Jill Will Go...

Another mosquito massacre this morning in the bathroom. This time, I won. 6-0. I could not get out of the that room fast enough. Last night was another sleepless night of heat, buzzing mosquitos, drunk party guests, cats yowling and people walking around, right near my cabin. I was packed and ready to go within minutes. On the way towards Awassa, we passed through many different communities. We could tell because of the hats. We passed briefly through a Rastafarian community and bought mangos. A man there was wearing a Haile Selassie cap. Another was a Muslim town. The men there wore these very unique striped top hats. We also saw more of the painted houses, but we didn't stop, which was a shame. I think everyone is getting tired and wants to get the heck out of here. Lots of talk of diet cokes (oddly enough, they don't have diet products here in Ethiopia - go figure), how much driving we've been doing and so on. We stopped in Awassa for lunch. As we drove onto the c

We started back northwards today. With a last detour along the Hammar Mountains to see one last tribe. The landscape here is so varied, every day has had a change in plants, elevation, birds, roads, and people. It is extraordinary. Today we drove through a lot of dry river beds. Giant swaths of dust. During the wet season this place must be lush and teeming with water coming off the mountains. One of the drivers said that flash floods are a real problem here. People get stuck in a muddy riverbed, then lose their car or their lives in a sudden rush of water. We were asked to stay in the cars until we were cleared to enter the Abore tribe's village. But the word got out quickly. Despite our best efforts to be surreptitious with six white Land Cruisers. Their huts are more spread out than we've seen before, and they had corrals for cows, sheep and goats. They even have a little covered "patio" section just outside the front door where the little goat babies are kep

We had a little bit of a break during lunch time, and I took the opportunity to sleep. This head cold that I've caught has wiped me out, and combined with the heat...I'm not getting enough rest. I'm not sure anyone is. But this afternoon, we were going deeper into Hammar Country to a market and a village. Can't miss that. Despite the heat and the head cold. The market was difficult for me. It is hard to enter a place where you stand out so much, and everyone has eyes on you and wants to charge you for every photo you take. I got a few generic shots of the market, and one decent one of the soil that they sell there to do their hair. But I ended up abandoning the endeavor and sitting down for a drink while others shopped. Most people had a similar idea, and everyone was done within 30 minutes. But we had an hour and 15 minutes. So the shade and the soda were a good idea. We then drove to a Hammar village. These were not the families that had participated in the whip

Today we drove out to see another tribe, the Galeb, near the border with Kenya in Omorate. It was hot all night, and it only got hotter during the day. We drove out and along the way saw dik-diks, vultures, a very large bird called a Kori Bustard (the neck on that thing was huge), and more of those amazing termite mounds. Again, there were some that had to be at least 10-12 feet tall. They just dot the landscape like terra cotta chimney stacks. We weren't told to bring our passports, so there was some mild bribery needed at the Omo River. It isn't the official border with Kenya, but the river acts as a symbolic border, and this is as far south as you can go in this part of Ethiopia, so they check visas before you cross over. Or they don't if you pay them. We pulled up to the river, and it was immediately evident that Adventure Girl would need to be extra willing to Woman Up. We had to slide down a 50 foot, 70 degree steep riverbank to get into a dugout canoe that was o

Today we head towards Turmi. There is hope that we will see a bull jumping ceremony with the Hammar tribe. Some people area now starting to get sick, and I've caught the head cold that is going around. It was a rough day for most of us. But also a day when I would see things that I have never seen before and will never see again. We made a small stop at a school on the way to Turmi. The Alduba Juniour School has a lot of tribal and farming children who go from 8 am to noon to avoid the hottest part of the day. They study Amharic (the national language of Ethiopia), English, Math, Science and Sport. The top teacher salary there is $75 per month. That is after many years of teaching. To compare it, I heard that our drivers make $10 per day (although they have to pay for their own expenses on the road). The students were wound up when we arrived, so it was a little chaotic. Lots of asking for money or pens. Everyone chipped in some money so the teacher could buy more composition

Well, another night spent at the finicky mercy of Ethiopia. Slept nearly perfectly until 2 a.m. when the rooster decided it was time to get up. Then a cow chimed in, until about 3 a.m., when the Ethiopian Orthodox Church came in and dominated the night with religious chanting piped through loud speakers. Apparently, it is Saint Mary's Day. And it starts at 3 a.m...and went until about 7 a.m. Claude joked that he'd hired the priest to do our wake up call. I told him he better not have tipped him. It just went on and on and on. Then, when I was getting dressed, I noticed that my lower back had been eaten raw by mosquitos, despite my spraying myself down, wearing extra clothes to bed, using the barrier on top of the bed. Ugh. I can't seem to avoid being mosquito meat. I just keep taking the malaria medicine and hoping for the best. Early start today, due to a long drive through the Mago National Park to see a Mursi camp. These are the famed "lip plate" women. Th

Lunch was in route to the Omo Valley. The valley is part of the Great African Rift, so I'm in the southwestern corner of Ethiopia, which has borders with Kenya and Sudan. Our driver today, Teddy, was giving us the scoop on the Africa Cup while we drove. He said that the Ethiopian team is made up of all "local" men, while many other teams are actually professional soccer players. That was why their tied match the other night was worth such a celebration. It's a David and Goliath story. And speaking of biblical references... All along the side of the road are these lovely, huge plants called Sodom's Apples. The sap from them can blind you if you rub in your eyes. They grow a strange looking fruit that looks like a green apple. But when you open it, or step on it, it is just full of air. They are everywhere here. As are these giant termite towers. Some had to be 10 feet high or more. Some where chimney shaped, but most looked like a little house with a chimney