Epilog - African Adventure

 EPILOG OF OUR AFRICAN ADVENTURE

Greetings family and friends,

We have arrived home and therefore conclude our African Adventure. Our trip home was long and tiring. We spent nearly 30 hours in travel status at airports and in planes. The long trip from Frankfurt to Denver was really tough. We were chasing the Sun, which was nice as it stayed daylight the whole way but we were in the center seats of the huge 747 aircraft. It was not easy to see anything outside. Another situation was that there were 6 babies in our economy section. It seemed that one or two were awake and crying during the 9 hour flight. We wanted noise canceling headphones! Someday it would be nice to travel in first class, especially in one of these massive aircrafts. The crew of Lufthansa was great throughout the trip and did what they could to help the parents of the babies and to provide good food and free drinks for the rest of us.

During the flight we were able to review our journals and relive our wonderful time in Ethiopia and Kenya. What fun it was to travel through Ethiopia with our friends, Bob and Nancy Sturtevant, and to have Ethiopian Rift Valley Tours be our guides. Jonas and his various drivers were great. With them we saw areas and museums highlighting the beginnings of humanity and early the early Christian Church. Then there were the Semien Mountains and Bale National Parks which presented unique and threatened animals and natural resources. It was also a privilege to visit and socialize with so many Peace Corps volunteers through Bob and Nancy. What a challenge these volunteers have in performing their assignments but also in adapting to really challenging living conditions. Ethiopia is noted for its coffee and we took advantage of that as often as we could by having our “chai-bunna” (tea-coffee) stops at local coffee shops nearly every morning and afternoon.

Our Kenyan safari took us to many National Parks in southern and central Kenya. Yes, we were able to see the Big 5 (Elephant, Lion, Leopard, Water Buffalo and Black Rhino). We learned a lot about the flora and fauna through our guide, Isaac. He was a wealth of information. Sadly, my brain couldn’t retain it all, even information about the trees. Experiencing the life on a rural farm in the Kenyan Highlands was most interesting. It is hard to imagine day to day life without electricity but that is the way it is with the majority of farmers. Isaac showed us some of his efforts to be progressive with a manure digester which provides methane gas for cooking and lanterns and a small solar panel to charge his cell phones. It was interesting to note that major businesses in the villages are stores which do quick charges for cell phones and car batteries. I think many people use 12 volt lights in their homes and need to have their batteries recharged if they don’t have a solar panel like Isaac. Isaac is also doing his part to promote "agroforestry" techniques with his neighbors on their farms so they don't have to use the community forest to harvest wood for cooking and charcoal.

Finally we spent a week in the Nairobi area seeing the activities of one of our church’s Global Ministries missionary, Phyllis Byrd. We are so happy she was able to give of her time and to allow us to join a group of Young Adult Volunteers from the Presbyterian Church, USA. We saw some major social justice issues during that final week of our African Adventure. By the time we left Kenya, we were ready to reconnect with conditions back home. I think everyone, especially young people, should spend some time in a developing country. It becomes an experience of “relativity.” How fortunate we are compared to many others. Just the simple fact of having clean water and air is such a privilege.

We were retrieved at the Denver airport by our friends, Dean and Eva, and we made back home to our abode on Atwood Ct., Fort Collins. We were very tired but we still managed to sort our mail and listen to the phone messages before going to bed. Surprisingly, I was wide awake again at 3 am and spent about two hours on the computer addressing the various Emails that accumulated.

Later....It has been a week since getting home. Marcia has adjusted well. I'm still struggling with the time. I'm awake at 3 or 4 am. We have gotten back into our routines again as well. Meetings, repairs projects, winterizing, sorting through photos, etc, etc. We've already had requests for giving talks about this trip. It will be great to relive our African Adventure each time we give a talk.

Thanks for coming along on our trip though it was through email.

Phil and Marcia..

Westward Ho, Going Home

Tuesday morning Nairobi time,
Greetings family and friends,
This evening we board a plane for Zurich, then to Frankfort, then to Denver. We will be leaving Africa and heading back to the home of good water and steady electricity (which hasn't been much of an issue in Nairobi). These last few days in Nairobi have been interesting. We visited a project of Habitat for Humanity in the Rift Valley where the Office of African Instituted Churches, where Phyllis Byrd works, is participating in the construction of a house. Then we enjoyed an afternoon at the National Museum on Saturday. On Sunday we attended a lively church service with Phyllis and the five Presbyterian Young Adult Volunteers. Services here last 2 hours. Afterwards we went to a fabulous buffet at the Intercontinental Hotel. It had all sorts of meats and vegetables and desserts and salads. We spent the whole afternoon there so Phyllis' daughter could swim in the pool. The Young Adults enjoyed all the food as well. Pricey but good! So, we decided to let that big dinner take the place of going to another famous restaurant called Carnivores. Yesterday we went to another slum area and visited two schools. Children are all well disciplined and, in this case, the schools were a bit more "modern" than the one we visited last week. Grounds were cleaner but classroom sizes were still 50+.

We aren"t sure what will happen today. Phyllis is busy with arrangements for the death of a famous Nobel prize winner for the Environment, Wangari Maathai. Reading about her has been interesting. She was major lead in encouraging Kenyans to plant more trees throughout the land. Millions of trees have been planted because of her efforts. Kenyan forests have been devastated over the years so Agroforestry is being encouraged on private lands. The public lands need much attention too. Anyway, Ms. Wangari really pushed for the environmental improvements. She won the Nobel prize in 2004. I wish she would have pushed for vehicle emission controls. Fumes here are sickening. Thank goodness we have the EPA.

It will be nice to get back and go through all our photos. There are well over 1000.

Our next posting, The Epilogue, will be sent from our home computer if it knows how to turn on after a month of inactivity.

A la Salama,

Phil and Marcia

Nairobi, Part 2

Greetings friends and family,
We are still in Nairobi and enjoying our time here. Each day is full since we are part of a Presbyterian's Young Adult Volunteer program. We are "Young at Heart" Volunteers. I will review our activities for the last few days.

On Wednesday, Marcia and I took a cab to the Elephant Orphanage that was highlighted in the IMAX Movie "Born to Be Wild." It is only open one hour, 11 am to noon. That is when they bring the orphaned young elephants into a viewing area where they play in a large mud pit and dirt pile. There are two age groups: 3 and less and 4 to 8. Most of these elephants were orphaned because poachers killed its mother. There were some from other natural causes as well. Trainers work with these elephants until they are 8 or so and then taken back to where they were found, if possible. Trainers stay with them until they are finally accepted by another family of elephants. Very interesting.

In the afternoon, we met the 5 other young adults at the New Life Home which is for orphaned or abandoned children/babies. I believe there are five such places located in central Kenya. I'm sure there are other church sponsored facilities similar to this that do similar care activities until the youngsters are adopted. Marcia and I and another couple decided to work with the 9-12 month old babies. We helped entertain them and feed them and hold them. It was a little difficult for me since I'm not much of a baby person but after a while it was fun playing "horsey" and "so big" with these kids. They all had great smiles. Afterwards we met at Phyllis Byrd's home for debriefing and discussion and dinner. Phyllis recently had back surgery so isn't able to attend many of these sessions with us but she is well aware of all that goes on.

Yesterday was very unique. We went to Kibera, the largest slum in Africa and maybe the world. Over 1.2 million people live in this area. Obviously we only hit one small, narrow street. We went to a small church school to see what tries to happen in the way of education. First of all, we may all think we know the characteristics of a slum. Movies such as "Slumdog Millionaire" may paint some idea of slum conditions visually, but until you walk the streets and smell the conditions, it is hard to describe. I've tried to come up with descriptive words. The conditions are almost disgusting and yet people survive. We went to this one church school where 200 students attend. There must be 100's of other schools similar. We feed them cooked beans and rice. And then we went to a session where a few students recited poetry and a group performed a rhythmic dance which, I understand, helps them memorize certain facts. They were singing in Swahili so I don't know what was being said but they sure had the dance steps and recitation down pat. All of this takes place in one room maybe 12' x 30'. We learned that there aren't any public schools in the slum areas. Government funds don't make it there. We learned that the teacher (I believe there are 8 plus the "bishop") may get $30 per month pay. There was a section where orphaned children could actually live. Rooms for 4 were not much larger than 10 x10 feet. Again, conditions which are just hard to describe...Afterwards we met at Phyllis' home for dinner, debriefing and discussion. It was a difficult time to share what we experienced and wondered how can this cycle of poverty ever stop. Where is the justice part of these conditions. We all agreed that education is the only means to get a few children to have hope for something better. All these kids had beautiful smiles. Reminded me again of how everything is relative.

Today, Marcia and I are going to a displaced peoples area (homeless) to see what is happening there.

Vacation? We had a wonderful time visiting Ethiopia and the wildlife areas of Kenya. Now we are experiencing some of the major social and justice issues of an undeveloped nation. Though, Kenya is pretty well-off compared to others from what I understand. What a finale this week has been in our lives.

Until next time.

Phil and Marcia

Nairobi

Sept 21, 2011
Greetings friends and family,
Yesterday afternoon we ended our "official" safari by being dropped off at the Mennonite Guest House where we will stay until we depart on 27th for the USA. It is a comfortable facility and close to where our United Church of Christ/Disciples of Christ missionary lives. Last night we had dinner at her condominium. We met 5 other young volunteers who are currently being trained in language, Swahili, and other social issues. They will then be working with some of the churches in Kenya and Tanzania. We will learn more about their efforts during our visit with Phyllis Byrd, the missionary.

Prior to this time, we spent a couple days in a beautiful farming area west of Mt Kenya. It is the homeland of our guide, Isaac K., We spent two days at his home and farm. It was very rustic. Rural electrification hasn't come to these parts of Africa. Kerosene lamps, outhouses, mechanical pumps, shower bags lifted above head, etc. Isaac is progressive compared to many of his neighbors. Through the help of Doane College professors and students, he now has a solar panel with a couple 12 V batteries to help charge cell phones and power a small TV. They also installed an interesting manure digester. It is a couple concrete vaults which takes the mixture of manure and captures the methane gas. They use that to light a couple lanterns and a three burner cook stove. Theirs is a large enough digester that it will eventually be used to light a few more lanterns on the compound. I think Isaac said his was a "four cow" digester, i.e. the manure from four cows can be mixed and deposited into the system every other day. It takes about a month for the process to complete. The effluent is then "cool" enough to use as fertilizer in his large vegetable garden.

One day, Marcia and I attended a school for disabled children. It was a boarding school for some. Marcia spent the day there helping the teacher and with Isaac's wife, Joyce. I went on to a community forestry meeting where we discussed possible ways to encourage farmers to do more "agroforestry" so fewer people use the common forest for gathering fuel wood. Remember, most Africans still cook with charcoal and fuel wood. The forests have been over abused and now they are attempting to get farmers to grow and produce more wood on their properties. I talked about various recognition programs used in the US such as Tree Farmers, Stewardship Lands, etc. Recognizing farmers that meet certain standards might be a way to promote more tree planting and proper pruning for fuel wood.

Needless to say, staying at Isaac's Place was interesting however it was a bit rustic. We are glad to be back to some comforts again. We are going to suggest that he have some magazines or books for people to read because there wasn't much we could do after the planned activities. We did take a hike along the rural roads to look at other farms and greet neighbors. Oh, one other thing that Isaac and his dad and uncles do is melt down plastic bags, mix in some soil, and place molten material into a square mold. When dried, they use these as tiles for flooring and walkways. Plastic bags are a big mess in villages. There don't seem to be common dumps anywhere so trash just builds up along streets. This might be a means to at least reuse some plastics.

One other thing. My camera lens, Canon 18-200 mm, finally fell apart. I managed to take one photo of a tree nursery near Isaac's village and it finally stopped functioning. Inside lenses move around freely when shook. Luckily I got the big game photos.

I better end and send this message. Breakfast is being served and the computer is acting funny.

That is all for now from Africa and Nairobi.

Phil and Marcia

Lake Nakuru and Samburu National Parks

Greetings family and friends,

Finally we got to another computer here in Nanyuki, Kenya which is near the base of Mount Kenya. All is going well though we are feeling the affects of time and driving.

Lake Nakuru was an interesting wildlife refuge. We spent several hours each day driving around it. We were able to see black rhinos and white rhinos at this place. So that completes the Big 5. We also saw a Rothchild giraffe, which is endangered. I didn't realize there were so many different kinds of giraffes since we saw another one in Samburu Park way up north. Interesting thing about this lake are the pink flamingos but we saw very few of them. Pelicans are beginning to take over the system and changing the habitat for the flamingos. I didn't realize how interesting it was to just park and watch these birds, flamingos and pelicans, just come and go. One really gets tuned into their landing and take off patterns. After a full afternoon we went back to our guest house which was located within the boundaries. We got back to electricity being out. It never came back on while we were there. We ate by kerosene lantern and our head lamps.

Next morning we took off for Samburu which is way north of Mt. Kenya. I didn't realize how far it was. We drove nearly all day. It's environment is much lower, hotter and dryer. We found some interesting sightings of elephants, zebras, Reticulated giraffes, crocs, giraffe gazelle, etc, etc, Again, the hunt was as much fun as the sightings. We stayed at Samburu Sopa Lodge. Very nice. Above our style of lodging but it was nice to have toilet that flushed properly, hot water, and good electricity. Tusker beer was as good there as elsewhere. We had to be escorted to and from dinner due to wildlife concerns. I think it was more for tips. Everyone wants tips. It was very nice. Today we left there and headed south to where we are now staying in Nanyuki. We are also in a nice hotel but even this one has issues with plumbing but I shouldn't complain. At least I didn't have to lift the toilet bowl lid to check out the flushing mechanism.

We are wrapping up this part of the trip. Tomorrow we head for our guides community and will spend a couple days their doing some volunteer work. Then back to Nairobi where we will spend another 6 days. Maybe we might check to see if we can change our flight if not too expensive and come home a day or two earlier.

That is all for now. Phil and Marcia

Maasai Mara

Greetings family and friends,
We just finished 3 wonderful days in the Masa Mara National Wildlife Preserve. We saw many wild animals doing their thing of survival. Hundreds of other safari vans searched for lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, etc, etc.Hundreds of photos taken. It is quite the expansive park. Seeing the wildebeast and zebras was also fascinating in their migration. Also, the pecking order of lions after a kill is made. Very interesting. There is tremendous fascination about watching a kill take place and then devour their prey. We did get to see the birth of a gazelle one day. We don't know if the little fellow survived.

Our camp was just outside the park. It was a small camp. We had a large rectangular tent with toilet and shower attached to the back. It was covered with a reed type roof structure over the tent. Cooking area was small and our cook provided excellent meals.

Kenya is definitely more prosperous than Ethiopia. More privately owned vehicles and a lot less of cattle, donkeys, etc along the roads. Road conditions into the Mara were a bit rough to say the least. Roads between towns are good paved highways. Paving into Mara was done years ago but no maintenance. Pot holes are prevelant. Most of time the drivers are on shoulders where there is gravel and smoother.

Now we are at Lake Naivasha, north and east of Mara. We took a nice hike through Hells Gate, a slot like canyon. Good geology because of sedimentation and volcanism over the years. We had a good guide as well. Our facility here is pretty nice. We have a cottage with just the two of us thought hot water is limited. They also have some drainage problems in shower. Name of this place is Fish eagle inn. Tomorrow we will go out and photograph some of the eagles.

We just read about the explosion in Nairobi. Paper indicated that this has happened in past where people tried to salvage the free fuel only to have it ignite and kill many people. We were not in the area when this occurred.

We've seen four of the big 5. Rhino hasn't been spotted yet but we should see this animal in Samburu National Park. We will have a couple game drives there.

Though our guide and driver and cook here are good and entertaining, our Ethiopian experience was much more personable. ERVS Tours is really good and we thank Bob and Nancy Sturtevant for arranging such an experience for us. They should be getting back to their Peace Corps residence today or tomorrow after being in Addis to drop us off and then to do some PC things.

Marcia is enjoying her shopping experiences. I enjoy watching.

No sicknesses yet, thank goodness. Now it is time for a Tusker beer and a coke light.

Until next time.

Phil and Marcia

Ethiopia, Last Night

Greetings family and friends.

We arrived back in the big city of Addis Ababa this afternoon. We had a wonderful journey through the northern and southern parts of Ethiopia. We left Wondo Genet this morning and traveled to an archeological site just south of Addis. It was interesting to see the science done in this area to reveal ancient Hominids up to Homo sapiens. I could have stayed in one of the exhibit huts for another hour or two just studying the information they had displayed there.

Tonight we are staying in a very fine hotel. Too plush for me but that is where they placed us. Then we went out to a really fine Ethiopian restaurant called Yod Abysinnia where we ate our traditional "last" dinner while here. They also had some ethnic or regional singing and dancing. Quite the deal.

We got back to the hotel and said our goodbyes to our wonderful guide, Yonas, and then our driver for the last 8 days, Getu. They will be missed. We had a good time with them.

Tomorrow we rise early and head for the airport for our departure to Kenya. I'm not sure what kind of email coverges we will have there especially since a lot of the evenings will be in campgrounds or lodges in the Massai Mari. (sp?) and other similar locations in west Kenya. Tomorrow night, though, we should be in a hotel in Nairobi. Then on Sunday, head west with our guide and cook. I hope the weather will be drier and warmer that what we had here in Ethiopia. It is higher elevation here, I believe, and that is why the cooler temps. Our highest elevation was over 10,000' but most of our evenings were around 6 - 7000'.

Ethiopia is definitely different but challenging. The living conditions are far below most standards one would experience in the U.S. It is sad.

That is all for now.

Phil and Marcia

Wondo Genet, School of Forestry

Today is the day I'm giving a seminar to the college at Wondo. I am speaking on Urban and Community Forestry in the U.S. It will be interesting to see who really attends. I'm sure our concept of CF is quite different from the one in Ethiopia. They really utilize their forests. Not an easy job to protect them from abuse. Needs are great here. However, while in Awassa yesterday, I saw many good attempts at boulevard plantings of palm trees.

My camera lens is not working well. Sadly, I can't get the wide angle to work on the zoom. Something inside is jamming. I don't want to risk taking apart to attempt a repair for fear I may really ruin it. So, I will be satisfied with about 40mm to 200 mm. At times I can't even get to 200. No opportunity to purchase a different lens here.

Tomorrow we head back to Addis and then on Saturday morning we fly to Kenya. Again, not sure what type of email coverage we will have there while on safari.

That is all for now.

Phil

Life in Ethiopia

Dear Friends and Family,

This morning I am sitting in Bob's office on the Wondo campus. Earlier we did laundry in buckets in their kitchen. I never thought I would want an old wash board and a better means to wring water from clothes. I have a good photo of Marcia doing this basic activity and one which we easily take for granted in the U.S. Life is pretty basic here. Clean water and sanitation is tough to come by and one, a foreigner, is always trying to remember to treat water before consuming. Bob and Nancy have a filtering system that must be provided by the Peace Corps. I saw them at other PC volunteer's residence. Their method is to boil water for three minutes and then run it through the filter.

Very few people own automobiles. Most travel on foot or buses or other basic means of transport. Donkeys and horses are common too. I've come to really appreciate ALL the amenities we have in the U.S. The carbon foot print here is minimal. Even consistent electric power is not common in outlying areas from Addis Ababa, the capital. When we were in Goba, the power is on at certain times and then off. At least it is set up on a scheduled basis. The Peace Corps volunteer let us know at what time the power would go off. Even then you weren't sure it would be on.

This afternoon we will drive into the town of Awassa to do some shopping and also take a boat ride on Lake Awassa. It was soooo nice to have a morning free to relax and not get into the car and travel down another jarring road. I even took a quick nap after breakfast before walking down to the campus to visit Bob at his office. I'm feeling a bit stronger now than I have for the last few days.

It is interesting that the bungalow where Bob and Nancy live have faucets that continually leak. He had one replaced with new but it still leaks. If I knew there was a "Home Depot" around, I would take it apart to fix but stores like that do not exist here. Bob will try to find a new faucet while in Awassa. Both he and Nancy have adjusted well to life in Ethiopia.

Last night we received an email from our contact in Kenya saying he will be at the airport on Saturday to take us to hotel in Nairobi and then start our safari on Sunday. He has been out on another safari and was unable to communicate with us since we left the U.S.

All is well otherwise.

More later.

Phil and Marcia

Lilabela, Wondo and Bale Mountains

Greetings to our friends and family,

We have really been on the road for the last 4 - 5 days. We are almost worn out. Lilabela is another historic town we visited. We flew there from Axum. This town is famous for its rock hewn churches. There are over 1000 in the area but we just visited a few in Lilabela. They were carved out of solid rock in the 11th and 12th Centuries. Crazy idea in my opinion. It was a lot of work to carve and hollow out these structures. Again, they are Orthodox Christian Churches so have the same configuration with a holy room in back and chanting rooms in the front. Again, I suggest you Google "Lilabela, Ethiopia" to possibly see pictures.

Then we flew to Addis on Saturday and drove down to Wondo Genet where Bob and Nancy live. We spent a nice evening at their place. On Sunday morning we again drove many hours and kms to Bale Mountain National Park. This park is noted for its high elevations and the Nyala (a large type of bush buck) and Ethiopian wolf. Both of which we saw. We got some good photos of them. We spent two nights in Goba and visited several of the Peace Corps volunteers in the area. Bob and Nancy are like their "parents." They enjoy visiting with them as did we. In fact, last night we had a great meal of Ethiopian meat and enjera and wine/coke coolers, and beer. It was at a local place where they often freqent when together. One of the volunteers works in the Simeon Mtns with the gelata baboons. She is doing her masters thesis on the socialization of these animals. She is learning their language and trying to interpret the various sounds and signals. Another couple volunteers live on the east side of the Bale park and are working on vegetation projects. They are from Oregon and I was surprised that the wife knew a friend of mine, Paul Reese, of urban and community forestry days. We had a good conversation at the bar/restaurant. What a fun time.

Today we arose and headed back to Wondo. Another long drive but we had lunch in Shashamenee before heading to a reserve for a rare hardebeest. Road into the site was very rough. My hands were sore from hanging onto the cars hand grips. Also, it was "market" day and the traffic through the various towns was unbelievable. Traffic is of donkeys, sheep, cattle, goats, people, buses, bajajs (little tri cycle scooters which carry people), and garis (donkey and horse drawn chariots that haul goods and people). It was nice to get back to Wondo and a time to relax for a couple days. We leave for Addis on Friday and then fly to Kenya on Saturday.

I will try to write more before leaving. I'm not sure what kind of email converage I will have in Kenya.

Phil and Marcia

Aksum or Axum, Ethiopia

Greetings family and friends. Marcia and I are now in the ancient city of Aksum, Ethiopia after flying here from Gonder. A road trip would have taken all day compared to a 30 minute flight from Gonder. Highway systems don't really exist in most of Ethiopia.

We're are surprised that Aksum wasn't mentioned much in our history books. This place has a lot of history relating to civilization development and Christianity and some Islam. It is currently mostly Orthodox Christian. We didn't hear any "call to prayer" from a Mosque. I believe they said there wasn't a mosque in this city anymore. Aksum was a powerful trade community for about 800 years prior to 600 AD. Arch of Covenant is supposedly here. Queen of Sheba's son brought it here (maybe). There are also some interesting tombs here with tall granite stones demarking the areas. They were quarried not far from here and hauled on rollers. Weight of some is near 500 tons. Interesting. They almost look like large obelesks.

We are continually amazed at this countries infrastructure, or lack of. Everyone seems to be on the move around towns and in the countryside.

Marcia is helping economy. She is purchasing lots of little nick nacks.

We flew from Gonder to here. Much easier to fly than drive around here. Today we fly to Lalibela before heading back to Addis and then south to Wondo Genet where Bob and Nancy live. Then on to Bale National Park.

Peace to you all.

Gonder, Ethiopia

Okay everyone, I'm giving up on the Blog site. it is far to complicated for me to waste time trying to figure it out. Sad. I was hoping it would work. Emails will have to do and right now they are far more efficient.

Since last entry, we traveled north to Gonder, once the capital of Ethiopia. A town of around 200,000. I'm trying to be organized in what to say but my time is running short. Gonder is an interesting place. We visited a fortress where several palaces were built to house the various leaders of the country.
We had several great meals and coffee breaks. Then, yesterday, we drove from Gonder to Debark where the park headquarters are located for the Simeon Mtns National Park. The drive took us 3.5 hours. Road was horrendous. Chinese are constructing a new road and it is a mess especially since this is the rainy season. As with other areas, people are everywhere herding cattle, sheep, goats, horses, oxen or whatever. Little kids everywhere as well. Of course there are no toilet facilities. Marcia was going nuts but she held out. Our hotel was very basic. One light. Water pressure was questionable, infact there was none in morning. We took a couple Peace Corps volunteers stationed there with us. They rent a small hut. Latrine out back. Community water spiget not far away. Very limited. Today we arose early and went into the Park. That road was equally hair raising. So much erosion from over grazing. The park has plans to dispace the 8000 people living in the park but hasn't started yet. Meanwhile sheep and cattle graze. Hard to explain the damage. Photos will help. We did get to see some Gelada baboons and could walk right up to them. Fun animals. Then back down to Debark and then on back to Gonder and our very nice hotel, Goha.

One situation that happens a lot over here is the power goes out or the Internet and Cell phone system shuts down. These are all government owned and i guess these shut downs happen periodically for updating. It was out for almost 24 hours.

Tomorrow we fly to Aksum to see some interesting old churches carved out of solid rock. Same for Lailibela the day after. We fly there as well. It si the only way to go up here because roads are just terrible.

Food good. Weather fair, lots of rain the last few days making the roads even worse. Eating different foods. Always drinking bottled water or treated with the STeriPen ultra violet light.

It is getting late. Nancy Sturtevant was gracious enough for me to use her computer during this time. The computer office was closed by this time of evening. Hopefully there will be atime to really get caught up with reading emails as well.

Enough for now.

Bahir Dar

Greetings to our family and friends. This message is being sent from Tana Hotel, Bahir Dar. Here is summary. We left the husle of Addis yesterday morning, and flew  one hour to Bahir Dar on Lake Tana, the beginning to of the Blue Nile River which eventually runs into the White Nile from Uganda to form the main Nile.

Airport in Bahir dad is quite different from others. After landing we were in waiting area for luggage. All was left on the cart and we went out to grab. The walked through all the construction, literally, to our car and driver. Shortly after arriving at the hotel, we got on a little boat and went to the peninsula of Zeke to tour some Orthodox monasteries. For some reason this area has many of them. About 37. Most built in 16th century. Long hikes on rough trails to get to them. Along the way, youngsters are peddling little trinkets. Sad that one couldn't purchase something from everyone. We got a little reed boat and reed vase. Monasteries are large round outer structures with square worship area under. Paintings on four walls depict Biblical stories. Paintings from 18th century but touched up. Images of people: two eyes = believers. One eye = non believers.

Then back to hotel for lunch before getting in van and driving to Blue Nile Falls. What a trip. Road rough. People, goats, cattle, sheep, all along the road. Interesting to see the shacks people live in. Stick huts with mud and corrigated roofs. Then long hike to falls. Beautiful. "Water that Smokes" is other name because the mist. Again, the peddlers along the trail.

Amazing about cell phone technolgy. What they did without is unconceivable. Guide is constantly in contat with driver or texting others to make sure things are arranged. Also, it was interesting to see ATM and how nice to bunch a few numbers and out comes Ethiopian Birrs. ATM's are more recent here.

Today we drive to Gondor, the original capital of Ethiopia, and spend the night there. Bob Sturtevant is not feeling well today. Maybe wrong food last night. Rest of us okay.

I couldn't figure out how to get into my blog. Rats. I am really frustrated. I have to search through all my papers to figure out which of the multitude of passwords I may have used for that. Oh well. The aging process regarding memory sucks.

Until another opportunity exists, I will sign off.

Phil

We Made It to Addis

We made it to Addis Ababa. And, So did all our luggage! What a long flight of 18 hours. Our friends, Bob and Nancy, met us at the airport. I had forgotten how long it takes to get through immigration and customs. All went well and we got to the Hotel around 10:30. Then we talked until midnight.

Today we toured Addis. 4.5 million people. We drove all day and I didn't see one stop light! This wouldn't work in U.S. Traffic was amazing since it was Saturday and everyone comes to the market centers. We visited many museums and learned some about Ethiopian history. Much more to learn or attempt to understand. It is the cradle of civilization but we only reviewed the more recent history since 1855 or so.

Now we are ready to go to coffee shop. Ladies already left. Bob and I are on the computers. I sent one message out and it got lost in cyber space. I didn't something wrong. I couldn't do an update of Blog. Not enough time. I will do that later.

Pray for peace and those in poverty.

Phil

Ethiopia

On Our Way, August 25.

August 25. We leave U.S. on Lufthansa airlines and fly directly from Denver to Frankfort, GY. Then transfer to Lufthansa flight to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, about 18 hours total. We arrive in Addis around 9:30 pm, Friday. (10 hours earlier than MDT). Our Peace Corps friends and former Colorado State Forest Service employee, Bob and Nancy Sturtevant, will meet us at the airport with our guide/driver. We will spend two nights in Addis to regain our senses after the long flight. Then, on August 28 we start our tour of northern Ethiopia and the Simion Mountains. Then down to Bob and Nancy's duty station in Wondo Genet, Ethiopia. You'll have to get a map to follow this.  Here is a brief itinerary for a few days.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 28 – FLY TO BAHIR DAR, BOAT TRIP & BLUE NILE FALLS
MONDAY, AUGUST 29– DRIVE TO GONDAR & CITY TOUR OF GONDER
TUESDAY, AUGUST 30 – DRIVE TO SIMIEN MTS. NAT.PARK
WEDNESDAY , AUGUST 31– IN SIMIEN MTS. NAT.PARK
THURSDAY , SEPTEMBER 01– FLY TO AXUM; CITY TOUR

Not much else to report until after arriving in Addis. This gives you a weeks view of what we will be doing. We don't know how much email access we will have. We are packed. We are both taking day packs plus small luggage (suitcase and back pack). We also are carrying a duffel full of safety gear purchased for Bob's forestry crew in Wondo Genet, Ethiopia. Some teaching supplies and guides are in the duffel as well. Nancy said these would be helpful for a couple teachers. 

End.