MAY 3, 2012 TURMI to KEY AFER & JINKA, ETHIOPIA

THURSDAY MAY 3, 2012   TURMI to KEY AFER market, & ARI Village to JINKA

(265 km gravel rd, 6 to 7 hours)

I was up (in the dark, no generator on yet) showering and getting dressed to carry on with our journal.  It was much cooler this morning and then we heard the rain start!  It poured for under 1 hour then the birds started singing again, the frogs started croaking - and I think Mother Nature was glad of the rain!  Terry was glad that he had no more bug bites!

This morning it was a slow morning - we were scheduled for a late breakfast at 8:30 and departing for the town of JINKA at 9 am, stopping at the Market in the town of KEY AFER first.  This colourful market is where the HAMMER and BENNA tribes meet every Thursday.  It took about 1 1/2 hours to get to Key Afer, and within the last few miles the roads were packed with everyone walking to market carrying their wares to sell - including honey in gourds.  The local honey is very good, I had some on my toast this morning and believe me it does not taste processed, it has a beautiful rich taste.  Apparently there are two seasons in the year for fresh honey so we were lucky enough to have some today.  

The local men also carry their wooden BORKOTA with them everywhere they go (so they were all walking along the road holding them)- this is an anvil shaped piece of carved wood, with a pattern burned into it - they use it for both a pillow, and also a seat.  Now understand me when I tell you this is about 8 to 10: high by about 4” wide - let me assure you I will never use a piece of wood for a pillow and I am pretty sure I could never balance my rear end on it either - although these tall skinny handsome people are sitting quite comfortably on their BORKOTA wherever we go!

While driving we talked to driver Bale about the staff from the BUSKA hotel who he had taken back to the medical centre this morning before breakfast.  They were to be given glucose, and Bale explained about how the staff who come here from Addis Ababa have no resistance to the water borne diseases like typhoid and bilharzias so they suffer.  Only the tourists get all bottled water, not the staff, because it is too expensive.  The locals are already used to this water but the Addis people have a difficult time with it.

On the horizon we could see the majestic BUSKA mountains, after which the BUSKA Resort is named, where we stayed for the last 2 nights.  Everywhere is so quiet you could hardly comprehend how busy they are in high season (October through January, September and February are shoulder season) when there is not a room to be had anywhere, the villages get 20 vehicles a day of tourists and everyone wants to visit the markets and the “Bull Jumping” ceremony where young men prove they are old enough to be married by running across the backs of the bulls.  Also on Jan 19 is the TIMKET Festival in northern Ethiopia (the colourful rebaptism ceremony which everyone attends) so you can see that timing for your tour to Ethiopia is critical.  We didn’t see as many birds this morning (no doubt they were hiding under the trees and shrubs to stay dry after the rain!) but amongst those we saw were three beautiful African orange bellied parrots, found only in North Eastern Africa.

When we arrived in Afer Key there was a tour 4x4 pulled over on the side of the road, brake problems.  So Malcolm took us off to the market while Bale helped the driver and tourists get their vehicle fixed (apparently he had quite some difficulty finding a store which had brake fluid for sale).  We are truly out in the wilds here and so every Tour Operator is very considerate of every other Tour driver, or any driver, with any kind of problem - it’s a very long way to go for help, or wait for assistance to arrive.  In town Malcolm hired local guide Shigo (more about him later) and off we went to the market.  There is a goat and cattle market in one part of town, and about a 10 minute walk away, the general market for everything else: spices, dye for the hair (as in red sand), fruit, vegetables, honey, butter, clothes, blankets (which are clothes for most tribal people here), brass bracelets and beaded jewellery (all the bracelets are different shape and pattern depending on which tribe you are from), a few carvings, shell belts, and skirts made from bark or goat or cow hides, again depending on which tribe you are from, and lots of North American/European shirts and designer jeans!  Even brand name men’s underwear (Terry looked but resisted!).

It was very hot and the sweat was running down my face as we walked around.  It was fascinating watching the various sales being conducted - none as noisy as the cattle sales.  The Benna men are very quiet and say almost nothing, but if they don’t like the price they are being offered for their cow or bull (to buy or sell) then they just walk away without a word.  The BENNA men and women look very similar to the HAMMER people - the men are dark, tall, very slim and handsome.  They have braided hair, sometimes with bits of fluffy rope from potato sacks, or rope, woven into the top of their hair.  They have shell earrings, necklaces, and armbands, brass bracelets, and wear a small wrap or sarong around their waist and hips - a very narrow wrap I think if they bent forwards or backwards their priceless possessions would all be on display for everyone to see!  The women use butter and the red clay powder to dye their hair red (all in short little braids or bobbles) and they also wear half a gourd on their head (think of German helmets in WWII).  They use the gourd for a hat, and they also wash it out and then use it to eat or drink from.  Yes - just walking around this market was a lot of fun.  We took many general photos of everything and paid 2 birr for a couple of individual tribe members that we took photos of.  The 2 hours we were there just flew by, then we walked back to the Land Cruiser parked in the shade at a cafe where we enjoyed a cold sparkling water (Ambo) before continuing on to JINKA where we would spend the night.  While at the cafe several vendors from the market came to try to sell us carvings, jewellery, and other miscellaneous items.

Shigo, our local guide, was a 17 year old young man who spoke good English and was interesting to listen to.  His background is a shame.  His family live 37km away and are farmers, they absolutely do not want Shigo to be educated and go to school and will not support him in his desire to be educated or assistance to live in Afer Key to go to school (closest school to his home).  So Shigo left home with another boy from his village and they shared a tiny straw hut in Afer Key cooking and looking after themselves.  The other boy (slightly older ) is now in Addis Ababa where someone sponsored him to go to University.  Shigo now lives on his own in Afer Kay and acts as a guide at the weekly market to support himself.  When his parents come to the Afer Key market they refuse to recognise him as their son or talk to him at all.  He does visit his home occasionally but his parents do not welcome him - what a sad story.  He is adamant about how important eduction is and is insistent that he will persevere even without his parents’ support.  Shigo explained local dress and customs as we walked around the market.  When discussing photos he explained that until a few years ago no one would allow their photo to be taken - they thought that if someone took your photo they were stealing your blood.

We arrived at JINKA Resort at 2:45 pm after stopping by the road side a little erlier for our boxed lunch - a huge bun with hamburger patty.  There were also cooked / baked potatoes in the lunch box (Bale and Malcolm enjoyed those and we gave the rest to a local boy and Hammer lady walking by) followed by cookies (KOJJ ARIF biscuits which look just like our Nice biscuits at home but are a lot drier and not so sweet).  JINKA town has a population of approximately 40,000, with a mix of Orthodox, Protestant and Animist religions and arriving in JINKA we saw a large number of motorbikes - the most that we have seen since we arrived in Ethiopia  13 days ago!  From here West to the border is the wettest part of Ethiopia in every month of the year, it is also full of coffee plantations which comprise 70% of Ethiopia’s exports.  The government is focussing on training the Ethiopians how to grow and harvest coffee beans to improve their crops and income!  It is certainly very green here, and feels really damp.  There is green moss everywhere and it’s just like being home in coastal BC Canada after the winter, or all year on any north facing slope in BC!  The rooms are very basic but clean - the bathroom is all tiled and cleaner than when we were at the GOBA in Wabishebele (Bale Mountains).  The bed is double and very low to the floor - I can’t wait for my first King size bed after this trip - we have not seen (or slept) in one in Ethiopia yet!  For a shower the Manager told us to turn on the heater (most of the hotels have individual heaters in the bathrooms European stye) for 20 minutes, take a shower and turn off the heater.  Terry followed instructions and enjoyed a 20 second very lukewarm shower followed by lots of cold water!  Not impressed but feeling much refreshed!  Spent about 2 1/2 hours trying to catch up on the diary.

No tonic at this bar but they did have local red wine to accompany our pepper steak and roast chicken (with stir-fry vegetables) which were quite tasty.  The lights here burn bright and then dim in repeated cycles every few minutes which makes us think there is just too much demand on the power supply.  At dinner every time the coffee machine was used the lights dimmed!  We heard some good music last night and when we asked about one song, the Manager went and wrote down the artist, itle and meaning of the song - D Madingo Afendel (artist) Abay Vg Vigas - Song.  Meaning” he is comparing the American life with Ethiopia li and he is telling all Ethiopians living in America that they should come back to Ethiopia” - pretty telling eh?

We had arranged with Malcolm to forget breakfast an leave at 630am in the morning to get an early start on a long day - we visit the Mursi People, the ones who wear the plates in their lips and body scarring as a way to decorate themselves - then back to Paradise Lodge - it should be a great day!  So we were back in the room by 8 pm and actually got caught up on the diary for another 1 1/2 hours before a good night’s sleep - not far too fall out of bed to the floor - a large blue mosquito net over us.