All bit up by mozzies last night, I was annoyed. Walking with the stars still shining with a glimpse of Scorpio I felt slightly better. Being driven in a minibus in the opposite direction of Axum's bus station I was even more annoyed! Bags of puke being tossed out a bus window: disgusting! An adventure of a day it was today and that's not even half the story. As I walked to the bus station at 5 AM a minibus picked me up after backing up and then drove me in the opposite direction of the bus station. It was only after I got upset that he drove me back, and losing my toothbrush and toothpaste in the process. Another long bus ride was on tap for today, though not as long as the other day. I had to make sure my bladder was empty, so following the "When in Ethiopia do as the Ethiopians do" mantra I took a piss off the back door of the bus. With all the twisting hairbends it's a good thing there were plastic bags on hand. The strategy is to puke in the bag and then chuck it out the window but it's gross and annoying having puke bags tossed above my head, whilst headache-inducing loud music is blasting and the bus is locked up tighter than a drum. Tigray's landscape is incredible! Like something out of Northern Arizona or Central Otago. The rock homes are especially neat and the area is definitely more picturesque than the Amhara region.
Tigrinya is the official language of Tigray; many people in the region don't speak or understand Amharic. Two big attractions in the area are Debre Damo and the rock-hewn churches of Tigray. If I had more time I would go to them but I'll admit that visiting all these monuments can get tiresome. Shortly after passing through Adwa we stopped for a few whilst I got to soak up the incredible view. It's amazing here! Where else in the world can you be and find a scene this beautiful!
We drove down into a steep canyon and then steeply up another, encountering the tightest hairpin turns imaginable. Snapping photos proved to be difficult with blue tint on the windows but they're no less beautiful.
After hundreds of rock buildings, dozens of sheer drop-offs and hairpin turns, and one-too-many bags of puke tossed above my head, we pulled into the rather nondescript city of Adigrat. It's rather hot and lacking in vegetation, and the bus station looks like something out of a truck stop in the American Southwest where you'd have lunch, buy a pack of cigarettes and grab a cold beer whilst waiting for your load.
I wasn't up for a beer but I feasted on the best gomen (collard greens) I've had in Ethiopia! Vegetarian fare is so difficult to find but lunch today was divine. The border to Eritrea is a measly 35 km away but I won't be going there anytime soon as long as the border remains shut. Looking at a relief map of Ethiopia it appeared it was going to be a steep, vertiginous drop-off out the left side of the window but the landscape wasn't that dramatic. The rock buildings and the dry, sun-parched landscape definitely make Tigray unique. These past couple of weeks have been a challenge: a horrible hangover in Gondar, a dramatic trek through the Simiens, a super-long bus ride from Debark to Axum, and everything in between! Ethiopia you frustrate me at times, though I have risen to the challenge. It's time for some relaxation in...Mek'ele.
