Goodbye, Ethiopia!

Hello again everybody!

So, here I am in Marsabit, Kenya (read: nowhere). The group has just completed the most difficult section of the whole tour. And it was hard. Harder than I imagined. There were sections of road that you can't really call road. It was actually easier to ride off the road than on. There were lava rocks everywhere. The place looks like Mars. Black volcanic rocks sitting on top of red sand. It was really neat. After 9 hours on a bike, though, it gets a little tedious. Especially 3 days in a row. I have completed it, though. And I made it look good :P More on that in a bit.

So, my final rest day in Ethiopia was in a town called Arba Minch. Where there was nothing to do. There was a lot of wildlife, though. We camped at the edge of a cliff where baboons lived and they tromped though our camp every now and again. There were also these huge storks called Maribou storks, aka undertaker storks. Ther are huge! They stand about 1m tall and look like they're vultures wearing a suit, hence the undertaker storks. Anyway, this town was awful. The hotel had no water or electricity, despite being right beside two giant lakes and another hotel which had both. The service was terrible and the staff was very rude.

So, Ethiopia, what can I say? I will never, ever come back. The countryside is beautiful. Every piece of land is awesome. Just anything that speaks is very... well, annoying. Every service I had received was poor. Every interaction with anyone was miserable and mean-spirited (with the exception of 11... That's right, you can actually count the good times). And every single person you passed on the road either threw rocks at you or tried to push a stick through your spokes or push you off your bike. In fact, in the last days, we actually had a rider pushed off his bike by a passer-by. I'm sorry to say, the people here are very unfriendly. And as I said before, I hate to generalize. I give everyone a fair chance. But when it comes down to changing a flat on the side of the road and people are trying to steal things out of your bag, I draw the line. In fact, the last week of riding in Ethiopia, we had all had enough. Once the rocks were thrown, we dismounted and gave chase (exactly the opposite of our tour directions). The people scatter when they realize you are a person and not just a vehicle. Usually, the locals would run so fast, they would literally run out of their shoes. So, what to do? Take the shoes and give them to someone down the road. I know some people are reading this thinking "That's so terrible, I would never do that!" Guess what? You would. I thought that when I started cycling in the country. Then you receive 2 weeks of rocks and other projectiles (ranging from sugar cane to cow dung) and your opinion changes. I'm living proof. Anyway, I'm glad to be gone, never to return. You, you, you, you, you, money, money, money, money!!! Good riddance.

So, finally I crossed into Kenya. The border crossing on the Ethiopian side was tedious. The border is closed from 1300-1500. Well, in Ethiopian time, that's actually 1145-1515. So, I sat around waiting to be cleared out. Finally I was, and into Kenya. The in-processing for Kenya took 10 minutes. It was wonderful. The whole atmosphere changed just as quickly as when I entered the country. Everyone was happy again. So, we camped our first night and then set off on the hardest section of the tour. The terrain was miserable. 3 days of dirt, deep sand, large rocks, uphills, everything you could imagine, combined into one road. But it was a blast. It was thrilling to know that I had just conquered the demon. The 9 hours or so per day on a bike was tedious, but it builds character (right dad)? You spend most of the time off your saddle anyway, trying to control your bike. I am ready to try bull riding after these roads! You bounce around these giant lava rocks in the sweltering heat trying to ignore the pain in your hands, arms, head, bum and teeth. At least you can rest when you get to camp after most of the day going 8 or 9 km/h. You can't really understand until you see pictures, which I will not post now because it takes years. Anyway, I did pretty well. I came in all 3 days in the front of the pack (after the racers of course).

So, now I start a 5 day stretch into Nairobi. It will be easier than the dirt "roads" of previous days, but my body is hurting anyway. Nairobi is supposed to be a town where you can buy most things you get in the West. My list includes protein bars, tire tubes and levers, steak and a laundrymat. My sleeping bag is beginning to smell really, really bad, even after spraying it with alcohol. Bushtukah has been kind enough to donate a full wheelset and brakes for my bike, which is good, because this distance is not easy on the parts. This is greatly appreciated by myself, as all of these parts are failing as we speak. The parts are being shipped to Nairobi, where I can finally replace my worn bearings. Thanks again, Bushtukah. But no thank you DHL. My brakes alone are costing $400 to ship over.

Anyway, I have a broken bike to clean and a sore bum to pad. So, thanks everyone. I hope this installment was slightly more humourous than prior entries. "Are you not entertained?!?!" (Voiced from Gladiator) So, I leave you all with some stats.

Total distance: 4700km
Total climbing in Ethiopia: 20,380m
Showers to date: 5
Falls off my bike: 3 (No injuries. It doesn't hurt when you fall going 5-10km/h)
Time spent on saddle to date: 210 hrs.
Time spent being awesome: 211 hrs.

Until next time,
Danimal