October 23rd

The land is quite rustic... Starting in Addis Ababa we wake a 4am to see all star runners and future athletes training in Meskel Square on a tiered stadium facing a main thoroughfare. We then make our way through the fruit and vegetable market which you have to squeeze your way through the hustle and bustle. The market has the scent of fermenting vegetable, the ground is muddy and there is a consistent drone of bargaining in the background. It is nearly time to meet with Dawit for lunch. We have our first meeting with Indian food in Ethiopia and might I say it is quite nice followed by a coffee ceremony at his house. Here is the coffee report:

October 23 The Coffee Report: The Coffee Ceremony.

Today we have what I hope is our first of many coffee ceremonies. The Coffee Ceremony is traditionally used when preparing coffee for guests, friends and loved ones. The process used during the ceremony is long and elaborate and unfortunately in today's Ethiopia is being replaced by faster less elaborate methods. The ceremony has so many parts to it keeping track of them all is a skill onto its own. First is the selection of green beans, yes green beans. The green beans are then set on a flatten out wok shaped metal disk, which sits on a rectangular charcoal fire box. Think of the box as a cousin to the Argentinean parilla but without the grill. Our coffee preparer used a metal tool with a small 6cm L-shaped end to continually stir the beans around the hot metal disk. In about 6-7 minutes the first audible pops could be heard followed in about a minute by a second set. After 8-9 minutes of roasting the coffee was set aside and the first of two pot was set on the fire. While we waited for the metal pot to boil, the coffee had cooled enough to be put into the mortar and postal for grinding. Thunk, thunk, thunk until she had ground the coffee to the right consistency then carefully she pours the grounds into the clay pot for brewing. The clay pot's shape harkens back thousands of years and looks identical to the water urns of Egypt, but with a stopper top. The water is ready and she quickly pours it into the clay pot and replaces the stopper. For a minutes or two the pot sits on a special stand next to the fire, but is then placed back on the fire to finish brewing. Next to the fire and pots is a another rectangle box but this one holds the beautiful cups and saucers. She tinkers with arrangement until she finds the pattern she deems appropriate and pours us our first coffee. We were told that Ethiopians drink three cups because one is considered unlucky, two is for friends, and three is for yourself. After the third cup it is also customary to give a blessing to or for anything you choose. All-in-all the ceremony lasted a little over an hour.

Making our way back to the guest house we meet with the owner to discuss our plans North which Ethiopian Hospitality Saves the Day!
When we planned our time in Ethiopia we wanted to spend some time in the North. The North is home to the country's most important antiquities and trekking mountains.
Lalibella: rock hewn maze of subterranean Christian churches
Gonder: the royal castles
Lake Tana: centuries old monasteries at the source of the Blue Nile
Simien Mountains: Gelada baboons, Ethiopian Wolf
Aksum: professed resting place of the Arc of the Covenant.
During the initial planning our Ethiopia contact estimated that a driver and car for five days of driving i n the north would cost roughly $100-$150 USD total. Cheap right? That's what we thought too, but who am I to argue with an informed person. Today we're finalizing our plans for the north and find one little snag. The price of our excursion has gone from $100-$150 to $1200-$1300, and to make matters worse Aksum and the Simien Mountains are no longer possible because five days is too short a time to accomplish all our trip. When we're told this our jaws drop and ours hearts sink. That's 10x more than we were expecting with two less destinations. We take some time to discuss our options and finally come to the conclusion that we are going to stay in the north-west and see The Blue Nile, Bahir Dar, Gonder & Simien Mountains and of course try to see Lalibella if possible. Back to the office we go. With the managers help, later we learned he is a friend of Samuel, we made a few phone calls and arranged a personal driver and car. We emded up payimg more thsn we expected but considerably less than $1300. I have to be honest and say it seemed as if the hotel owner called in a favor or two for us. Without this kindness and generousity our northern plans would have been scuttled.