Last week's message that i didn't manage to send...

A week end outside Addis
Friday after work (remember I finish at 2), we decided with Tim to go to Merkato, the supposed-to-be largest market in Africa. Hummmm it is totally huge. I think we have seen something like 20%. The rumors say you can find everything, from camels to Kalashnikovs. I hope I can find them one day. It is full of hustlers that jump on farenji (white men) to take them to visit the market. We definitely rejected (or escaped) them and wander all alone in this crazy place. Some areas are not used to receive farenji I think and people were looking at use strangely (like in the car spare-parts area, not much tourists!). We had ten macchiato in different very small cafes where you really wish you would not need to try the toilets. One was smelling roar meat very strongly, terrible. Or should I be honest and say it was stinking dead animals? Anyway, we walked for more than four hours, got lost, found our way, got lost again, bought some earrings and scarf (hoooo how much bargaining you have to do if you don’t want to be the stupid-used farenji and get a decent price!). It is a crazy place and I think I will spend lots of Friday afternoons discovering this huge area of the town, with billions of people doing business, running around, shouting and so on. It is a dirty smelling place but I like it. This looks like Africa more then any other places in Addis.
This week end, we don’t stay in Addis. Need to take some fresh air. On Friday night, we decide to have a quiet night just the two of us, restaurant and dodo. We chose a restaurant not far away from home. We do our lazy people and take a taxi (raining too much and too long day). I want to brag about my ahmaric (which is slowly coming to basic shape) so I give the taxi driver one of the number I know. “Haya birrs to go to Almendi restaurant?” he answers straight away “No problem”. Weird. Usually you discuss, you don’t just accept! Actually Haya is 20, and it was just wayyyy too much to go to the restaurant very close from home. The guy was nice and he said once there, really the price I gave was ridiculously too high “Ok, give 15”. I think he had pity. Now I will learn more numbers in Amharic! Moreover, the restaurant experience was a disaster. The waiter put us in small room (Arabic style) with mattresses on the floor without asking us if we wanted a normal table to eat. Then no one was coming to take our order as if either they had forgotten us or if they wanted to let us “in private”. Weird. We finally manage to order food. We try to find vegetarian things on the menu and end up with two desert: a banana/eggs stuff and and big pancake with honey. We were starving and we’ve been disgusted quite fast with so much sugar! We asked for a salad and a chicha “Possible possible”. The chicha never came and the salad was half a ball without sauce (not even oil, just water) that they charged us 25 birr (should cost 5 birr). So yeah, I don’t think we’ll be back there but it was fun. On the way back home, we stopped in a gloomy restaurant and ate good old injera and finally got full from food!
So Tim and I decide to rent a motorbike. Saturday morning, we go to “Stadium” and bargain for more than two hours to get a good bike, not destroy or with only half of the features working on it. Long time, long discussion, long bargaining. Then an hour more to get two helmets (yes two not one… so hard!). We finally manage to get everything, even a written contract on the condition! Amazing. While taking our breakfast, we observed a fire in the building in front. We had the opportunity to see how long the fireman are to come and how bad it looked. Many people were around, some helping other just looking. It was impressive.
Then on the road. We drove till Debre Zeyit, almost 40 km from Addis, to the east. It is an area with seven crater lakes. We arrived and chose the best view on one of the lake to eat. We met a couple of interns from ECA and had a nice time on a terrace with a beautiful view on the crater. Then we went to see other lakes and we looked for a hotel for very (too) long. We ended up at a women’s place I met on the road. A crazy little woman married to a farenji (not at home this day) who is building a beautiful traditional lodge on the edge of the crater. We stayed in one of the bungalow that was finished (I think she just let us her own room actually). We had a nice evening talking around the fire with her and her younger sister. It was a great evening. She was crazy and it was fun. Next time I go, I sleep there for free she said, nice! Only problem, we ate there, the food was great and the lemon juice also. Made of tap water? Of course. Did I drink it? Of course. Did I throw up all night? Of course. Was the bed on top of a mezzanine that you had to climb with a ladder? Of course. Were the toilet without running water? Of course. Did I think about taking any medicine with me for the week end? Of course not. Soooo sum up: awful night and slow motion Sunday. No waking up early and going around the lake as planned, not riding to the next city and have hot spring bath. We just stayed in bed until 12, I drunk lots of Coke and we walked around a bit and drove back home. What a shame. Never again this water, I have been very stupid. I know it now. The week end was good anyway; we met nice people and enjoyed the views. I am feeling better and the poisoning didn’t last more than a night (I have sore muscles from the action though!).
I took few days off (come on, I am not paid, I can do it!) and we are going out of town for the week. I think Tim will stay one more week and will let me go back alone to Addis on Sunday. I will probably join him where he is the next week end.