The Simien Mountains I am ready! After a horrible hangover yesterday and a failed attempt at getting on an organized trek at the tune of $220 I thought I'd get my ass up there myself and organize it myself. Yesterday I picked some kerosene and Yigzaw and his friend helped get me a bus headed to Debark. As I boarded the bus I ran into fellow traveller and CSer Jamie, whom I met in the Piazza of Addis last week. She's part of a group who are doing a day trip to the Simiens, but I'd be discontent with a day trip. I don't know, is it true that travellers always try to one-up each other? Heading north from Gondar it got dusty and rural, and the driver picked up passengers until the bus was packed full. What do an Ethiopian bus and a can of tuna have in common? They're airtight and always packed. Halfway to Debark we drove around in circles past a small mosque and as we stopped these kids pulled up with a bicycle containing a steering wheel instead of handlebars. The joys of travel; you see everything and expect the unexpected. Once in Debark I was greeted by the odd beggar and hustler and a sign showing 830 km to Addis. It's a long journey back when I finally begin the return leg! Without enough birr I had to stop at the only bank in town (remarkable there's a bank in a town of this size, and even more remarkable the tellers wearing suits and ties. Debark is very dusty and the road is being paved, but it seems that it'll take sometime before the road is finished. I tried to exchange traveller's cheques but they wouldn't exchange them; I should have exchanged them in Gondar. With a thick wad of birr in my wallet I made my way to the Simien Mountains park office, where I was greeted with a price list and a large map of the Simiens on the wall. There are guides, scouts, mules, mulemen, and cooks available, with only the armed scout being compulsory. Having a mule ensures not having to carry all of my provisions and only costs 130 birr ($7.50) per day (60 birr for the mule, 70 birr for the muleman). A cook is 200 birr per day for up to five people, so I decided I could cook for myself. Park fees per day are 90 birr ($5) plus 10 birr extra if you're camping. Guides are optional but are 200 birr per day. The advantage of guides is that most of them speak English but I felt my scout and muleman could act as de facto guides, so I opted not to have a guide. I opted for going to Geech and returning the same way so that would mean four days in the Simien Mountains. The park fees (360 birr), armed scout (400 birr), and mule with muleman (520 birr) ended up being quite a bargain. Still I had to hire cooking gear and buy food, rope, and bags for the mule. Everything worked out in the ballpark of 1400 birr (about $81), which is a hell of a lot cheaper than if I booked that all-inclusive trek in Gondar. Sometimes things just really work out, and I've had many times where I've paid through the nose for things when I could have organized it myself. Since there are no proper supermarkets in Debark I tipped a few locals to fetch me some supplies: spagetti, tomatoes, onions, garlic, cooking oil, bread, bananas, sugar, and so forth. I had already brought a few things (tea, matches, peanut butter) with me from Gondar. My scout, dressed in blue, is Birara, and my mule handler is Mingestu. With my mule set and all the weight off my back we were off into the Simien Mountains! These mountains are a big reason I came to Ethiopia. I wanted to hike to Sankaber but I was told it's too late in the day, so I'm overnighting in Buyit Ras. The first stretch of the trail is rather uninteresting with loads of farm animals, cattle shit, and dry brush.
It's the dry season, so I don't have to worry about rain being dumped on me but the mountains aren't as green and lush as in the wet season. It was my first time wearing my newly-soled shoes but the soles started coming apart only about two hours into my walk. The shoeshine boy told me they should last me about five months but five days would be more accurate. I was really thirsty a couple of hours in, and Birara seemed surprised that I could use my water filter to fill up directly from a stream, let alone an African stream. I've had no problems with water during my time in Ethiopia. When we stopped for a break we had to change mules and then it was a steep uphill stretch. Locals were passing me barefoot! I don't know how they do it! Shortly before we arrived at Buyit Ras I was very thirsty from all the walking and I had to ask some locals at a tukol hut to top up my water filter.
Buyit Ras, there I was with a good amount of light remaining.
Setting up my tent before it got dark I started to boil some tea water I met two Polish hikers, Jan and Filip with their own personal guide, Dashaw. He speaks perfect English and was more than happy to chat and give me advice. The walk today was slightly boring but the view from the campsite is unbelievable. It's only going to get better tomorrow as I'll be heading toward Geech. For dinner I made spaghetti, and for sauce I cut up some onions, fried them, and then mashed up some tomatoes. You're definitely not spoilt for choice when it comes to food out here, so don't expect to be stocking up on protein bars, juice mix, and packets of soup. I couldn't even find a fuel cannister for my camping stove (which is why I had to rent a camping stove in Debark). As I feasted on spaghetti I was invited to have coffee and salad with Jan, Filip, and Dashaw. Their cook comes well-dressed with a cooking hat! We swapped many stories as locals got the campfire going, and it suddenly got very cold. The Moon tonight was barely visible as a waxing crescent, so that meant the stars would be shining beautifully. When you travel you tend to pay attention to things that you otherwise wouldn't in your daily routine at home, such as lunar phases, constellations, and so forth. Most of the constellations were discovered thousands of years ago when people weren't indoors all the time. I'm extremely excited about trekking further tomorrow. The Simiens have treated me well on the first day, and it shall continue tomorrow!
