It may be Valentine's Day but today I'm headed for Geech. That reminds me, last year I spent Valentine's Day in Belize. When I woke up this morning I expected a more demanding trek and even more spectacular scenery to go along with it. The beginning of the walk yesterday was rather boring but I knew it'd be better today! After having some tea and packing up my tent I made sure all three of my water bags were full, making sure to avoid a repeat of yesterday. Jan and Filip had already started but I wasn't far behind. As the sun was up it was warm out and the first half hour of the trek was continuously up and down until we reached the road. My muleman went ahead whilst Birara (my scout) accompanied me and showed me the way. The dirt road leads straight to Geech but the walk along the precipice is extremely scenic! Five minutes later I was at the edge of the cliff in awe.
Excitedly and suddenly I felt like I was in southern Utah or somewhere in the American Southwest. "Africa's Grand Canyon" I thought out loud. That changed somewhat though when I got my first glimpse of bleeding-heart (gelada) baboons, so named for the red spot on the chest of the male baboon. With a huge flock of baboons directly in front of me, I was able to get somewhat close for some good photos, including some of baby baboons on the mothers' backs.
Everywhere I walked I was in complete awe of the landscape! It is sooooooooo spectacular! As I sat for some fresh air I meditated, not thinking of anything else. It's that peaceful and that beautiful. For the majority of the day I was walking with the "Walking Poles" and the two scouts (mine and theirs) were walking together with Dashaw. We all got a group photo together! After we passed Sankaber we made a slight detour we came upon an abyss that must be at least a 5,000 foot drop!
It's been dry as a bone lately but during the wet season there's a spectacular waterfall that thunders into the canyon. As we saw a raven fly below us we could see how tiny it is completed to this enormous precipice! Some of the best landscape photos I've ever snapped came today, but photos don't do justice here in the Simiens; you actually have to come here! There are many points where I can just sit motionless and soak up the view for hours! Children sell hats and other trinkets even way up here, and I was offered a coffee ceremony at Geech Village. My weary self really needed a cup of coffee! As we began the final part of today's walk we encountered scores more of gelada baboons. Dashaw joked about shooting a gelada and then butchering and roasting it for dinner, but it's illegal since we're in a national park. Jan and Filip continued on ahead whilst I took a detour to a tukol for a coffee ceremony. I was all worn out by then as I walked 24 km by then and still had a couple more to go. Sitting quietly inside the dark tukol I relaxed in awe as the roasting beans were brought to my nose. The scent of coffee...unforgettable! The views of the Simiens...unforgettable! Ethiopia...unforgettable! Africa...unforgettable! With my Amharic phrasebook I practiced a little. My age is 28, and Amharic it's "haya seumeunt" After three cups of coffee I was so thankful. Beforehand I had bargained down to 50 birr from 100 birr, but I enjoyed the ceremony so much that I gave the family 100 birr. The campground was only a little further ahead but it was all uphill, and then I was met by a two buildings (about 300 metres apart) and a grassy plain where I saw all the tents. My muleman had some water going for me so I could immediately have a cup of tea, as it felt great to reach Geech. There are lot more people here tonight than there were at Buyit Ras last night; some of them drove in on 4WDs part way whilst a few others are returning from Ras Dashen. All the way up here, yes, all the way up here, there's a hut where you can buy beer, soda, juice, supplies, and even tej! When I offered to shout Jan and Filip a bottle of tej for being so awesome, Dashaw advised me not to because I couldn't be sure how long it's been there. I took his word for it and thought I'd offer something later. I could order dinner and even have a hot shower at the communal lodge! My legs are so filthy that I could see dirt clogging my pores, so a hot shower would be great!
After getting my tent set up I put all my stuff away and headed toward the lodge. I didn't feel like cooking tonight so I ordered spaghetti and had it with a view!
Told to come back in about a half hour for a shower, it was starting to get very cold. It's not even a real shower! What they do is they boil like 80 litres of water and then pour it into a bin above the stall, and you turn the nozzle to let some of it out (repeating the process over and over. By then the sun had set and it was extremely cold (much colder than Buyit Ras)! I had no towel and no change of clothes, and I was only focused on getting dressed as quickly as possible before suffering from hypothermia. My Amharic book fell out of my jacket and was totally soaked, and with no socks (I wore my jandals to the lodge) my feet were so cold my toes were starting to hurt! The campfire was roaring and all I could think of was getting as close to that fire as possible. This was how beautiful the view was earlier.
With another cup of tea in hand, Jan and Filip bought me a beer but I didn't care for it so I gave it to Birara. After that hangover in Gondar I've had no appetite for alcohol at all! As we were talking I heard Dashaw declare "tomorrow is going to be the most beautiful part of the trek." The plan for tomorrow was to head back and overnight at either Sankaber or Buyit Ras, but I really started feeling like I wanted to carry on to Chenek. Filip said "tomorrow hasn't happened yet, you could still go to Chenek" so I asked Dashaw to let my scout and muleman know I'd like to carry on. It will put me in the park for an extra night so I'll have to pay the difference when I get back out to Debark. When Birara (my scout) sat with us I said "neugeu, Chenek" ("neugeu" is "tomorrow" in Amharic). I'm in Ethiopia with plenty enough time to allow for rest days, unexpected detours, and so forth. There's no hurry! Geech is at an altitude of 3600 metres and Chenek is at 3620 metres, but Imet Gogo, where I'll be going tomorrow is at more than 3900 metres. In terms of altitude this is much like the Inca Trail. For a long while I sat by the fire, chatting away. There's something extremely mysterious and legendary about the Simien Mountains. They're so rugged, you'd think absolutely nothing lives here yet there are dozens of villages which are mostly linked by foot trail. The mountains have been used for thousands of years as a method of defense and to escape from the world. I'm in awe as I sat with another cup of tea! When I went to go to sleep I woke up sometime later to what I thought was someone outside my tent. My shoes and T-shirt were both gone, and I thought either a human or another baboon stole them! Frantically in the pitch dark and freezing cold I searched around for them, but it turned out Birara had picked them up and put them with the rest of my gear. It's frigid, and I'm hoping a warm day comes soon as I head for Chenek...
