paid 2000 KSH (about 29 USD) to sit in the cabin of the truck from Moyale to Nairobi (about 1000 KM, supposedly 24 hours). Started out towards Marsabit with Amy and Matt, 2 english friends in the truck with me. This road is supposed to be very dangerous due to bandits operating from Somalia, mostly because of the drought in the northern part of Kenya. The officer at the border told me there were no recent attacks (LIE!) so I took the truck. We thought the worst past was Moyale-Marsabit, about the first 8 hours of driving. We arrived in Marsabit under heavy rains and our driver Mustafa (yes that was his real name!) decided to stop there for the night. We slept in the back of the truck (filled with beans) with about 10 other Ethiopians and Kenyans crossing the border. In the morning (730 start after telling us to be ready at 4am!) we headed out towards Isiolo. Feeling pretty good that the most dangerous part was over we settled in for the long ride. As we approached Isiolo, Mustafa started praying. He said we were now crossing the most dangerous part of the road, and we should say any prayers to whoever we pray to that we know. AHH! What more....he says someone was killed on the road only 2 days before, and 1 in 5 trucks has been getting attackted, some statistics casually left out by all the officials I spoke to. And current info on this region cant exactly be googled. I thought originally that the rains would deter the bandits, but again Mustafa encouraged us that the rains ment the bandits could stay closer to the road with the easy availability of water, thus increasing the risk. GREAT. Ok, ok, enough. We got to Isiolo fine after about 36 hours of driving. Did I mention it was my birthday? hmmm how better to spend it than traveling on the "worst road in the world" from Ethiopia to Kenya? And I can vouch for that title!

Getting to Isiolo I decided to stay there. I paid to get to Nairobi, but decided against it. I would have to come back north to get to Uganda, and I have limited time as I am on a 7 day transit visa. Stayed the night with Matt and Amy, and woke up 5am this morning to get a matatu (mini bus) to Thompson falls (them to Nakuru). Getting the matatu, we start the journey. Little do we know there is a tribal conflict going on, and on the road we are traveling just an hour before some tribe stole some cattle and the others got revenge by killing someone on the road. So they started setting all types of things on fire in the middle of the road- no passing it today! Waited around with my English friends for a few hours before heading back to Isiolo, and deciding to pay an extra 100 KSH (about 1.5 USD) to take a long way around and make it to Nakuru. After a few hours traveling the matatu never dropped me where I wanted, so I am spending the night in Nakuru. Not knowing anything about this city I wandered around till I found an inernet cafe and met there 2 very nice Kenyan men, one of whom invited me back to his home to stay the night. I wold have taken the offer, however he lives 25 KM from town with no transport to get back in the morning! So they invited me to tea (milk instead of water?) and helped fgind me a hotel. Nice guys! Then I found this sweet internet place so that I could update this blog! Whats next in the plans? well because the plans never seem to work I am skeptical at making them...but it looks like I will get up early as usual and make my way 1 hour south to a Lake and rent a bike to travel Hell's Gate National Park. It looks and sounds amazing! Then the next day I will head north again to Kakamega forest preserve, the last remaining tropical forest in Kenya with 7 species of primates, over 300 species of birds, and over 400 of butterflies! Then (possibly) on to Kisumu where the Obama family is from (now a major Kenyan tourist arraction?) And finally across the border to Uganda. WOW that was a lot. Anyone actually read all that? I hope not! Anyway, things here are amazing I am having a great time and that is what is important. Lots of patience and a great sense of humor have made even the longest journeys and plan changes a worthwhile adventure. I cannot wait to get back and share these and many more stories with all of you soon. Onwards!!!Chao

Where to start?

evanchartier — Fri, 6 Nov 2009 03:40:00 GMT

Oh my gosh. Where do I start this story? So I have no realized that posting everything I have done in a day makes no sense, plus it would take me weeks to put it all online, so I will try to hit the basics of what has been going on. Especially because I have had no internet for about 2 weeks. so here goes.

After finishing in Gonder ( I believe I left off there?) we went up to Debark and hiked the simien mountains. It was the most beautiful, amazing place I believe in the world. I cannot put it into words, so I will just let you know that you have to come to experience it. Period.

Then I dropped back to Debark for a good nights sleep and broke off from Dani and the Belgians who continued North. I heard from some Canadian friends the border with Kenya was heating up again and I decided to get back to the capital and hit up the embassy to check out the situations. I went 2 days in a bus (with diariah if you get the picture) and made it back to Addis. After running around like crazy for a day I got no information. Typical African embassy right? Immigration officer, the guy I had to speak with, was gone for vacation or something I dont know, but he was not there when he was supposed to be. Went to the movies (the man with Samuiel L Jackson) and it was one of the funniest experiences of my life. I love ethiopians in movies! Plus admission and food cost less than a dollar, and that is expensive theater prices! I made up my mind to head out in the morning towards Moyale (the kenya/Ethiopia border) to check out the situation first hand. As I was heading back to my room to sleep...oh wait! forgot something! I took 2 hustlet guys out to dinner that was hilarious. They ordered the most expensive things on the menu and I paid for it. BAD IDEA. But in the end it was not much money. Street Hustlers. Grrr. I hate Addis! (not really)

So as I was saying. I headed back to my room at Taitu hotel bored as can be when I saw my American and Italian friends! They were planning a trip to the remote Omo valley, and we decided to go to dinner together. I took them to a burger place I know of in town (later gave me food poinsoning) and we spoke about their trip. Basically, travel there is very expensive because you have to rent a jeep which costs over 100 USD per day. So I was not planning on going there at all, because it is way out of my budget. But they told me that I could pay my daily budget and they would cover the rest! So they let me go with them. I believe I posted something about that earlier? I dont remember. Anyway, we went the next morning to the Omo valley for what was supposed to be 8 days. I lived super cheap (i.e. camping and making my own food) while they stayed in top notch places, however allowing me to shower at will! They are really awesome. Thanks Corrado and Ben! Anyway, we saw some amazing things such as the Hammer tribe and the Mursi tribes where the women wear (insert) HUGE lip plates and no one has any idea why. Just google it and you will see what I am talking about. So I bought a lip plate from one of the women (she literally took it out of her lip and sold it to me) very cool. After the 7th day of traveling they decided they had enough, and wanted to skip the last day. I was not too happy as this was the day we were to go to Omorate and cross the river, but what can I do? So we started driving back north. On the way we were stopped by some Hammer people. A tourist car hit and run their 4 year old boy. We could not believe it. His head was split open really bad...I will leave out the gory details. Basically, with no hospital near by, we bandaged him as good as we could with my first aid kit and offered to take him to the nearest hospital (about 6 hour drive on terrible roads). The driver refused, saying he would be responsible if the boy died in his jeep, a very likely possibility. What could we do? The elders of the tribe spoke for a few hours (obviously not the smart thing to do)as the boy lay motionless on the side of the road. Finally the police showed up, we gave them money for transport, and they took him to a clinic in a nearby (3 hours away) town. I hope the boy is alive. Shame on those people who hit him. How could someone do such a thing?

So maybe we were supposed to skip the last day of our trip so that we could help the Hammer people. I am typing this really quickly, and have left out a lot of details. But I have been thinking about it a lot lately and I really hope he is ok. So many stories.

So after that we stopped again at the Strawberry Fields Eco Lodge in Konso and I stayed there the night while the other guys continued on to Arba Minch and back to addis. There was no reason for me to go there, having later to return south to the border with Kenya. the eco lodge is a unique permaculture porject owned by a nice northern Irish fellow named Alex. There were 3 guys woofing there as well (willing workers on organic farms) 1 French and 2 Americans. Alex is married to an Ethiopian and has a whild on the way. Congrats Alex! I almost stayed to volunteer there to set up a drip irrigation system for their organic garden, but my urgancy to get to the border got the better of me.

The next morning I left the eco lodge for Moyale. After a crazy (and long) ride south I arrived at the border at 8P.M. in the rain. I quickly found a hotel (the Abraheem hotel), made some pasta, and hunkered down for a quick sleep. Waking up at 5am (I had no idea what time the border opened) I got some grub and made my way accross no-mans-land to Kenya. Once there, the official (border opened 6:30) told me I have to go back to Ethiopia to get my visa exit-stamped, and they only open at 8. Chilling back in Ethiopia and eating some samusas I met an interesting hustler who set me up with the truck out of kenya. Got the exit stamp (painless) and back to Kenya to get the 10 USD 7-day transit visa. Basically I want to get in and out of kenya as quick as possible so that I can get to Uganda. I heard Kenya is expensive (not true unless you go to expensive places as it turns out) but I didnt know that, and still it will be nice to have more time in Uganda. I have to save this so it doesnt get erased, hold on!

Funny how things work out

evanchartier — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:29:00 GMT

Hey ok so I was planning on writing from where I left off, as there are many things that happened from Gondar to now such as the AMAZING Simien Mountains trek. But something great has happened! As I was wasting the day on the internet and walking around aimlessly in the capital, I just about called it a night and while heading back to my room I saw the Italian and American guys I met the first day I arrived in Ethiopia. Turns out they are heading out in the morning to the rural Omo Valley. It is supposed to be one of the most interesting and culturally different places in the world. Just type in Omo Valley in google pictures and see for yourself. Well, I was not going to be able to go there on my journey as it is very expensive. You must rent a jeep, get a guide, food, water, accomidation, and everything. It can add up to hundreds of dollars for a short trip, way out of my shoe-string budget. Well, they did the math, and even if I pay a minimal amount, it will still be cheaper for them, so they invited me to come along! As I am on a budget of about 30 USD a day, they told me all I would have to pay is 21 dollars a day to cover everything except entrance fees, food, and accomidation. Entrance fees are pretty cheap, food I will cook myself on the stove I brought for exactly this purpose, and we are bringing a tent they said I could have to myself. So basically I will be able to do this whole trip at or below my budget! I cant believe how sometimes things work out that you have no intention of ever being able to do. This is amazing! And it will still be saving them a ton of money, about 20 percent from the total cost of the trip. They are happy, I am happy...And I will have tons more stories to tell when I get back! I had better go, I have an early morning tomorrow! How will I ever fit in everything I am doing on this journal? AHHH

PEACE

Mini bus to Debark...I mean Gonder?

evanchartier — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:09:00 GMT

After parting (for now) with our new Belgian friends, we got up at 6am after a great night sleep in a roach infested room. At least the bathrooms were clean! The first thing I saw waking up was a giant roach next to Dani's head, on the inside of the mossie net. Some good that thing did! We are breakfast at the "cloud 9 cafe," 2 egg omlette sandwiches and more tea. Called the hustler who set us up with the minibus and he showed up at 8. Really uneventful ride. I saw my first farmer with an Obama shirt on! Apparently, as I would later find out, this is quite common in this part of Africa. After being here almost 2 weeks I cant go a day without seeing Obama shirts, posters, eating at an Obama cafe, or playing at the Obama pool house. I can only imagine what it will be like in Kenya! On the way we also saw 2 rural funeral processions, a very different affair from what I am used to in America or Israel. Just a body carried on a wooden stretcher. There wasnt any crying or anything, it was very different from what I have seen previously. Hard to explain I guess.

Our fellow passengers in the car included but were in no way limited to: about 50 chickens, a guy with a kalatchnikov rifle, and several randoms who stared at us for the entire trip like aliens. :) At least they didnt take pictures!

We got off at Gonder, where the minibus was supposed to take an hour break for lunch and to reload to head further north to debark. SCAM! The minibus never came back to get us, and we lost the money we paid him in advance. It was only a loss of about 10 dollars, and probably a cheap way to learn an important lesson. We should have given him 40 birr, the price to get to Gondar, and only once continuing to Debark the remaining 60 birr. Of course he would have not gone for this, as there is no minibus service to Debark. We didnt know this until 2 local boys laughed at us when we told him our plans, and they informed us we had been scammed. So we had to spend a night in Gondar. We started out very upset, and it changes how you act towards the people. We felt we could not trust anyone anymore, and the feeling has lasted quite a bit. We saw around waiting and calling the guy who ripped us off, and of course he pleaded innocent. We found a really nice hotel (albeit expensive) and crashed for a few hours seeping in our naitivity. Spelling? Oh well. I met a nice guy traveling alone from New Zealand, showered, did some laundry, and decided to walk around the city with my didge. It always cheers me up and makes for a great conversation starter. Works every time! Everyone in the town loved the sounds they had never heard before. We went to a local joint and ate some injera while Dani called the minibus guy one last time. She scared him pretty good (telling him we had the bus number and will go to the police) but there is no way we will get the money back. Walking around the market for a bit and drinking mango juice picked up our spirits and we met two nice lady volunteers for the Kindu Trust Organization. They are looking for volunteers to make home visits, something we will check out later. Dani and I each bought an ethiopian colorful blanket for 125 birr, usefull for everything from a pillow to a blanket to a seat cusion on those long rides. Everyone laughs at us when we wear them, because we look like Ethiopian farmers. That and the didge make for a great little getup!

We checked out the internet situation but every place was expensive and painfully slow, so we soon gave up on that. We sent letters to Brit Olam that we will most likely not be volunteering with them, a decision we each made independantly in light of ever changing travel plans. Currently the plan is to leave the town at 5am to Debark and wait there one day to arrange the trek in the national park, then meet our Belgian friends and travel with them.

Back at the hotel Dani tries on the dresses she bought today and realizes they are way too small. We will try to get them tailored, but she was pretty upset.

How can any of this be interesting to people? I am almost getting bored writing about what I have been doing! Oh well. I guess it will be nice to read when I finish my trip eh? Ok well I am going to get some food before calling the Kenyan Embassy and updating more on this journal later. PEACE

Up to Bahir Dar

evanchartier — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:49:00 GMT

Had some trouble sleeping at night, I woke up several times. Guess I was nervous about the ride, and I really hope the jeep will show up! I will feel stupid getting caught in a scam this early in my trip (ooh just wait it will come soon enough!) Finally got up at 4am, packed everything, and came outside to wait for the jeep. Showed up at 4:40 and we rode around Addis for a while picking up and dropping off random people. In the car the driver played everything (VERY LOUDLY) from Akon to Eminem to Michael Jackson, and the other passanger by the door was secretly taking pictures of his white farenji jeepmates. He thought we didnt notice he took them with his phone...what does he want with them? When you take a picture of someone here you have to first ask permission, then usually pay them for it. We should have told him the same. For real though...creepy!

We stopped at the Africa Hotel to eat breakfast, bread and tea. I tried to open the trunk of the car and broke off the black piece which holds the little light over the liscence plate. It was obviously broken several times before and was hanging by a thread when I popped it off. The driver fixed it with some black glue which he obviously used to fix it previously, but not after throwing a fit and demanding 200 bir (19 USD). After being very clear there was no way he was getting money from us, he just let it go. I wonder how much he has gotten from that little scam? He then bought a whole bag of chat and ate it all through the car ride. Chat is a mildly intoxicating plant famous here in Ethiopia and exported to many countries. It is legal, but I would rather the person driving my jeep not be chewing it the whole time! especially on the crazy roads we were on. Oh well...its Ethiopia! I later learn that you should be suspicious when the driver does not have chat...its the normal thing these days!

Driving i was very surprised at the red dirt and the cows with massive horns and hump backs like camels. I have never seen anything like it. Just by driving you can tell what a beautiful country this is. The road down to the nile gorge drops over 1000m and is really breathtaking. Also, it seems no matter how small the town, there are a bunch of fooseball tabels all being used by enthusiastic youth. Random?

Got to Bahir Dar and we started walking the wrong way. A "nice" guy came up to us and told us he didnt want money,only to show us the right way. This immidiately got my attention. That doesnt happen in Ethiopia! Of course he wants something. So we tell him where we want to go, and he pulls us over a cab. We pay the 20 birr to take us 200 meters and only realise later this is why he didnt ask for money. The cab (a little motor scooter thing with canopy) should cost about 2 birr. Splitting the profit with the driver, he made off quite well. What a tricky guy!

Because it was a fast day (twice a week many Ethiopians "fast") we got injera with vegtables. A fast means no meat, and injera is like thge national food. Basically its a very spongy flat bread which I find tasty only when I am very hungry. Also the veggies tend to be really spicy, but its the national food so we have to eat it! It is quite filling though...

We were trying to decide whether or not to take a boat ride on Lake Tana, which is the major tourist attraction here. After getting many offers we were able to get the price to just 50 Birr per person for a ride to the Debra Maryam Monestary and the hippo place. Meeting 2 Belgiums on the way who decided to join us, the price dropped to 40. Not too bad! We walked around the grounds of the monestary and saw many interesting birds and butterflys. We really liked the Belgiums and also met an Ethiopian Israeli on the boat visiting his home country for the first time. We passed the "hippo place" and the source of the nile...did you know Egypt gets 80 percent of its water from Ethiopia? Did you know Ethiopia has 5.2 million donkeys, second only to china? But that their average lifespan is only a third that of donkeys in the rest of the world? ok enough trivia!

After the boat ride we went back to town and got food for the coming trek in the Simien Mountains. Pasta, rice, canned goods, etc. We met our new Belgium friends for mango and pinapple juice and forgot to tell them to use bottled water. Oops! Hopefully no one will get sick! It was tasty, but not as good as in addis ababa. I went to get a reciept from a guy who is going to get us a minibus straight to debark (turns out to be a scam!). He took me to a restaurant to get a piece of paper to write a receipt. It didnt seem legit at all, so I said no and he told me fine I can pay tomorrow. He told me he will show up at 8 at the hotel. Ok, fine so far. Just wait till tomorrow.

Met the group at a restaurant for dinner and drank a bunch of tea, to which i am slowly becoming addicted. Talked to Dani about doing the Simien trek with the Belgiums, someone I didnt want to do at first as it meant waiting a day until they could get to the base camp. Ended up being a good idea, and I am glad we waited for them. Dani also promised me we would be at the border with kenya by Nov. 1, so whatever happens is ok. This doesnt look like a reality at the moment for her, but that will come later. We went back to the hotel and tried to lighten dani's pack load. She has a lot she can return to Israel. Went to sleep late at 23:40 with a daily total of 405 birr (32 USD)

Wow that was a lot those past 2 stories. Its now late and I will try to upload more tomorrow!!! Sweet dreams everyone :)

Where to start?

evanchartier — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:25:00 GMT

Where should I even start this story? I think it will take me the next 2 days to fill in the last week since I have seen a computer, but lets do this daily eh?

So...after I updated last Dani and I went to eat dinner and withdraw money from the bank. We walked through the Merkato in Addis Ababa, the largest outdoor market in Africa. No one really knows the borders of the market, it is just kind of a sprawl. It is also considered one of the most dangerous places to be. But we got through ok! Maybe it was because Dani had all our important things under her coat making her look pregnant...in 80 degree heat...that people figured we were just crazy tourists and not worth bothering. I have no idea, but the only interesting thing that happened there was someone tried to grab/steal the empty water bottle Dani was carrying. Kind of sad really, we have no good merkato stories.Oh we did see one boy carry about 20 foam matresses on his head! And walked through blocks of the same items...its set up in sections (if you can call it that) such as recycling, phone parts, plastic containers, baskets, and anything else you can think of. Only you can never get through it all because its simply too big. I believe there are some stalls way in there that dont see a customer all day, but they dont seem to mind. There are also many people on the sidewalk with scales so that you can see how much you weigh. Now this is interesing...there are so many people with scales and not a chubby person in the country (except maybe the farenji tourists) so how can they make money? Goes against supply and demand, no? How many times a day do you want to check your weight while walking down the street and just wish there was someone there with a scale? Well in Ethiopia you wouldnt have that problem!

I saw a few kids playing ball on the side of the road...more like kicking a block of old rags around, but i decided to join them anyway. they found it very amusing that i would want to play with them, and so did the hundred or so people who crowded around laughing! ahhh

Walking back in the direction of the hotel I picked up a piece of bread for lunch for 5 US cents. We passed Hope Enterprises, a great organization helping to feed the city's poor. I bought 16 meal tickets for 8 birr, about 80 cents for 16 meals! I then gave them out on the street where they were much sought after. A great idea, as the people who refuse them must not be hungry enough (and several did), and those who want the tickets can go get a free meal. Sounds good to me.

We got to an internet place but for some reason they had no enectricity to their computers, only the phone, so I called my mom but then the phone cut off after 2 minutes! sorry mom!

Got some mango drinks at a local joint, now my favorite thing in Ethiopia. My rastifarian (hustler) friend showed us a place that sells mango for 6 birr (50 cents) rather than 14 birr (over 1 dollar) which we had been paying. Thanks dude! If you dont know about the rastifarians you should read about them...interesting people.He took us to his friends place where we hired a jeep for the next day to Bahir Dar for 170 birr. I know he makes a comission and we paid way too much, but I didnt have the energy to do anything else. And we got picked up from the hotel so it was nice. The ride is the story for tomorrow! I had to pay half for a down payment, very sticky if you ask me...I dont like paying before riding, but I got a receipt so what can I say. He asked me for money (as everyone here does) and I told him I would think about it for when I get back. Thats also a story for later!

Back in the hotel I took a shower with the head falling over on me twice. at least it was hot water. Did some laundry and off to bed. Early start tomorrow!!! Daily total: 107 birr or about 9 USD!!!!

Addis Ababa

evanchartier — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:50:00 GMT

Hey there! Wasnt planning on going on the internet today, but my friend Dani needed the internet so we came here. And what else to do than update this? The internet here is half the money as the other place...about 75 cents an hour! REally nice, and facebook works too unlike yesterday. So heres a bit of what I have been doing! After using the internet yesterday I had to use the bathroom and there was one in the bank accross the street. It seems here people go on the side of the road...at least thats what I saw a few times ysterday...so the bathrooms were hard to find. interesting experience, but i will spare the details. I then sat on the side of the road to write some letter to my mom and to Israel, and everyone thought I was crazy for sitting with the shoe shiners on the road. Paid 8.35 birr for the letters to be sent. Walking down the road I saw a guy and his wife pushing their van so I helped them out they were cool. I then saw a dog who had just died on the side of the road, that was pretty sad but it happens a lot here apparently. Spent 16.5 birr in the supermarket for lunch; ate a carrot and a can of tuna for lunch, while many people stared at me like I was crazy. I learned it is cheaper to eat in a restaurant than get my own food! Wont be too much cooking here I guess... Wandering still I found the national museum I wanted to go there and just happened to find it! 10 birr entrance fee. Really nice guides, but I didnt use them. Information was written in English, so there was no need. in and out in an hour. Saw LUCY the first upright walking human ancestor and the "earliest child." I met a guy there who is volunteering with a medical mission to do clef lip surgery in the north, nice guy. He let me use his lonely planet book to research hotels. Ate lunch- roll of bread for 1 birr. felt bad walking and eating while people are starving all around me. I noticed here in Ethiopia you have very rich people and starving people in the same place. A BMW and Mercedes will drive past starving crippled people and not blink an eye. I guess that is just a smaller version of the world, no? We are doing the same thing every day and it doesnt effect us. The world is a crazy place. I finally found the Taitu hotel. I met some guys outside really nice, they are my friends and I have seen them several times since. I think one is a hussler, but he is nice anyway. Just cant trust him! The reception told me the cheapest room was 108 birr but I talked them into giving me a room for 72 birr in the back of the place. They dont even tell people about it or show it to anyone- what do I care, Im just sleeping there! Not too bad I have slept in worse- 2 small beds, sink that doesnt work, shared bathrooms with no toilet seat...pretty nice if you as me! Had a great night sleep too. Almost forgot...Met 2 israelis who traveled here and left last night. Also met an American, Italian, German, and Ethiopian guy and we spoke for a long time. They went north this morning.Ate "chicken soup"- basically a parrageish thing with rice?at 20 birr not worth it! Got a message from Dani that she will be here tomorrow. That will be nice so we can get moving! 2 hard things- saw a man crawling on the ground asking for money, and had a little girl hold my hand and walk with me while pointing at my pack. Have to be fast, I have to go in a minute! Threw away water from airport, bought bottle 8 birr. Everyone loves my didge, want me to play all the time. Got a 14 birr mango drink, best thing ever! Ate a burger for 20 birr.

Days money totals: with visa, 458 birr or about 36.5 dollars. A lot, and slightly over budget, but that is because of the 20 dollar visa. Without that, I only spent18 dollars, saving 12 on the days funds! and today will be even cheaper splitting room cost with Dani.

SO Today...Woke up 8am Dani knocking on door. Yay she is here! Awesome night sleep in my bug bivy and Marmot Heluim sleeping bag...cant say enough about them! She showered and we went to get mango drinks. Planned a few days trip in the north, I will write about it later when I have internet. Now off to breakfast! Oh and I saw an Ethiopian soldier in an Israeli ARmy uniform...Where am I again?! Ok gotta run! More to come! Love everyone

Evan

Finally in Ethiopia

evanchartier — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:40:00 GMT

Ok wow...where do I start? Leaving Israel was one of the hardest things I have had to do since I got there for the army. Saying goodbye to friends was difficult, and to my Great Aunt (emphasis on the Great) Tante Perel. What she has done for me the last few years cannot be expressed in words and I hope that she understands how truely grateful I am for everything. I cant wait to be back in Israel to see you!!!

I have been writing in a journal, so let me recap a bit on thelast 24 hours. I left Tamir in Jerusalem at 7PM to the airport. I arrived very early (about 3.5 hours) and was extremely nervous. I spoke with a lot of people in the airport, they were all really nice but thought I was a bit crazy. Maybe I am? I got to the airport and checked the box of things I can not carry on the plane...i.e. leatherman, fuel canister and stove. Also, I checked my improv didge. It all weighed 3 kilo and people looked at me like I am crazy. The carry on was 7.5 kilo, slightly over the limit but they let me on anyway. Headed to the food court to spend my last 50 NIS and started feeling the excitement of being a solo traveler. Got penne pasta, way over priced but its the airport what can you do. I took a picture of the food and a man came over asking why I had taken a picture of his family. Apparently they were scared I was taking pictures of them and not my pasta? I was nervous to have so much cash on me, my main (read: only) source of funds. Went to gate B3 and sat around reading for a bit. It was very weird to be the only white person sitting in the gate! Great feeling though to really be doing something different. But for once I felt awkward- what many foreigners must feel in America every day. When we were boarding, many more white people came on board to spoil my fun. It was an uneventful flight. I sat next to a 48 year old guy from Kampala Uganda. He was really nice, and looked 30. He said it was because he laughs a lot. And he sure did! We had a great time together. I ripped the amharic english translation out of the inflight magazine so that I can speak a little bit. Getting off the place I felt I was really in another world! Getting a 20 dollar visa took about an hour, for lack of pens to fill anything out and random rooms with sketchy people. But it was fun!

Got my bags, everything made it ok. I took all the stuff from the box and stuffed it into the 1 bag. I met an Israeli guy who travels here a lot, and we shared a cab to the city for 40 birr (20 for me). I changed 100 USD at a rate of 12.543 birr. I then walked down the road and saw tons of runners! Who would have thought...I mean Ethiopia does produce some of the best runners in the world but I didnt know it caught on so well with the citizens. Every second person was either running, stretching, or kicking a ball. Now this is my kind of city! It is pretty cool here too- had to throw on a fleece. Walking down the street I was again the only white person (I have a feeling I will have to get used to this)and I drew plenty of stares and shouts from kids. I had to fight the urge to laugh but I could not keep smiling. Went over a bride with a stream under it, loaded with trash and stray dogs. There were some blue tin houses near the stream, I wanted to go check then out but thought I would get my bearings first. It seemed like the area was a rain forest before the city was here, with tons of trees. I met a night guy on the street, and after saying Chao he stopped and bowed a bunch of times to the other side of the street. Not sure why. :)

Walking down the street I came to a sport area. Hundreds of people working out- running, pushups, soccer, karate, plyometrics, everything! There was no real track but rather long strips of stairs which can be run on, and many of the people there were fast. Although I heard the fastest runners are in the mountains, these people are getting ready for the massive Great Ethiopian Run in November. It was very quiet for this many people in one place, I could feel the intensivity of the athletes. I met a few young men and they were teaching me Amharic. Really nice guys, work out there every day, maybe I will come back tomorrow. I then bought 3 envelopes and paper for 3.12 birr (about a quarter) and I will start writing some letters now. I also found the post office, so that should not be a problem. The woman at the store wanted a copy of my english amharic phrases haha so I gave it to her. And its only 9AM! I cant believe everything here is awesome and I am getting a lot done. I want to stop by the National Museum today. I will update on that later. I miss everyone!!! Have a great day. Chao! Evan

Update on Dani

evanchartier — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:23:00 GMT

I spoke with Dani's mother this morning. Dani is feeling much better and is on her way to Ethiopia! Were meeting at the taitu hotel, whenever she gets there. In the meantime there is a bunch I can do around the city! Countdown to Ethiopia: 1 day!

Night out

evanchartier — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 07:52:00 GMT

I spoke with Dani for a minute after she saw the doctor. Turns out she has malaria. She got some pills that she has to take, but I am not sure if she will be able to make the trip to Ethiopia. Either way I hope to meet up with her later. I picked up a North Face Flight Series long sleeve shirt. The only size they had was small, so I got it. I walked in the store with a short sleeve North Face shirt and North Face pants...the guy asked me if I was a walking advertisement for them! It was funny I didnt even realize that North Face were pretty much all the clothes I will be bringing to Africa. I asked the guy how much the shirt costs, as they were listed at 30 percent off. He told me 145 NIS or about 40 USD. Not too bad- got to the register and turns out they were much more. He gave me the lower price anyway, apologizing for the mistake :) Got lucky!

I then went through town and looked everywhere for some mosquito spray with at least 25 percent DEET in it. I cant find it anywhere! I will keep looking, hopefully I will find it before I fly. If not I will bring what I have and look for it in Addis Ababa. I got a tiny journal for 14 NIS and bought a cool knee-brace looking thing which is really a money holder on your leg. Dont want to get robbed!

Watched the Kansas City and Dallas Cowboys game at Blue Hole pub in town with DT, Nicky, and a new friend from their University. Crazy end of the game! Then got back, called Luc for his b-day (HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUC!) and decided to write this. I hope Dani gets better soon. More to come...

I wonder why people actually like to read about what other people are doing? Weird... I was originally thinking of keeping a journal for myself but I guess this is the best way to let people know I am safe. Nice to see people are commenting and reading all the random things I have to say! Night.

Friend Sick in Kenya

evanchartier — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 23:19:00 GMT

Just got off the phone with Dani. I am supposed to meet her in Ethiopia then travel through Kenya to meet Roni in Uganda to volunteer at the orphanage there. Sounds like she (Dani) is really sick. 102.5 F fever and rising. Not sure what she has yet, but the doctor got there as I was on the phone. She is going to the hospital and I hope she will be all right.

That being said, it looks like I will be on my own now in Ethiopia. Thinking about what I want to do. Thought it would be nice to be with a friend for a bit before breaking off on my own, but I guess I will be jumping into the deep end on this one! Her illness got me a little more worried about mosquito bites, as there is a good chance that she is infected from them. Looks like I will go to town today to get a long sleeve shirt and some high percentage DEET to ward off the little buggers. Break the bank a bit, but dont want to get sick! More to come...

Good Bye Mom!

evanchartier — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 20:29:00 GMT

My Mom was here in Israel for the last month and she just went back to America! It was sad to see her go...it is every time. Also my brother went back to the army this morning and I dont know when I will see him again! Mom took a bunch of my stuff back to the states, everything I wont need in Africa. Alana was here this weekend it was great we went hiking in the Golan Heights! Great fun being hobos in Israel...

Just bought my ticket from South Africa through Cairo to NYC on Jan. 20. I am excited for Africa and also to get back home and see my friends and family. I havent seen you guys in too long! This is weird writing all this online eh? Whatever...I think this is the best way to get in touch with everyone. Well, its off the Ethiopia in 2 days. Getting the bag ready and packed. In bringing a 24 liter Osprey Stratus bag. I dont think anyone have traveled to Africa with such a small bag! Good stuff. I'll write here later! Peace. Evan