Arba Minch, Ethiopia...Out of the pan and into the fire...

wildlife observation deck at the crocodile farm. lake chamo is in the background. wouldn't take your kids swimmin' in there though. they say it holds some of the biggest crocs in africa.

Switched hotels...thank god. The music was thumping really hard last night. I was so tire that I just faded. I unfortunately woke up at 0230 but by that time the ho's had moved onto other fun stuff they're good at. Now me and the Spanish are staying at the Hallelujah Hotel. It's in a different part of town where it's miraculously a lot quieter.

Managed to pay Adi for a job well done. He arranged a pretty difficult tour fraught with logistical nightmares. I paid him the amount agreed to plus a big tip. I hope the tip was enough. Either he was disappointed or I caused a momentary micro-hyper-inflationary blip in the Ethiopian economy. If it's the latter (I'm not sure), I hope he'll put some of the money towards his education (he wants to study geography in Addis). [ed. note: if you're looking for a Ethiopian guide, I can send you his email address.]

Didn't do much for the rest of the day other than walk to a crocodile farm. Located about 10 K away, on the shores of Lake Chamo, the farm was ok. Wish they had some monster crocs. It was good exercise on a great but really hot day. With hard work there's always a reward at the end. We found an exclusive club next door to the farm where we sat in the shade and sipped ice cold beers for a couple of hours. Damn that was the shizzle.

On the way back through a monkey infested forest, we flagged down a ride with some nice business people from Addis. One of the passengers, a guy, said he saw me snoozing in public the day before in Konso. Why didn't you give me a ride back then, ya bastard? Just kidding... It's a small world, eh?

We made it back to Arba Minch in minutes. Cars are really convenient compared to walking. Starved and dehydrated, we first went to the Flamingo Cafe for mango juice (25 US cents for a big glass) and cake. For dinner afterwards, we each ordered and ate a huge tilapia-like fish with salad on the side. I think we scared the staff with how much we could chow down. Worth the 30 birr (about 3.50 USD - the same cost of our rooms at the hotel) though.

This was the last meal with Luis and Antonio. Tomorrow they're off to Little Jamaica (Shashemene) hoping to see Bob Marley's home away from home and to top up their wacky supply. Since I have plenty of wacky tabacky myself (just kidding), I'm off to the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, on a jumbo-sized bus adventure. Kind of worried though 'cause I don't have a ticket yet.

Out of Canuckistan: A travel blog, Mar 23/07
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