Canamancan Travel Blog Entry No. 4

I should state before I produce more blog entries that it is not my intention to be negative or to be judgemental about my experiences. These entries are merely my observations while on the journey. They are intended to be informative, with a touch of humour.

However, keep in mind that I have a Goal and Mission. As individuals regardless of who and where we are, we strive to maintain the wellbeing of our family and community within our social and cultural matrices.  This is difficult to accomplish under conditions of disease and poverty.  I am judgemental about our inept approach to reducing the impact of malaria. I would also like to see more funding for projects getting down to the grassroot's level.

This blog will deal with our return to and time in Addis prior to continuing on to Juba, Southern Sudan - starting with our farewells in Gambella on the morning of March 27.

Gira, our driver from the previous day, arrived around 9:00 a.m. to collect me and my luggage at the Park Hotel. We were about to depart; Gira had just put the pickup into reverse when an older Rover SUV stopped directly behind us, stalled and refused to start. Does this sound familiar? After some harsh words from Gira, three Orientals got out and had a discussion with their driver, another mechanic. Following several attempts at pushing the vehicle and popping the clutch, they were on their way and so were we.

We met up with Simon Hughes and Kevin at the Baro Hotel. They were packed and checked out. Simon Turial joined us for breakfast. I had concluded that we had enough film footage of larval habitats in and around Gambella,  so Gira left us to fuel the vehicle and to confirm our departure time for Addis.

Simon Turial and I negotiated his pay from the time he met us in Addis on March 21. He explained that the house he was renting belonged to someone who now had need of it. I learned that he had purchased a small plot of land where he could build a new home and grow food for his family. I heard the details of the cost of a foundation, the poles and filler for the walls and the thatch for the roof. We agreed on a price that was equivalent to the cost of one good cattle beast in Ethiopia or dinner for four with wine at a medium priced restaurant in Canada.

Simon by the way was not exhibiting any cold symptoms while I was still dealing with a persistent cough.  He did not share his local remedy with me and because I did not ask, I may have missed a golden opportunity for a deal with a North American pharmaceutical company and financial security for life.

The plane was on time and we left the hotel for the airport. I was pleasantly surprised when Simon told me that the new terminal building was now in use. I had been preparing myself for a tortuous wait in the old departure lounge – a room roughly 12 by 30 feet in a shack. There were no windows, a fan blew the hot air amongst the  40 would be passengers packed in like sardines, shoulder to shoulder and legs intertwined. During my last stay in the old departure lounge, my bladder got the better of me. It was a struggle to leave the room and the struggle continued as I passed back through two security check points. I arrived at another dilapidated building to which I had been directed. An old sign read, “ oilet.” I had no “oil to let” but I reasoned, “Close enough.”

After bidding our final farewells to Simon and Gira, we entered the new terminal and addressed our first security check. The contrast of the old facility to the new was indeed amazing … spacious , sparsely furnished, high ceilings and lots of widows from the floor to the ceiling. Yes that actually intensified the heat. In a far corner of the pre-boarding area one lone fan laboured without consequence. A 1950’s vintage refrigerator with a cache of Ethiopian produced Coca Cola and Sprite, was placed strategically in front of two rows of seats. Needless to say there was a steady flow of individuals to the refrigerator drawn like bees to a honey pot.  

Eventually we proceeded through two more security points and waited in an equally spacious boarding area.   I sat in front of the only other fan in the building. “You snooze, you lose!”

We arrived in Addis at 3:00 p.m. and our taxi driver as well as facilitator, Dejene Demeke, was waiting for us as previously arranged. We were driven to the brand new Renaissance Apartment Hotel.  The hotel offered wireless internet, a swimming pool and free breakfast to boot. I bartered with Miss Hirut Ibrahim, the Front Office Manager and we agreed on $74 U.S per person for an apartment on the third floor with a common living room, a kitchenette and with three bedrooms each with a three piece bathroom with a fancy shower. She apologized that we would have to walk up three flights and informed me that the elevator to the upper floors would be installed as soon as the parts came from Europe.

Kevin and Simon headed up to the room helped by a porter with the luggage. Meanwhile I left with Dejene to see about changing my flight arrangements to go onto Nigeria after Southern Sudan.  A rather insistent fellow, Uduma Okeh, had wanted to meet in Lagos to discuss malaria control and I was considering extending this tour a few days to see what he had in mind. Dejene drove us to a Lufthansa office; it was closed. I had lost track of the days and forgot it was Sunday.

Back at the hotel, Kevin and Simon had selected their bedrooms, leaving me with the largest perhaps in consideration of my age and size. Kevin informed me that the wireless internet was not working in the apartment.

I surveyed our new digs, overall the apartment looked great– nicely furnished with probably a 42 inch flat screened television in the living room. On closer inspection, the wood trim around the doors and base boards were either missing, or required refinishing. The kitchenette was modest but appeared to be adequate despite an inoperable hotplate. I moved into my boudoir, spacious - with a king bed, a vanity with a cracked mirror and a chest of drawers with a flat screened T.V. on top.

We had been travelling for over a week and I suggested that the lads consider “washing” their socks and underwear. There were wracks provided for drying clothes and with any luck they would be dry enough by morning when we would leave for our flight to Southern Sudan. The flight was scheduled for 10:45 a.m. which meant leaving the hotel around 8:15.

I headed down to the lobby with my computer to see if I could connect with the wireless internet and to inquire about getting our shirts laundered. The internet connection in the lobby was excellent and while catching up on my e-mails and sipping on an Ethiopian coffee, a fellow past by with soiled laundry. I asked him if it was possible to get some shirts cleaned before we left in the morning. He said yes and I inquired when they would be ready.  “One hour and 45 minutes (7:45 a.m.), “he assured me and directed room service to pick up the clothes from our room. Everything was coming together!!

I rushed upstairs and we all scurried to get our shirts ready for room service which arrived shortly after me.

It had been a long day and we all were appreciative of the thought of a shower. I took my socks and underwear in with me. Now this shower was a magnificent piece of technology. It had a control panel for various lighting modes and music, multiple faucets and shower heads – a large one overhead and a line of them on the wall, and seat as well. The only thing I could get to work was the overhead shower head. At least the water was hot and I proceeded to wash myself and my clothes, stomping on them on the floor of the shower.

I dressed with my one remaining clean set of clothes, hung the wet clothes to dry and met with Kevin and Simon down in the restaurant. We ate Ethiopian with several St. George’s beer and discussed our impressions of the hotel. 

There were a few interesting observations. Kevin had a wall in his bedroom that abutted against an outside wall; well not really a wall but a window which it split in two.  To have the window open, Kevin would call through the wall to Simon in his bedroom to open it. Either the interior wall was an afterthought or it was an architectural feauxpas. Kevin and Simon both had problems with hot water in their showers (there wasn’t any) and one of their toilets didn’t flush but it did have a hose and nozzle. Perhaps it was an Ethiopian version of a bidet. The door to the apartment was not attached to the frame at the upper hinge and couldn’t be closed. It remained open and we locked our bedroom doors when we retired.

 I suspect that the construction team that built the Renaissance was not trained in reading architectural drawings or plumbing. It was like being on a stage with a hotel setting. For the most part, it looked relatively good, high end - but a lot of things didn’t quite work. I’m not sure I would trust the elevator, if and when it was installed.

Dejene showed up unannounced while we were eating but declined to join us. I asked him why he wasn’t home on this Sunday evening with his family. “Dr. Barry, I have some very important clients and I must to be available to them at all times!” Hmmm?

Kevin had bought a cell phone earlier in the week because it was less expensive to use for local calls than our satellite phone which we used to call home.  He mentioned that we were almost out of minutes.  Without hesitation, Dejene left and was back with a card for 100 minutes in less time that it took to drink another beer. We paid and thanked him and he left assuring us he would be back at 8:00 a.m.

Kevin and Simon went back to the apartment to relax. I decided to survey the gardens and the pool in the twilight and to call my wife on the satellite phone. The only thing in the pool was stagnant rain water. A guard with an AK47 was sitting in the shadows.  I acknowledged him with a nod, turned my back and dialled. Complete darkness had settled in and the only light in my immediate vicinity was from the face of the sat phone.

Canamancan Travel Blog Entry No. 3

This blog entry is written again in my hotel room in Juba while waiting for my second meeting with Dr. Samson Baba. The meeting scheduled for today, Wednesday, was postponed until tomorrow morning.

I'll start this blog with the morning of March 25 at the hotel in Jimma.

I woke up around 6 a.m., it was light and I was drawn to the window by a noise. Below was a man with a screw driver working at opening the door of the SUV next to ours. I decided not to sound the alarm. It was probably the driver of the vehicle which looked to be worse for wear than ours. I commenced packing my gear and a short time later went back to the window. The vehicle door was open and the hood was up. I heard the whirring of the starter motor and the strained chugging of the engine that was failing to fire. A white man stood patiently by the opened passenger door.

I turned from the window in response to Simon Turial wrapping on the door to my room, "Dr. Barry, Dr. Barry….. we have to leave now; the road is not good in town and we must leave before the traffic!" The time was 6:45 a.m. or 45 minutes, Ethiopian time.

I opened the door and there was Simon dressed and ready to go. I looked up into his eyes, they were red and watery.

" How are you feeling Simon?" I asked.

"Dr. Barry … there is no air passing through the left side of my nose, I have never had this before! I have got your Canadian cold?!"

Indeed …. I went over to my medical kit and took out the bottle of cold and sinus pills and emptied the bottle onto the bed, splitting the pills into two equal piles – one for Simon and one for me. "Take two every four hours," I directed. My symptoms had returned just when I thought that I had it licked.

Kevin and Simon Hughes were up and taking some movie footage in the room. They had a restless night with a band playing until the early hours on their side of the building. A little later the band was replaced by the yapping of street dogs scavenging for food.

We finished packing and made several trips down the stairs with the luggage, paid the bill and headed out to the vehicle. The SUV that had been beside ours was gone. Apparently that driver was also a mechanic.

Simon was calling Bedru on his cell phone to come before the appointed time. It seems that just about everyone has a cell phone. Mr. Mo Ibrahim, a Sudanese-borne billionaire who built one of the first mobile phone networks on the African continent and his like had done a thorough marketing job.

It was not long before Bedru joined us. We loaded up and somebody mentioned breakfast …it was free, included with the price of the room. "It is free Dr. Barry," Simon Turial echoed with a smile. The priority of beating the traffic dissipated and just the thought of our two shots of Ethiopian coffee put smiles on all of our faces as we headed to the restaurant.

An hour later, we hit the road. We passed relatively quickly through the part of town with construction and then stopped for fuel.

Finally we were on our way and with any luck we would be in Gambella before nightfall. Simon had called his son on his cell phone to make reservations for three rooms at the Ethiopian Hotel. This disturbed me a little as I had specifically asked Deng to call Simon to do this several weeks prior.

We were passing through the highlands of Ethiopia and would continue to do so for most of the day. The air was relatively cool at 2000 metres altitude and the ride comfortable although cramped. Every three hours or so, we would stop and one of us would rotate to the front passenger seat for more leg room. The road was a paved for most of the way and greatly improved since the last time I travelled along it in 2008.

Breathe taking - driving through the highlands of  Ethiopia
from Addis Ababa to Gambella (March 2011)

Around noon I asked Simon Turial if he had taken the cold meds that I gave him. He replied, "No, I will take medicine of my village when we get to Gambella." I responded, tongue in cheek, that I wanted the pills back that I gave him that morning. I was assured that I would get them back – never happened. Many Ethiopians believe that the white man's pills, any pills including aspirin, are a treatment for malaria.

We passed through several towns sharing the road with a multitude of pedestrians, both two and four legged. Dogs, mules, cattle, sheep, goats and more goats were common. The cattle were always accompanied by herdsmen in and around the towns but often along the open stretches of road we would see animals meandering alone. I think we all wondered if these wayward animals would be missed by their owners.

We passed by huge tea plantations that went as far as the eye could see over rolling hills, banana trees were abundant, sugar cane and coffee plants. Baboons and other assorted monkeys were fairly common but flighty, so only a few pictures were acceptable.

A tea plantation in the highlands of Ethiopia
(March 2011)

About mid-day Simon received confirmation from his son that we had reservations for three rooms at the Baro Hotel in Gambella.

Ascending along the winding roads was worrisome at times when Bedru would overtake a truck or bus on a curve – no clear line of sight. There was always an audible sigh of relief when we safely passed the vehicle and were back in the lane.

Around 3:00pm we began our descent along a steep windy road with switch backs. Close to the bottom we were stopped at a police check point where we all produced our identification papers and the vehicle underwent a modest search. I did not mention earlier that Simon Turial had forgotten his identity papers when he left Gambella to meet us in Addis. He was challenged each time we entered a Ministerial compound in Addis when we were working on the camera issue and each time he talked his way in. When village raids occurred in Gambella Region, it was Simon's job to negotiate peace as representative of the Regional Government, his skill at negotiating became apparent the few days we were in Addis.

As we left the check point, Simon noted that the President's car was driving past us in the opposite direction. President Omod Obang of the Gambella Peoples' National Regional State Council would apparently not be available for a meeting with me this visit.

The last 140 kilometres to Gambella were at an altitude of 800 metres with a consequential increase in humidity and rise in temperature to 38⁰C. Foot and vehicle traffic waned as evening approached. The scenery continued to be magnificent with rivers and lush vegetation.

We crossed the Baro River bridge and entered the Town of Gambella with 777 kilometres between us and Addis Ababa. A short time later after refuelling the SUV we entered the Baro Hotel compound. The guards with their AK47's were preparing for the night's watch. Kevin and Simon Hughes unloaded our luggage and I was squaring up with Bedru when Kevin called out, "They only have one room for two."

The Baro Hotel Reception
Gambella, Ethiopia (March 2011)

Rooms at the Baro Hotel (Gambella, Ethiopia; March 2011)

I went over to the reception where I was greeted with a smile, the fellow recognized me from the three previous stays. I had learned several years back this was the best establishment in town with clean bedding, rooms with fans, running water, toilet and shower, a restaurant and a generator that ran most of the night. I wasn't particularly surprised at this situation. I was disappointed. I had words with the receptionist and later with Simon. Nobody was smiling. It was suggested that I come back tomorrow, there might be an opening. I knew there would not be, it's the African way of trying to end on a positive note.

I told Kevin and Simon that I would arrange for them to have the room that was available because accommodation quality in terms of North American standards went down from here. 

Inside the room at the Baro Hotel, Gambella, Ethiopia
(March 2011)

Kevin sprays the rooms with permethrin to keep the critters
down, Baro Hotel Gambella, Ethiopia (March 2011)

Then Simon and I headed out with Bedru into the night to find a place for me to stay.

Three places had no available rooms, at another I was shown a room but with no lighting it was pitch black inside. I declined. I like to see the critters I would be sleeping with.

I remembered a compound where Ouvry and I had spent our first night in Gambella Town, four years prior. The rooms were small with one light hanging from wires in the ceiling, a cot with a mosquito net, wooden shutters on the window with no screening, an outdoor guest shower and a toilet that was a hole in the ground. We drove over to find it was closed but the manager was outside and said the owner had a second establishment called the Park Hotel just outside of town. He made a call and there was one "excellent" room left.

We arrived in complete darkness and were greeted by a boy no older than twelve. He led me by the light of his cell phone to the last room and unlocked the padlock to the steel door. I took out my flashlight and had a look. The boy left and a generator started up and there was light. It looked fine, it was 10:00 p.m. and I was tired. We unloaded my luggage and I bid goodbye to Bedru who took Simon to his home. I don't know where Bedru would have slept that night. He assured me during our journey that he did not sleep in the vehicle.

I had closed the door and was unpacking when I heard a faint wrap on the door. It was the boy with an insecticidal spray canister in his hand. He directed the spray up into the cracks near the ceiling which brought forth a rather large black spider, the likes of which I had not seen before. Being an entomologist, my fascination is with six- legged critters, I dislike eight-legged ones. I reached into my pack and brought out my heavy duty spray bottle which I always carry with me in Africa and finished it off and the boy kicked it outside. Some might think this unusually cruel especially for a "bug" person" but to better understand my ruthlessness I should tell you that I have been bitten by spiders while I slept and was left with necrotic areas on my torso that took three weeks to heal and over a year for the scarring to fade.

After I paid him 70 birr the boy left, I sprayed the rest of the room including around the windows and doors, killing the roaches and crickets while they scurried around. Master of my domain, I continued unpacking when the generator stopped and the light went out. Where did I put that flash light?

The next morning, Saturday the 26th, the same boy came to my door and informed me there was no food but soft drinks were available for 5 Birr each. I ordered a Sprite and continued packing. The boy returned with the Sprite and I gave him 10 Birr. Apparently, he was impressed with the tip and asked would I like to upgrade to a better room for 90 Birr. The upgrade included an actual porcelain toilet (no seat) not just a hole in the floor, a large ceiling fan over the bed and thick spring mattress, better water pressure and all the plumbing was present – decedent! I paid for the room, included a tip and was helped to transfer my luggage.

Simon Turial arrived in a small three-wheeled vehicle with a young driver. This was the typical Gambellan taxi, painted blue and white. If you are a Gambellan you can get a ride anywhere in town for three Birr. If you are white, 10 Birr – still a deal. We were off to meet Kevin and Simon Hughes and arrange the agenda for the day.

Typical Gambellan taxi

We crossed the Baro River bridge and headed into town.

The Baro River Bridge (Gambella, Ethiopia: March 2011)

Transport barges on the Baro River waiting for the rainy
season and the water to rise (March 2011)

Dugout canoes for short trips and fishing
on the Baro River (March 2011)

Simon Hughes and Kevin had had breakfast and were busy filming and organizing the equipment. It was almost 11:00 a.m. and Simon Turial and I had not eaten. Over lunch, Simon agreed to obtain an extended cab pickup truck for the afternoon and early evening. He would also arrange for me to meet with Deng's wife to pass along some gifts from Canada. Being Saturday it was not likely that Khor Puoch, the Minister of Health, would be available to meet.

Mr. Khor Puoch, Minister of Health,
Gambella Region (November, 2007)

Simon Turial was good to his word, as he generally is, and the Minister of Health supplied our vehicle of choice. Simon also had convinced one of the Ministry drivers to moonlight for us through the weekend.

Ouvry and I had developed the vector control strategy for the Town of Gambella in 2008. The task now was to develop a presentation to obtain funding. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then what would movie clips be worth?

Simon Hughes clambered onto the back of the truck, positioned the camera, steadying it with his elbows on the cab roof. It was hot in the cab for us and had to be hotter for Simon in the back, exposed to the sun. Simon filmed where we directed while Kevin, Simon Turial, the driver and I made comments. It wasn't long before we purchased bottled water and not long before Simon's elbows were bloodied from steadying that camera.

Simon Turial (our man in Gambella) explaining how
this flood plain area becomes a major larval habitat
in the rainy season (Gambella, Ethiopia; March 2011) 

Kevin larval sampling in a pool remaining from
the last rainy season (Gambella, Ethiopia; March 2011)

Kevin training budding vector control specialists
(Gambella,Ethiopia; March 2011)

The afternoon's filming went well and during a brief break I met with Deng's wife.

Over supper and St. George's beer, we discussed our departure from Gambella by air around noon the next day. Kevin gave me the spray that was left after treating their room. I had a feeling that I might have use for it in my upgrade.

After the meal I was driven back to the Park Hotel, arriving just after dark. The generator was running and lights were on. I unlocked the padlock on the door to my room, turned on the flashlight, found the switch and made light. Hmmm ….what are those dark spots on the wall? Ahhh …the spider from the other night apparently had three relatives in this room - two black and one opaque. Raising the sprayer Kevin provided, I nailed the spiders and then targeted the nooks and crannies. Rather large ants were scurrying around the base of the bed … so .. sprayed the floor, sprayed the bed, sprayed under the bed ….went to sleep!

The night went well; an added feature of the new room was that the electricity remained on all night which meant the ceiling fan kept the air moving and the CPAP was working. Definitely an upgrade!

Around 6:00 a.m. I showered, packed and then found a chair and sat in the shade of the mango trees in the compound. The morning air was cool. Most of the other guests had left and it was quiet except for the staff sweeping the dirt. The boy brought me a Sprite and I read an article on Mo Ibrahim. Rested and relaxed, I waited for my ride to the Baro for coffee and breakfast with the boys.

Canamancan Travel Blog Entry No. 2

Canamancan Blog Entry No. 3

This blog entry is written in my hotel room in Juba while waiting for my second meeting with Dr. Samson Baba of the Ministry of Health, Southern Sudan Government.

The objectives of this journey to Ethiopia and Southern Sudan was to register my company in order to enter into partnerships with the respective government health ministries to conduct malaria vector control programs and to record our activities on film.

I'll start this blog with the beginning of the trip and end with our overnight stay in Jimma, the town half way between Addis Ababa and Gambella.

On Sunday March 20, Kevin Taylor, Simon Hughes and I met at the Toronto International Airport, 3 hours ahead of boarding time for Air Canada flight 9104. It was the first trip to Ethiopia and Southern Sudan for Kevin, mosquito control expert extraordinaire, and Simon, our cinematographer – both excited and raring to go. I was less so. The day before, I was exhibiting symptoms of a severe head cold with sneezing, runny nose, smarting eyes followed by plugged sinuses through the night.

Going through security went smoothly enough despite all the equipment that each of us decided to carry on board. By the time we boarded, I had used half of my tissue supply, constantly sneezing and blowing my nose. I took my place on the plane and was thankful that no one was seated directly beside me. The flight left on time at 7:40 p.m. and we were on it. That was a good start. The previous November, I had travelled to Ethiopia with Deng Tap. Because of weather, we missed our connection with Air Ethiopia in Washington D.C. and waited four days for the next flight.

We arrived in Frankfurt eight hours later by which time I had depleted the tissue supply in two of the toilets. None of our team had slept particularly well; I had spent the hours sniffling and sneezing while watching the new Harry Potter movie and True Grit. It was 8:45 a.m. in Frankfurt, and we checked in with a Lufthansa agent for the next leg of our journey to Addis Ababa. Kevin was pleased to be in Germany for the first time and because he is a cognisor of beer he directed the conversation with the agent to German beers. The agent was quite knowledgeable and kindly provided several recommendations. Breakfast in the airport consisted of assorted beers and German sausage on a bun. We paid the tab and I stuffed my pocket with napkins.

Frankfurt to Addis Ababa took almost seven hours; we were tired and we slept during the flight. It was night once again when we landed (March 21, 9:15 p.m.). We made our way through the corridors of the Addis airport and just before customs, exchanged our U.S. dollars for Birr – it was a good exchange rate of 16.7. We passed through the first stage of customs without a hitch, our entry visas were in order. One more hurdle, customs where the agents check our luggage. I was checked through, no problem, followed by Kevin.

Simon Turial from Gambella and his friend Paul were just outside the security area and we were greeted with the customary Ethiopian hand shake and bowing until our right shoulders touched. Simon Hughes had not joined us. Kevin reported that Simon was having trouble with the camera.  We learned that we were required to have a permit and the camera was confiscated until we returned with one. Nothing we could do about it and headed to the hotel where Simon Turial had made reservations.

We arrived at the Damu Hotel close to mid-night.  I had stayed there before; the rooms are clean, the plumbing works, good meals but "iffy" wireless internet.  The cost per room is $78 U.S. pricy for what you get compared to North American standards but reasonable compared to the prices of the new hotels like the Hilton in Addis. There are sleeping quarters available for $10 per night, I've been there and don't want to be there again.

Simon Turial said he had accommodation elsewhere and would meet us in the foyer of the Damu the next morning at 6:00 a.m.

I travel with a CPAP machine for sleep apnea and have come to rely on it for a good night's rest. The challenge as with any electrical equipment, is getting it to work in Africa, having the right plug adaptors, power adaptors and surge protectors to accommodate the 220 volt system. I had bought new adaptors at Staples for this trip but they didn't work. Exhausted and still producing copious quantities of whatever it's called that comes out of your nose with a head cold, I slept through the night.

Kevin tried several combinations of adaptors in his room and fried his surge protector which gave up the ghost in a puff of smoke.

Simon arrived at 9:45 and we headed off to get our camera permit. After numerous meetings with various federal government officials and providing a copy of the document that we had sent to the Ethiopian Embassy in Toronto, stating that we were travelling with the camera equipment, we were given a permit to use the camera in the Gambella Region.  The process was facilitated by the Ethiopian Ambassador who had been stationed with the Ethiopian Embassy in Ottawa a few years before. He had travelled throughout  Canada and we had an interesting conversation while the bureaucratic process ground out the camera permit. One and a half days were consumed getting the camera back (March 22 &23). 

Now we had to address outstanding issues regarding the company registration with the Ethiopian federal government. This was accomplished in one day, the balance of March 23. I did not get the registration but was satisfied that I only needed the stamp of approval from the Canadian federal government to wrap it up. This will be a priority when I return to Canada.

While we stayed at the Damu Hotel Kevin and Simon Hughes became brief regulars at a nearby restaurant called the Elephant Walk, named because of a huge plaster mural of elephants in the savannahs, roughly 30 feet long and 6 feet high that ran along the inside wall. The restaurant provided their first exposure to Ethiopian cuisine using "injira" instead of flat ware to eat mutton and goat meat. St. George's beer at a $1.00 per bottle was a plus.

The next step on the agenda was to drive to Gambella which would take two days, stopping overnight in Jimma. Simon Hughes would film our progress from Addis Ababa in the highlands (2300 metres) to Gambella (800metres).  Up to this time Simon had been taking still pictures and was excited about filming.

The general manager of the Damu Hotel is a congenial fellow, Getachew Seifu, who has a daughter in Canada. I told him we wanted to drive to Gambella. He said that he had a friend who could provide a vehicle and driver. The quote was $800. Meanwhile Simon Turial had met Dejene Demeke,  a most helpful taxi driver who arranged the overland trip for $500.

At 10:00 a.m. (March 24) we left the Damu Hotel in a well- used, slightly abused Toyota SUV and with a driver whose name was Bedru.  On the previous overland drive to Gambella the road had been rough and the tires of this vehicle were a concern. I was advised that the driver was also a mechanic and not to worry. As it turned out we made the journey safely and without incident. Simon filmed to his heart's content and we stopped several times along the way to film some amazing scenery, wildlife and not so wild life. Ethiopian coffee and St. George's beer took the edge off. Kevin, Simon Turial and I took turns doing the commentary. Bedru, a man of few words tried to teach us one phrase, "Thank you" in Amharic.

Along the journey we became impressed with Bedru's ability to dodge the cattle and other domestic animals. One of the few English phrases we heard him utter was "Watch it Billy" when he almost hit a goat.

Kevin is a musician with a band and given the number of goats he saw, he thought that "Big Black Goat" would be a good reggae band name in Ethiopia (Ya-mon).  Any Ethiopians reading this, feel free to use it.

Simon Turial was complaining of a cold; indeed he was sneezing and had a runny nose. He insisted it was an African cold and I said I didn't think so. I was actually feeling much better by this time.

We arrived at the half way mark, the town of Jimma just before dark.  Jimma is an "academic centre" and hosts conferences constantly and indeed there were conferences going on when we arrived.  Rooms in a decent hotel were hard to come by. We settled for a multi-story accommodation with stairs to the upper floors. The lights in the stairwell were out and the plumbing was not working. Two buckets of water were in each bathroom, one for washing and one for flushing the toilet. I skipped cleaning my teeth that night. The rooms were hot with no air circulation and with a few mosquitoes hungry for a blood meal were flying when I entered mine. It was as good as it was going get but at a cost of a few hundred Birr per room.  We headed to the vehicle to get the luggage and lug it up three flights.

Bedru headed out to find his own accommodation after we arranged to meet him in the morning at the vehicle at one hour 30 minutes which translated to 7:30 on our watches. Simon Turial went to see a sick uncle in the Jimma hospital and Kevin, Simon Hughes and I headed to a restaurant for St. Georges beer and Ethiopian fare.

I haven't mentioned that we have a satellite phone on this tour. On previous trips I learned that our Canadian cell phones seldom work and are expensive at $4.00 per minute when they did work. For the most part the satellites were aligned and we got through to family in Canada. The sat phone was also supposed to facilitate e-mailing but the kinks were not quite worked out. We also bought a cell phone in Addis as a backup.

We retired to our rooms around 10 p.m. and on the way discovered that our host had replaced a blown light bulb or two in the stairwell.  I sat on the bed and looked at the mosquito bed net hanging from the ceiling. It would be a hot stuffy uncomfortable night if I used it and I concluded I'd rather deal with the mosquitoes through the night and took my daily Malarone pill. I watched the two station colour television until I finally dozed off around three in the morning. This hotel definitely had its priorities – television over running water.