Glimpses

I think there are more donkeys than people in Ethiopia. Armies of asses trudge dusty roads bearing aqueous burdens from distant wells back to parched villages. A five or six year old child usually serves as the marching Sergeant on the way to the well, but once four 20L containers of life’s liquid have been strapped to the donkey’s hide, the Sergeant can go and play. Left to his own desires the donkey invariable points his nose homeward and walks deliberately, never resting, until he reaches his village.

I feel like an ass (it‘s not the first time, though historically I‘ve described it in different terms). This trip’s finish line is in sight, and I find myself chomping at the bit to get to the end and return home for whatever life will bring next. I’m having to remind myself that I don’t get to Africa often, and I need to milk this experience for all it’s worth. Two months remain before the first of my “appointments” in America, but 10 days of hard travel would probably wrap this whole thing up. I’m road weary. One of the reasons I love travel is because everything is changing/new everyday. But at this point change has become normal. I want to do some “normal” things for a change.

Even if I feel impatient sometimes, Africa has a spell on me. I’m enchanted. Sometimes visiting a place I’ve seen in the movies is disappointing, some places turn out to be less cool than I had imagined. Africa always delivers though, it’s better than the movies.

From Addis Ababa (“new flower”), Ethiopia’s capital, we began hitching rides towards the Kenyan border; ultimately we hitched all the way to Nairobi, Kenya. Hitchhiking is a great way to travel through Africa, a little cash provides good incentive and pretty soon you find yourself bumping along dirt tracks in a Land Cruiser - or a 10 Ton truck full of goats. We spent 24 hour straight in the latter. One chemically enhanced driver (“chat” leaves are quite the stimulant) drove the entire 24 hours at breakneck speed across the worst road I’ve ever been on. It’s a road the government wants to pave the but the lack of water in the area makes it an extremely expensive project.

I had no idea it was possible to make a vehicle go that fast across a road that bad. I admit I made sure I was right with the Lord. I don‘t know how spiritual goats are, but if ever there were God fearing goats they were the ones in that bucking Mitsubishi who were repeatedly launched nearly over the sides of the bed‘s 10 foot high side walls before gravity slammed their whirling bodies back onto the truck‘s steel bed with a bone breaking thud.

I’m sure the Chalbi desert of Northern Kenya is the roughest stretch of earth we‘ll see on this trip. I’m too soft for that kind of life. Water is incredibly precious and tribesman toting AK-47s defend dwindling puddles. The women don’t wear many clothes, though beads slung around their necks mostly cover their breasts.

We reached a small canteen of a town called Mega and got out for a stretch. A throng of playing boys came to beg for money and entertain us with shenanigans. Their ring leader pantsed one of the smaller boys right in front of me to the great amusement of his friends. Soon several of the boys were showing off by sneaking behind the small boy and pantsing him. The small boy eventually started crying so I had to chase down the ring leader and hold him so the small one could properly spank him. Vigilantly justice can be fun.

Ummmm……The End