Lake Wenchi

Yesterday, Monday, was a national holiday. It was the 21^st anniversary of the fall of the Dergue regime and the victory of the EPDRF (Ethiopian People’s Democratic Republic Front). It was a special day of celebration and remembrance for many Ethiopians.

Because we had a long weekend, about 12 other volunteers and I went to Lake Wenchi on Saturday. Wenchi is a highland area, about 155km west of Addis Ababa. First I travelled to Addis, then to a place called Ambo, where I spent the night at another volunteer’s house.

In Ambo, we went around the gardens of a hotel where we saw a lot of monkeys.

The following morning we all woke up early and travelled to Wenchi, which was about an hour’s drive.

When we arrived we had the most amazing view of the lake with all the surrounding mountains. It is a crater lake, which is a lake that forms in a volcanic crater. It is absolutely beautiful with its deep blue water and lush surroundings. There are also a few small islands on the lake.

View from the top

First we walked down to the lake, which took a couple of hours, and then we got a boat out to the largest island in the middle. The island has a monastery which we walked round, then we had our small picnic of kolo, bananas, oranges, biscuits and water. After that we got a boat back to the mainland and most of us got horses back up.  

Our picnic island

View from the island

I then went back to Ambo and travelled to Addis on the same day, which was very tiring so I didn’t travel back to Debre Birhan – instead, I stayed the night in another volunteer’s house and returned home on Monday morning.

VSO Leavers’ Conference

Last week Thursday, there was a VSO Leavers’ Conference in Addis for all volunteers who are finishing their placements in the next few months. I am one of those as I plan to finish my placement and leave Ethiopia in July. The conference was mainly about the practicalities of leaving the country, exit visas, closing accounts, getting references and so on. But as always it was great to see the other volunteers – especially those who I came to the country with in September, and haven’t seen since.

It was also a chance for us to reflect on our experiences in the country – the highs, lows, achievements and challenges. For me, the most interesting part was listening to other volunteers’ reflections.

Mine are as follows (the ones that immediately come to mind anyway):

Highs:

ELIC Clubs celebration day. The coffee ceremony we had in the ELIC (which I previously wrote about on my blog).
Seeing different parts of Ethiopia.

Lows:

The first few months where there seemed to be nothing happening in the ELIC.

Missing my family and friends at home.
Having mice take over my whole house.

Achievements:

Working together to set up the ELIC from virtually nothing. Now it is a working centre with clubs and events that students are enthusiastic about.
Working with the Gender Club in the college and organising events and programmes.

Challenges:

Getting teachers to work together with us at the ELIC.

The fact that it takes so long to get things done here because of the bureaucratic process of everything.
Having no water sometimes (like now).
The fleas!
Keeping things in perspective and constantly reminding myself why I am here and that no matter what my challenges are, most of the people here have it so much worse.

Ankober

A couple of week ago I travelled to Ankober, a small town just 42km east of Debre Birhan. Ankober was the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Shoa during Emperor Menelik the second’s rule between 1834 and 1913, before the capital was changed to Addis Ababa.

The bus journey takes longer than one might expect as the road isn’t very good and because it’s mostly uphill on rough roads. To my surprise it was colder than Debre Birhan even though it is not as high.

Emperor Menelik’s palace is no longer there, but there is now a hotel on the grounds of the old palace – The Palace Lodge. It is situated on top of a mountain so to get to it is quite a trek. From the bus station in the centre of the town where we got dropped off, it was about an hour’s walk down, then up again to the palace. However, it’s a very beautiful place, very green and lush – so different to images of Ethiopia most of the world is used to seeing. From the top you have 360 degree panoramic views which are stunning.

Because of the altitude it is a very good place for bird watching (– I did see some beautiful birds, but have no idea what they were). For the first time I saw a pack of gelada baboons in Ankober. They are indigenous to the Ethiopian Highlands and are also found in Debre Birhan (in the gorge especially) although I’ve never seen them here. I also saw a snake in Ankober. It was while we were walking and exploring the area around the palace - a black and yellow snake – I don’t know if that’s good or bad. Thank God I was too tired at night to think about snakes and other such things in my hotel room.

At night the stars were amazing. I thought the stars were clear in Debre Birhan but they were even better in Ankober. I sat out very late into the night just watching the stars until I was too cold and had to go inside. I even saw a shooting star which was pretty amazing!

Inside the restaurant that now stands on the grounds of the palace

I loved the ceiling in the restaurant

My view while having breakfast