A New Adventure

We left the Maassi Mara feeling rested and refreshed after experiencing God's wonderful creation there. We got back to Nairobi and then flew to Addis Ababa. I was in total shock! 😵 These cities, as many others in Africa, never sleep. Reminds me of the tune with the lyrics, "I'm from the country and I like it that way"...

My digs in Addis Ababa for 2 nights

Hilda left me in Addis and went home (Yes, we are still on speaking terms!). I decided to make the best of it so I hired a taxi from my hotel to see the town. We went to the National Museum where I met Lucy. She is purported to have lived about 3.2 million years ago and is the earliest known hominin (humanoid) ever found.  She was discovered in 1974 and the fact that she was found in Ethiopia is a source of pride for the Ethiopian people. This fact also supports the notion that Ethiopia is the cradle of human civilization. Additionally, one of the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian traditions, which was developed centuries before the discovery of Lucy, maintains that part or all of the Garden of Eden was in Ethiopia.

On the way back to the hotel I asked my driver to go to the open-aire market, or the "markatto", as they refer to it.  I am told that this is the largest open-aire market in Africa. I've seen open-aire markets but none like this! Blocks upon blocks of street vendors selling anything and everything which could be sold; and delivery trucks lined up to bring in more product and more delivery trucks to take things like farm produce. There were smaller delivery trucks piled on top of larger loaded ones.  As to how they got that way is a matter of conjecture on my part and perhaps the subject of another tale best left untold...

Chaos in the market

One vendor

More vendors

I am now back in Bahir Dar doing some work for the Amhara Region Rural Land Administration and Use Bureau (ARRLAUB) for the next 2 weeks.  Seems like everyone here wants "training". More often than not they simply need some knowledge transfer through coaching and mentorship.  All the folks I've met are bright people but the internet seems to have conspired against them.  So many resources are available there but are inaccessible because of poor internet performance.  These two weeks will be a learning experience for all.  I will relate my knowledge and experiences in the Canadian context so they can apply the relevant parts; they will show me their work in Ethiopia, both in the office and in the field, so I can understand some of the challenges they face.