“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”
As a travel junkie, these articles litter my social media sites, with enticing headlines that claim definitively, “The 20 Places You Must See Before You Die” or “25 Reasons Your Next Trip Should Be to Scandinavia.” I click on them every time, invariably adding a new location to a hazy mental bucket list: Plitvice Falls in Croatia, The Fjords of Norway, Patagonia. So this past winter, with mileage points to spare and three weeks of vacation time in my pocket, I felt as though my next adventure was calling. I found it strange then that the answer was already decided in my heart — not to travel to a new location so that I could plant my flag, but rather to return to the place I had lived for two years. Ethiopia – the place that changed everything.
I lived in Ethiopia for over two years as a member of the Peace Corps, serving my time in the lush coffee rain forests of the Southwest Kaffa zone. To say that I was lucky in my placement is a serious understatement. To live and work in this region, with these people meant to walk among the coffee rain forests with colobus monkeys, eluding hippos while paddling the many lakes of the Rift Valley, hiking to waterfalls, collecting forest honey, and partaking in a rich culture with terrific food. I met inspiring entrepreneurs and doctors, worked alongside incredible local NGOs and went to all night candlelight services with Orthodox priests.
I was not alone in my return journey. Four of us made the trek and each one of our crew had spent varying amounts of time in Ethiopia. I was joined by my girlfriend who is a brilliant photographer, and two friends with careers in environmental research and management.. That we had all decided to return to Ethiopia is telling of the magical charm the country bestows upon its few guests.
We arrived in Ethiopia on a Sunday. As our taxi winded it’s way through Addis Ababa our senses were in overdrive. We could feel the bright sun on our back but the air at 7,800 feet felt light and cool. Hundreds of women dressed in white were returning home from orthodox services. We were arriving following a calculated detour to the Northern Parks of Kenya and a beach weekend in the paradise of Zanzibar. Yet, it was Ethiopia that had our hearts beating, mouths watering and our noses glued to the windows as we scanned the Sunday scene.
Ethiopia is truly remarkable in her inimitableness. She is home to the most delicious and unique cuisine, the lowest and the hottest places on earth, the rain forests where coffee was first cultivated, 84 distinct languages, the only Afro-montane rain forest in the world, hundreds of endemic species of mammals and birds, the stunning gelada baboon, gigantic lake crocodiles, the rarest canines and ibex species on earth and perhaps the most beautiful people on our planet. It is where Lucy, the first human was discovered and hence where we all came from. In a way Ethiopia calls to us, asking us to put down our smartphones and remember what it means to be human.
Southern Ethiopia in particular is a new and relatively unexplored mecca for natural beauty. Where the North boasts cultural and historical beauty: the Danakil Depression, rock hewn churches and ancient civilizations — the south offers natural wonder coupled with an authentic diversity. There is magic in the Bale mountains, a park blessed with ever-changing natural landscapes, where the last 400 red wolves hunt gigantic mole rats in an area that can most aptly be compared to Mars. Thirty minutes by car later, a dense rainforest is home to leopards, bamboo homes, and the best coffee I’ve had in my life.
Arba Minch is perhaps the most perfectly situated city in Africa, located at the base of a land bridge that just barely separates two lakes – one red and one blue in color. It is sandwiched between hot springs and mountains and offers stunning sunrises, cloud forests, and the crocodile market where visitors can see Hippos fighting for real estate with the largest family of Crocodiles in the world. As our group marveled at the beauty of Bale and Arba Minch, we kept noticing one thing in particular. There were no other tourists. We may have seen one or two on our drive to the mountains, but they were just as likely to be researchers. In fact, no country the size of Ethiopia received fewer tourists in the last recorded year according to the World Bank. Of those who do venture to Ethiopia, a vast majority head North. Southern Ethiopia is one of the last few places to be truly lost.
Natural beauty and incredible wildlife can be found in every country, but what separates Ethiopia is genuinely hard to place into words. It can be found in the rich history and traditions, the ceremonies and festivals and the embrace of the people to foreigners. It’s an unmistakable charm, hospitality and an endearingly laid back pace of life. My memories of Ethiopia are in the homes that I have been invited into for coffee, the funeral services I have witnessed that last for three days and the inspiring entrepreneurs who are making a huge difference in the country. My first memory of Ethiopia was when I was given a ‘Gorsha’ – a gesture of gratitude towards guests that consists of being asked to open your mouth while you are hand-fed the first or the best bite of food.
However Ethiopia is also exceptionally difficult by Western standards. Buses do not leave at set times and the power goes out frequently. Urban poverty rears its ugly head in the bigger cities and there are towns where alcoholism and perhaps boredom give off a gritty vibe. There are hustlers at bus stations. There is mud in the rainy season and dust in the dry season. Wifi, if available is very slow and that perhaps is a wonderful thing.
Ethiopia is special. It just is. Ethiopia kicks your ass, humbles you, it makes you feel alive. She makes you question. Ethiopia breaks you down. In that way she acts like a phoenix, a fire that burns you to the ground until you are reborn from its ashes stronger than before. Ethiopia has a way of ruining you in the best of ways. I return each time to my family and I love them more, not out of a sense of guilt or pity for Ethiopia but because when you come so close to the essence of humanity, your priorities are rekindled. Your job is less important and yet you appreciate it more. Your fears slip away. You may begin to resent your smartphone. You may struggle with small talk. You will certainly be reminded of why it is that we are here, and anything short of a more noble pursuit going forward will be slightly irritating.
In our final hour in Ethiopia we hopped in a taxi to the airport. Two young boys no older than ten approached us. They were street kids, extremely skinny, begging for food with the common hand to mouth gesture. There they remained for several moments while we were struck in traffic. My friend remembered a large amount of leftover food was sitting in our car and he invited them to have it. They approached our window and took the container. Their fingers mashed the injera into the spinach and spicy lentils, one gigantic handful consisting of almost half of the leftovers. Then, just as it had happened to me on my first night in Ethiopia, they asked my friend to open his mouth and they fed him by hand.
I almost forgot the ten reasons.
The first five are easy. Go in order to enrich and enhance each of your five senses.Six. Go to be surrounded by natural beauty without being surrounded by tourism.Seven. Go so that you may learn that rural Ethiopia is not a place to be pitied but a place to be celebrated. Eight. Go so that the spirit of the people, from courageous social entrepreneurs to the two selfless boys who offered us their only food will seep into your pores. Nine. Go to Ethiopia not just for the places you will see while you are there but for the person you will be upon your return.
Ten. Don’t go to Southern Ethiopia before you die. Go to Ethiopia so that you may live.
This blog was written by Michael Waidmann, a former Peace Corps volunteer who lived in Ethiopia between 2010-2012. He served alongside Evergreen Escapes Private Travel Manager, Campbell Diebolt. Based on their shared experiences in Ethiopia, Campbell designed and will lead our small-group tour of Southern Ethiopia, Ethiopia Emerging, in February and March of 2016. Contact Campbell to join us in discovering this magical region for yourself!
Except for the Ethiopian Wolf photo, all photography is courtesy of Carly Arnwine. See more of her travel photography at her website: http://www.carlyarnwineblog.com/category/travel/
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