We travelled as a group to Awassa on Wednesday. Originally, only Joy and Adrian were going to go and Joan and I were to stay in Adama to perform lab assessments and complete the last week of training, but the labs there were so basic (more on that later!) we were able to complete the assesments in half a day.
Deman decided instead of breaking up, we would all spend a few days together in Awassa, completing the lab assessments there as a team.
The hotel we stayed at (The Haile Resort) was gorgeous. It made me feel a little guilty staying at such a nice place when we were suppose to be on a volunteer trip, but Deman reminded me the cost was minimal ($60 USD a night) and security at the hotel was top notch, including security guards and metal detectors at the entrance. This was very important since the security risk (especially for Americans) in Ethiopia was relatively high.
Since we arrived at night, we weren't able to properly see the grounds, but woke the next morning to a beautiful view.
Awassa is a birders paradise. And so many of them were right outside our windows, lots of noisy Silvery Cheeked Hornbills, African Fish Eagles & even Marabou Storks.
We travelled around the region on Thursday, touring the different labs. It took much longer than we expected, mainly because the labs were so far from each other and the roads as you got further away from Awassa were full of giant potholes.
Despite the terrible road conditions, the region was beautiful. Much more lush and green than we'd seen in the past, and culture was everywhere.
Late in the afternoon we finally stopped for lunch. Amir had a friend who recommended a 'lodge' which was off the beaten path a bit. Aragash Lodge was hidden off a relatively steep, rutty road, but boy was it worth it! This was a place you would come stay at if you really wanted to escape the technology of the world. No TV's, no radio, and no internet available (except at the reception hut and the restaurant).
 |
| Coffee! |
All along the side of the road there were locals selling their wares. One twon had really colorful baskets, displayed on branches like ornaments. I would have loved to have brought a few home, but most of them were bigger than my suitcase would accomodate.
As I mentioned earlier, there were birds everywhere! I have to admit I am usually not a big fan of birds, and that birding never interested me in the past, but to see so many varieties in one location was pretty amazing and gave me lots of opportunities for some good pictures.
 |
| A Little Egret |
 |
| African Fish Eagle |
 |
| Spur Winged Plover |
 |
| Fisherman, surrounded by swallows |
 |
| Beautiful mosaic in the middle of a round-a-bout |
One evening, the owner of the resort stopped by. Haile Gebrselassie is a world famous marathoner, running his fastest marathon in during the Berlin Marathon in 2008 with a time of 2:03:59. Thats 4 hours faster than I ran the Rock & Roll marathon the same year!! :)
He was extremely nice and gracious enough to take a photo with the group.
 |
| Hammerkop |
 |
| Baby Egyptian Goose |
The Haile Resort offered a boat ride to go see some Hippos. Finally, something we'd been hoping to see for most of our trip! Unfortunately, since Hippos are one of the most dangerous animals on earth, we had to stay quite a distance away and even with my 270mm zoom lens, the Hippos were still in the distance.
All along the shoreline, locals could be seen on their daily fishing excursions. They got around on a 'boat' made of a bunch of reeds tied together, using a long pole to push their way thru the grasses to the good fishing spots. Often, it looked as if they were walking on water.
Our trip to Awassa ended with a gorgeous sunset, the evening before the full lunar eclipse was scheduled to occur. Due to the time change, it was still daylight at the peak of the eclipse so we were unable to view it at all, but the colorful sky more than made up for it.
No comments:
Post a Comment