Harar to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia... Can you spell numb nuts?

Girl #1 in Harar, Ethiopia...

No pain, no gain seems to be the cliche that applies to traveling in Ethiopia.

I'm happy to be out of Harar. Things went well on the bus today. Could have arrived earlier in Addis if it were for the constant harassment of Ethiopian customs authorities along the way. With each stop, at least 6 times, I and fellow passengers would have to pile out of the bus. The officials would poke around inside while we melted outside in the hot sun. I'd say 20 minutes per stop before we could reboard.

Arrived in Addis at 1800 (clocking in after 12 hours on the road), and took a minibus back to the Piazza and ultimately the Taitu Hotel, a.k.a. home sweet home.

I ate dinner at an old stomping ground, the Omar Khayyam Restaurant. Fell asleep back at the hotel, only to be awoken by Anthony, my Polish friend, knocking at my door. I was about to spill my guts over the news of his NGO in Harar but he already spoke to Solomon the day before (it's a small world). He didn't seem surprised over the difficulties the little boy was experiencing.

While I was in Harar, he had actually sold some of his photos (to a company that published postcards and wanted pix for a Millenium coffee table book) and started a new NGO project. He took me outside to introduce me to 4 very young homeless boys. One of them was without pants. Apparently he had them stolen tonight while he was wearing them. That was crazy...

Anyway, my little assigned project tomorrow was to take the kids to a firfir filled breakfast. Firfir is nasty for me but a treat for them (firfir is injera drenched in beriberi sauce (very spicy) served on top of injera - just makes me want to puke).

After my NGO work tomorrow, I've got to get down to the Sudanese Embassy and finally hand in my visa application. It's time to move on...

Out of Canuckistan: A travel blog, May 2/07
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