Ethiopia - Bahar Dar

I awoke at 4 am.  It’s now 4:45 am and 5:45 pm in Vancouver. I can make no sense of my internal alarm clock. It’s decidedly whacked. I went to bed at 10 pm and have got 6 hours sleep, I fly to Lalibela today so had set the alarm for 6. 

I believe I’ve lost my telephone SIM card.  The iPhone smart device ate up all my data roaming from home and now from my Ethiopia SIM card. I ordered more data roaming from Doctors of BC but can’t find that tiny  little chip.  “I know I put it somewhere.”  How does one get a new Telus chip card in rural Ethiopia.  I had turned off everything on the cellular system but it seems something is eating up the juice.  I may just have to let people know to email me.  Williamhaymd@gmail.com.  The wifi here has been intermittent with speed dependent on other people using it.  

My knee still hurts but the support really worked yesterday. I’m a little red from sun burn despite using 30 Sunscreen yesterday on Lake Tana. I feel someone should have my coffee ready and my bath drawn. I’m reading a novel of pilots in WWi. All the officer class had manservants.  Times are definitely hard these days. 

 I feel I’ve woken in a ‘mood’ and there’s no immediate reason for a ‘mood’ which is often the case.  It’s a profound revelation when ex wives are long gone and you still find yourself in a ‘mood’ with no immediate available peg to hang that particular ‘mood’.   Now my monkey mind is casting about for an excuse to feel ‘off’.  Poor me its 4 am. Poor me my knee hurts. Poor me I’ve a data roaming dileman.  But then I think of the Baby Hippopotamus. Usually Gilbert interrupts my mining for sewage. Today thinking of the plump little baby elephant swimming towards it mommy derails the ‘mood’ a bit. 

I want to suck on self pity and feel sorry but really I’m here  in Ethiopia.  It was rather hot and sultry but I put on the fan and now it’s rather pleasant. . I look at pictures of Vancouver and Winnipeg and can’t help myself  laughing.  I feel I’ve won the weather lottery.  Poor people in Vancouver and Winnipeg.  It’s like a weather stock market. Some folks took their Hawaii vacation in November. Others went to Mexico early March. But then there are those like me that took our vacation now.  I can’t say I’m gloating.  I did gloat but now I’m just amused.  It’s the fickle hand of fate.  I bought holiday stock at the right time and it’s risen well against the competition.

I still want coffee. Yesterday I had a Ethiopian coffee made in the traditional way from fresh beans grown right there on Nege Peninsula. It was the best coffee I’ve ever drunk in my life.  

I had a lovely evening at the hotel sitting on the balcony, blogging,sorting through pictures while people watching. I love balconies for people watching those passing in the street below.  

I saw  one industrious fellow re filling bottled water containers from the city water tap by the sidewalk.   I felt glad I’d brought my own pristine water purification tablets and have been making my own water in a lite  high tech drinking water bottle I bought at Mountain COOP.  I’ve been drinking the bottled water in the hotels too because  they have a bit of plastic wrap to fix the lid on. Seeing these fellows filling bottled waters I wonder how hard it would be to get a little machine to cap each bottle with plastic to give it the appearance of purity. 

I’ve been taking Doxycycline 100 mg a night as the old peace corp protection against traveller’s diarrhea and a variety of skin infections and such.  The travelling doctor gave me Zithromax in case I get African montezuma’s.  I’ve not needed it.  The traveller’s shits can happen to anyone even travelling across Canada as it’s not so much ‘bad’ bacteria as ‘different’ bacteria in the water. I am a bit  fastidious (cautious)  travelling but I’ve never thought twice about the government unregulated kool aid stands that spring up every summer run by dirty fingers larcenous children playing with their toddler siblings.   

Really I’m just filling in time till I can get a coffee downstairs. .  Then I’ll repack my bag. I have this vague sense that I thought I should put that chip somewhere safe where I can’t lose it.  One of my all time favourite curses.  Then maybe a shower.  The hot water shower here yesterday after hiking monasteries in the humid heat was a carnal delight.  I washed my socks too but they’re still damp on the rack.  I’m  still a bit of a grumbly bear wanting his coffee so  I think I’ll try another  dose of FB  pictures of friends shovelling snow.  

St. George is very important to the Orthodox Church as well as the Coptic Orthodox.  

There was a local tradition that a local saint cleared away a huge snake from the island. 


S

St. Francis







Three wheel taxi