A SPOT OF PIRANHA FISHING IN THE AMAZON

WEATHER: 35C and humid

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: The group arrives

BUMMER OF THE DAY: The group is tired and cranky

WORD OF THE DAY:  The group is here

THE GROUP IS HERE!!! 

THE GROUP IS HERE!!!

I was on my way down to breakfast this morning when I got a knock on my door at 7am and there was a tired Mark standing there with a big hug at the ready.  It is good to see a friendly face!!  I went down to breakfast and when I walked in there were a lot of stranger faces looking back at me, but in amongst the see of faces I saw Julia and Sharon first and then I saw Kate.  So BIG hugs all round for the crew and as the morning progressed Kate introduced me to all the new faces of the tour.  Some of them I will only know for 11 days as this section of the trip finishes in Caracas but 10 of the new faces will continue on, so having to remember 21 new names will be my mission in the next few days.

They all had 2 hours to freshen up as we were leaving at 9am for our 3 nights in the Amazon Jungle.  As they didn’t get to spend any time in Manaus we will be leaving the Amazon a few hours earlier to get back to Manaus a little earlier and visiting the Meeting of the Waters, so I get to see this phenomenon anyway, so it is just as well I didn’t do it during the week.   I had to pack a day pack for the Amazon and I was lucky enough that my roomie Maxine was not going, as she had been before, so I was able to leave all my stuff in the room which was good to not have to leave it in the luggage room.

The bus arrived at 9am and after losing one passenger and locating him 30 minutes later we hit the road to see the Amazon Jungle.  Man we are off to the Amazon.  I’m not really sure what is happening as I have missed all the information leading up to it, but it was an optional excursion that we paid 300AUD for the 3 nights, which included all your food and activities while at the lodge.  The drive in the beautiful air-conditioned bus was 2.5 hours which got us to Lindoa Village and the motorized canoes which were to take us to the lodge.  The canoe ride, with a motor, took 1.5 hours on the Urubu River which eventually turns into the Amazon River.  So with the wind in our hair, we find ourselves in the mighty Amazon and it feels amazing. 

When we arrived at the lodge just after 1pm and it is amazing.   I got my roomie Kate back and we were given the keys to one of the newer bungalows and a personal tour of room by the owner of the lodge, Antonio, to which the lodge has the same name.  Antonio is a Native tour operator and offers safe and reliable jungle tours with experienced native guides, for those who like to feel the real Amazon and learn about its flora, fauna and ecosystem, far away from the city of Manaus. The beautiful ecological lodge is located on the Urubu river bank, 200 km from Manaus. Offering a choice of staying in comfortable rooms with toilet and shower or staying in a bungalow with hammocks, where you enjoy the beautiful view of the river, with shared toilets and showers. At our jungle tower, which also has private rooms, you will have spectacular panoramic views of the jungle and the river, the perfect place to enjoy the beautiful sunset and listen to the sounds of the jungle.  Antonio grew up in the South of the Amazon in the jungle along the riverside, a real caboclo. That’s how they call the people from this state of Brazil. His parents taught him all about the forest. How to survive there and what you can use from the forest (fruits, medical plants etc.) As a little boy he went along with his father to the forest to collect rose wood and Brazilian nuts, which we sold. When he got to the age to go to school he had to paddle a lot. He went to school by canoe and had to paddle for a few hours. The teacher, a lady who gave lessons in her house, was also the midwife in town. So if she had to help somebody with delivering a baby, there was no school and he would paddle back home again.  In order for him to get food they had to go fishing. Children have to help fishing as soon as they're able to do this. He learnt how to get different kinds of fish and of course how to prepare them.  He also had to learn all the eatable things the forest has to offer.  Antonio’s dream was to have his own company and work with the native people. This was realized in 2007 when he started with his own company Amazon Antonio Jungle tours in Manaus. It was then he also started building his own ecological lodge on the Urubu River, with help from the native people.  The main reason why he loves this job is because he likes to share knowledge and experience of the forest with other people. Showing them how to live and survive in the jungle.

After settling into our rooms lunch was served at the main part of the lodge that also had a view looking down to the Urubu River.  The food served was amazing with a buffet of beef, chicken, mashed pumpkin, salads and bread.  Drinks are on a consumption basis and a tab was started for each person and we would just fix up the bill at the end of our stay.  We had an hour to relax which the guys needed after the last week they have had and then we headed back into the canoes for a spot of piranha fishing on the Urubu River.  This river has dark water like the Rio Negro, resulting from organic acids released by the decomposition of organic matters which kills bacteria and other parasites in the water and the lack of terrestrial sediments which makes it safe for swimming, and the area has far less mosquitoes. The Urubu River starts in Presidente Figueiredo and runs for many km's before reaching the Amazon River. Via the Urubu River we travelled up stream by motorized canoe to through the narrow channels and the flooded forest. It was so peaceful in here.  Once we entered the flooded forest, which is exactly that, it is dry for 6 months of the year and then during the rainy season it floods to over 5m, the engine is turned off and then we use oars to maneuver through the trees and channels.  This was where we had our first stop for piranha fishing.  If you do catch anything it goes back to the lodge and cooked along with the nightly dinner. 

A piranha is a member of family Characidae and an omnivorous freshwater fish that inhabits South American rivers. They are known for their sharp teeth and a voracious appetite for meat.  The total number of piranha species is unknown and contested, and new species continue to be described. Estimates range from fewer than 30 to more than 60.  Aquarium piranhas have been introduced into parts of the United States, with specimens occasionally found in the Potomac River, Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri and even as far north as Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin, although they typically do not survive cold winters.  Piranhas have also been discovered in the Kaptai Lake in southeast Bangladesh. Research is being carried out to establish how piranhas have moved to such distant corners of the world from their original habitat. Some rogue exotic fish traders are thought to have released them in the lake to avoid being caught by anti-poaching forces.  Piranhas are normally about 14 to 26 cm long although some specimens have been reported to be up to 43 cm in length.  All piranhas have a single row of sharp teeth in both jaws; the teeth are tightly packed and interlocking (via small cusps) and used for rapid puncture and shearing.

There are various myths about piranhas such as how they can dilacerate a human body or cattle in seconds. These myths refer specifically to Pygocentrus nattereri, the red-bellied piranha.  A recurrent myth is that they can be attracted by blood and are exclusive carnivores.   A Brazilian myth called "piranha cattle" states that they sweep the rivers at high speed and attack the first of the cattle entering the water allowing the rest of the group to traverse the river.  These myths were dismissed through research by Helder Queiroz and Anne Magurran and published on Biology Letters.  Nevertheless, a study in Suriname found that piranhas may occasionally attack humans, particularly when water levels are low.  Attacks on humans are usually reported around docks where fish are frequently gutted, and entrails are commonly thrown into the water.

So with information at the back of my mind, we baited out bamboo fishing rods with pieces of chicken and threw our lines in and waited, and waited and waited.  We actually didn’t have to wait too long before Heather caught our first piranha and after changing locations Mark was next off the rank.  They are an ugly fish but we took a wad of photos to make it look like I had caught it.  I had a lot of bites on my line and the sneaky devils stole the whole bait off the hook a few times but it wasn’t my day for fish.  I don’t know how people enjoy the sport so much, sitting there with a rod in your hand waiting for a fish to bite.  Because we were in the Amazon and we were trying to catch piranha’s it was exciting, but to just catch ‘normal’ fish in a ‘normal’ river would be BORING. 

After 3 hours of fishing and scooting around the flooded forest we headed back to the lodge where we saw some pink dolphins swimming just near the lodge’s floating jetty.  It is strange to see dolphins in a river and not in an ocean but they were beautiful all the same.  Dinner was another feast of local dishes and as we were all pretty tired (the group was knackered) they moved the caiman night spotting to tomorrow night so that everyone could get an early night and be nice and fresh for tomorrow’s activities. 

It is hard to believe that I am in the AMAZON. The Amazon jungle is directly behind the lodge.  I am in the Amazon!!!  I have now met the entire group and I have a good vibe about them which is great.  I think it also helped that we didn’t get straight onto Rosita; we have these 3 nights before I’m re-united with her.  Welcome back to South America, welcome back to Brazil and welcome back to the Tucan group.     

MOROSE IN MANAUS

WEATHER: Hot and 35C-apparently

WORD OF THE DAY: Sleep and Wi-Fi  

I am combining my 4 days I spent in Manaus as I really didn’t get up too much, seriously I am embarrassed to tell you I left the hotel once in 4 days and it was to see if I could find a camera in town for one of the girls, otherwise I may have not left the hotel at all.  It sounds terrible, but luckily there isn’t that much to see in Manaus and what there was to see we were going to see upon our return from the Amazon next week.

I arrived at 2.30am Monday morning and I just couldn’t sleep.  In the 36 hour trip I had slept around 16 hours on the plane and 2.30am Brazil time is 9.30am Ethiopia time, so my clock was slightly out which may have not helped much.  I have always told clients to try and adjust to the new time zone of where they are, if you arrive at night, try and go to sleep, if you arrive during the day to try and stay awake till night time.  I totally went against all those rules and stayed up till 7am when breakfast was served, so I showered and went to breakfast and then still wasn’t that sleepy, it probably didn’t help that I had speedy Wi-Fi in the room and English speaking TV shows, it’s been a while since I have seen a TV showing something else besides CNN news, so this was a massive surprise.  Around lunch time I started to get tired so decided to have a small sleep and then get up for an early dinner.  Well I woke at 11.30pm, so I literally slept the day away and now I was awake at midnight and not that sleepy, I wouldn’t think so after being asleep for 12 hours!  So I have really stuffed my body clock now and I was up till 5am reading and on the internet where I got a few hours’ sleep before I had to get to breakfast.  Breakfast has a small window of 7am-9am and if you don’t get there early the cold meat runs out but there seems to always be plenty of scrambled eggs and a beautiful juice which I think may be passion fruit based. 

I thought the group was due in this morning and I remember Mark telling me that when they do get in that it is really early, like at 6am.  It was now 8am and no sign of the group so I was thinking that maybe I had my days wrong, so I went back to my room and checked Facebook as I remember Debbie updating her status that they were getting on the ferry, so when I looked at that I was a day out and they weren’t due till Wednesday morning.  So I had another day in Manaus on my own and at this point I still had no urge to venture outside.  I was in an air-conditioned room, free Wi-Fi and TV.  I was in heaven.  I was also tired and I went to sleep around 1pm and woke up at midnight bright eyed and busy tailed.  Once again I would think so after another 11 hour stint.  Maybe this air travel is starting to knock my body around?  I have bought this on myself I know.  You know when you are sleeping weird patterns as the TV shows are repeating themselves.  The Seinfeld show I saw at 10am was being repeated at 2am in the morning.  They seemed to be on a cycle between Mad About You, Seinfeld, Will and Grace, America’s Top Model (cycle 6), American Idol showed for 4 hours one morning, Scrubs and Grey’s Anatomy and then they would show one programme in English and then the same episode would be repeated later on in Portuguese.  I guess they don’t count on people watching TV 24/7 to pick out their programing flaws.     

So by this time I haven’t eaten lunch for 2 days and also no dinner for 2 days.  Breakfast is my only meal which has consisted of 2 fresh bread rolls with scrambled eggs and processed meat.  It doesn’t look that great on paper but it was actually quite tasty.  I spoke to Zeme today and it was so good to hear his voice.  He has been sending me text messages each day and I haven’t been receiving them which is super annoying.  He gets them from my new number but I don’t get his.  AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH but boy it was a great phone call and it was then it hit me just how much I am missing him.  128 days.  That’s not long, that’s not long, that’s not long………

Day 3 in Manaus and the group are definitely due in today.  I even checked with reception today that they were expecting them in and he confirmed that he had a booking for them but couldn’t tell me when they were due in.  I thought they would have already been here at 8am, but not too worry at least I hadn’t missed the tour and they were still on their way.  After breakfast I was back in my room when I got a message from Mark and the ferry they were on was slower than they first anticipated and they weren’t going to make it today and they were hoping for a midnight arrival tomorrow night (Thursday).  Thank goodness he even had reception on the ferry to let me know what the hell was going on!  So no group and ‘another’ day in Manaus on my lonesome.  I did ask Mark what there was to do and he mentioned the Opera House was worth seeing and also the meeting of the water where the Amazon River meets the Negro River which they don’t mix together for over 100km and looks spectacular.  He also mentioned that if I was heading into town, Julia asked if I could get some prices for cameras as hers was stolen in Salvador and she was worried that she wouldn’t have time to do it herself with them now being delayed on the ferry.  I knew she had a top range Lumix so I knew what she was looking for and this was what I needed to get my arse out of the hotel and into town.  This was a blessing in disguise.  So at lunch time I got a map for reception, asked about the Meeting of the Waters tour, which the map I got but his English was nonexistent and my Portuguese was nil and my little Amharic that I learned was useless, so I just too the map and armed with directions walked the 10 minutes into town.  Centro is made up of two dollar shops located in pedestrian only streets over a city block.  There were also street vendors selling food and stalls selling the usual electronic wares of chargers, power boards and adapters.  After walking a few of the streets, there were a lot of point and shoot camera’s but not the type that I know Julia would have wanted.  After spending an hour looking around I headed back to the hotel and I know now why I had stayed in my aircon room, it was 36C plus 98% humidity.  It was a stinker and was very sweaty that is for sure.  I passed a corner shop on my way back so I stocked up on some snacks, water and a few bottles of soft drink too.  I think I may be having soft drink withdrawals as Zeme and I had been drink a lot of it each day and I had gone nearly 5 days without a drop.  That is not good. 

Manaus is a city in Brazil, the capital of the state of Amazonas. It is situated at the confluence of the Negro and Solimões rivers. It is the most populous city of Amazonas, according to the statistics of Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, and is a popular ecotourist destination. The city was founded in 1669 as the Fort of São José do Rio Negro.  It was elevated to a town in 1832 with the name of "Manaus", which means "mother of the gods" in tribute to the indigenous nation of Manaós, and legally transformed into a city on October 24 of 1848 with the name of Cidade da Barra do Rio Negro, Portuguese for "The City of the Margins of Black River". Only on September 4 of 1856 did it revert to its current name.  It was known at the beginning of the century, as Heart of the Amazon and City of the Forest.  Currently its main economic engine is the Industrial Pool of Manaus.

It is the largest metropolitan area in Northern Brazil and the twelfth in all of Brazil, with 2,006,870 inhabitants. Currently, the city is one of 12 most influential cities of the country. Manaus alone represents 10.89% of the population of the whole of Northern Brazil and 49.9% of the population of the Amazon. 

Day 4 and the group are now due to arrive tonight all going to plan.  My self-imposed exile in Manaus continues as I try and get my blog up to date while I have the time and the internet access.  I have powered through 8 entries in the last few days, so it feels good to be catching my tail as I want to at least have left the African Continent before we check out on Friday.  I have also been using this time to update the actual content on my blog, as a lot of it was past tense, updated my tabs and in the end, because I could, changed the colours as well just to give it a bit of a revamp.  I have also been using today to get back in touch with Beth and finally finalize my round the world ticket as it is only 5 weeks till I will need to use the first flight component and I still need to book in my Easter Island accommodation and I need to also book in my Barbados accommodation.  So with emails going back and forth we got the final itinerary done, got it quoted and I supplied my credit card for the payment.  There’s no going back now and with that I emailed al my ‘hosts’ to make sure they were still good to receive me and I have now booked and paid for my ticket home.  There was one hitch and that was that Qantas have stopped their LA to New Zealand flights, so my plans to stop in Auckland to see Lisa and Christchurch to see Lynda have now been thrown into disarray.  I looked at flights from Brisbane to Christchurch and they were starting at 468AUD for a one way and then I still need to get from Christchurch to Auckland and then Auckland back to Brisbane.  The trip is going to cost me an extra 1000AUD!!!  I’m going to have to put on my thinking cap and speak to the girls as it will also be hard to motivate myself to leave Brisbane again for 11 days after finally getting home.  It is bad news really, but these things happen and I will work something out. I also chatted with Z tonight on Facebook, so we are keeping in contact which is great as I know how difficult it is for him, it is shame that the texting isn’t working as that was our perfect form of communication we were relying on.  Damn phone networks. 

I spent the afternoon blogging, talking to people on Facebook and I had to tidy up the room as I was going to be getting a roommate at midnight tonight.  Well that information changed again with a message from Mark at 1am and they had now lost an engine and were just running on one motor, so they were now due in around 7am just in time for breakfast he hoped.  The poor buggers had now been on a basic ferry for 7 nights; 2 days late into Manaus and now they would only have 2 hours to freshen up at the hotel before we headed off to the Amazon for the week-end and 3 nights.    

So that was my 4 uneventful days in Manaus.  I can well and truly say now that I am well rested, I am only 3 days behind in my blog, I have booked and paid for my round world ticket and I am ready to see some familiar faces, meet some new faces and get back to a few more trips in Rosita.  There are 39 days left on tour and even though I am missing Zeme like CRAZY I plan on making the most of my time that I have left on my World Odyssey.  

MY AFRICAN DETOUR COMES TO AN END

WEATHER: Airport and airline controlled for the next 36 hours

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Finally getting back to Brazil

BUMMER OF THE DAY: Do I need to even say-leaving my man in Addis Ababa

WORD OF THE DAY:  On time

DISTANCE TRAVELLED: 18,554KM

As mentioned in my last blog, Zeme and I had to say our goodbyes in the car park of the International Airport of Addis Ababa. People not travelling aren’t even allowed in the departures building, so there were a lot of people in the car park saying their farewells.  On my way to the terminal a small kid pulled on my arm and asked for money, but I just kept moving with my trolley to the entrance.  Your baggage gets scanned before you can even enter the building, so I joined what turned out to be the slowest of the 6 queues to get all my luggage scanned and entry to the departure terminal.  This was when I noticed the zip on the front of my handbag was open and after looking in, everything seemed in place.  I normally have my point and shoot camera in that pocket but I had given that to Zeme as a thank you gift so there was not much else in there that I could remember.  So I zipped it up and thought nothing more of it. 

The airport was busy.  There were 3 flights all leaving within 40 minutes of each other.  There was a KLM flight, an Ethiopian Airlines flight and my Lufthansa flight.  The Lufthansa check-in queue wasn’t too bad, there were about 6 people in front of me, so I didn’t have to wait too long to get to the counter.  While we were waiting the guy in front of me went to get departure cards for him and his wife and he also got me one as well which was really sweet of him, so I was able to fill that in while I was waiting.  The check-in chick was really nice.  She was telling me how lucky I was going to Brazil and she asked how hard it to get a visa was.  Well sister, I can tell you a story just how difficult it is and how my boyfriend didn’t get one in time, but I wasn’t sure she had time for the whole story and if it was just one of those questions to pass time, so I gave the quick answer and just said they are quite hard and you need to make sure you have enough time.  I asked about my usual window seat and there were none left already, but she thought she was doing me a favor by giving me a bulkhead seat.  You know the seats that are in the exit rows but in the middle of the aircraft.  I personally hate these seats as you generally don’t get a seat pocket, your table and TV screen come out of your seat and you have to keep your bag overhead for takeoff and landings.  I am not a fan of these seats but I do know how popular they are and that people ‘think’ they are great seats.  So I smiled and said thanks as I didn’t want to seem rude.  It is only an 8 hour flight and a night flight, so I am sure I will sleep most of the way anyway.  My bag weighed 23.4KG so I am not sure where the extra weight came in as I only bought 2 scarves on the trip and arrived with a bag weighing 19.4KG, but it was no drama and I was able to check it all the way through to Manaus and I had my boarding passes all the way, so it was just down to the timely arrival of all the flights and it would be a perfect travel day.  I had 2 x 5 hour buffers at Frankfurt and Rio which is always r=e-assuring and I also had a day buffer before the group was to arrive off the ferry in Manaus should something drastic go wrong with the flights.  I am always prepared for the unexpected and there was no way I could miss the truck in Manaus as I would be in all sorts of trouble. 

The immigration lineup was quite long but it seemed to be moving at a god pace and after only 30 minutes I was through and into the departure gates and duty free shops. I wasn’t sure if the shops would be open at 10pm at night, last time I was here they were all closed, but my flight was a 2am and it was the only departure, so this time with so many people around it was a different story this time.  I had a quick look at the shops but most of the things were not ‘Ethiopian’.  I saw bangles that I had bought in Namibia, giraffes I had bought in Kenya and baskets that I had seen in Tanzania.  So knowing I had all that stuff I thought it best that I head through the last security screening to get to my gate.  It is lucky I did decide to do this as the line was massive and it took me over 50 minutes to get through this process and once I was up I had to go through the scanner 3 times (my Ethiopian bangles that don’t come off were an issue) and then my bag got scanned twice and then I had to take off my plastic Croc shoes to rescan them.  I had 2 people telling me to do different things at the same time, but they finally got their act together and I made it through security in one piece and everything intact! 

My departure gate was busy.  I think we are going to have a full flight.  Looking around at my fellow passengers there were 5 farangee couples all nursing an Ethiopian child throughout the lounge.  It is nice to see that these children have been given a second chance in their short lives to grow up with loving parents, an opportunity for schooling, good health and opportunities that they may not have had if they had stayed in the orphanage in Ethiopia.  I wonder what is involved in adopting a child from Ethiopia.  My biological clock is ticking and it could be an option to adopt once Zeme and I have established ourselves.  Anyway I’m thinking out aloud here, that is further down the track but will need to be addressed upon my return back.  This is when I checked my phone and I had a missed call from Zeme checking to make sure I had got through okay and my flight was still on time, so it was nice to hear his voice one more time and sweet that he phoned.  I had run out of credit on my Ethiopian number so I thought I might as well change back to my UK sim and that is when I reached into that front pocket of my bag and the penny dropped that my sim card case was not there.  That’s what was missing when I zipped it up at the x-ray machine.  I had all my sim cards from all the countries that I had travelled which wasn’t the big deal; the big deal was my UK sim card was in there as well.  I normally keep that in my purse but I had put it in there as I knew I wouldn’t need it when we did our road trip.  So I now didn’t have a sim card that worked.  It is a horrible feeling when I rely on my hone for texting home and Zeme and friends and I just felt terrible.  I also had 50GBP of credit on that sucker and now it is gone!  I now wasn’t sure if that kid in the car park may have pinched it when he ‘asked’ me for money or if it did just innocently fall out somewhere from the car to the terminal entrance, but I will never know and now I was thinking on where I could get a new sim.  My only chance was to see if I could get a German sim card when I arrived into Frankfurt as the South American sim cards have been useless and I didn’t want that to be my only option.  Frankfurt was going to be my saving grace-hopefully!

So we boarded on time and I had an aisle seat in the bulkhead of 4 seats.  As I sat in my seat a female hostee said that she saw me at the Trinity Church in the afternoon and I do recall 5 German tourists arriving as I was leaving, so they were some of the hostees on my flight.  Small world and always nice to be friendly with the hostees.  There was one of the adoption couples in my row and a spare seat next to me, so far.  As the plane filled I was worried that the spare seat would be taken when one of the male hostees came over to me and asked if I would be kind enough to swap seats.  I have to say my first question was to where and he said row 27, which is in that fantastic economy cabin that only has 4 rows so I had a yes on my lips when he sweetened the deal that I would be guaranteed a spare seat next to me!  Woo Hoo you betcha, I’d be happy to help out. I swapped with a young family so that they could have the room for the bassinette for their baby in the bulk head and it was a win win as I would prefer a normal seat and the bonus of a spare one next to me was awesome.  Hopefully this was to be a good omen for my travel day and welcome back my travel gods; it has been a while since we have seen you.  The Lufthansa aircraft looked new and it was an A340-300 with a seating configuration of 2x4x2 and we had in-seat TV’s!!!! The male hostee was very grateful and said if there was anything I needed to just let him know, anything.  Hmmmmm a double edged question?  How about a business class upgrade maybe? Yeah I’m not gutsy enough to ask so I just said thanks and I’d let him know. 

It was an uneventful flight.  Being a night flight, they like to feed you and then out you to bed as soon as they can.  I watched 1 movie The Descendants’, 2 episodes of Modern Family, man I love that show and my laughing out loud made other people laugh and then I hunkered down for the last 4 hours of the flight and got some beauty sleep.  I woke to the smell of coffee and breakfast being served 1.5 hours out of Frankfurt and we landed on time at 5.30am into the 9^th busiest airport in the world and the 3^rd busiest in Europe and I can see why.  I am not sure exactly where we landed but is was the longest taxi to a gate that I have ever experienced.  It seriously over 15 minutes and that is no exaggeration.  We must have landed somewhere near Munich I rekon, and we were hooting along on the ground as well.  The airport was manic.  Here were people everywhere and a lot trying to pass immigration and people cross walking to get to security; it was a bit if a schmozzle to say the least.   Once we had disembarked, I needed to get my bearings, where was I and where did I have get to?  I had a 5 hour connection, my flight didn’t leave till 10.45am so there was no urgency and I could take my time.  I did find an information computer, so I jumped onto that to find out if there was a phone place somewhere in the airport.  I was in luck there was an O2 shop check-in side and it opened at 8am till I worked out it was a Sunday and they didn’t open till 11am.  Bugger, that option was no longer viable.  I didn’t have to change terminals so I found an information counter that was staffed and he didn’t really have any idea at all, so I just joined the security queue to get re-scanned again so that I could get to my gate and the duty free shops.  I got pulled up again for my Ethiopian bangles but when I tell them they don’t come off they are pretty good about it and just frisk me and I’m through.  I wasn’t sure if t=all the shops would be open at 6am in the morning, but they were and I asked the newsagent if they sold sim cards which the reply was a no but to try the electronics shop, he was pretty sure they did.  So I popped in there and they did sell them, so I was saved!  It is one of those travel sims, so it’s not locked to one network, I could top up on line (Vodaphone I couldn’t) it would work in Brazil and I could call and text Ethiopia-what more could I want!  It was probably a better option that what I had with my UK sim anyways, I just hoped it worked.  The sim people always promise the world but when you leave and it doesn’t work it’s tough. It cost me 30EUR but for me I would have paid more knowing I was back in touch with the world again.  I also bought some more memory cards for my camera and I also had to buy another point and shot camera, as the one I bought from the same shop 4 weeks ago I gave to Z.  cameras in Ethiopia are so expensive, so it was my thank you gift to him and I knew I could get another one on my way back through Frankfurt.  I was also entitled to a tax refund after all my purchases, so as I left the store I sent my first message to Zeme and I got a red cross and a message in German that I had no idea what it said.  So I turned right back around and went back to ‘my’ dude and showed him the message and all we had to do was make a call to activate the sim card, so he took my phone, found the number to the store and called it and apparently I was back in business.  I then got the ‘message delivered’ confirmation so then proceeded to text Shelly, Cheify and Kate in Brazil to check it and I got a response from all 3 but nothing back from Z.  I am back in the telecommunication world again.  So for those of you wanting my new number it is +49 178 292 2809. 

This had helped kill some time and then I had to run around for the tax refund.  You have to go to the custom and duty office to get a stamp to then go to the refund office to actually get the cash back.  You had the option for cash or a refund to the card which they swipe there and then and I was 20 EUR richer after spending 184EUR.  Still with plenty of time to spare I found a café at 7am in the morning and had 2 German sausages on rolls with a bottle of coke and I settle in there for 2 hours backing up my pictures onto my laptop and I even found some free Wi-Fi on my IPod where the airport gives you 30 minutes for free and then you can buy an hour for 4.95EUR or 4 hours for 9.95EUR which I didn’t think was too bad a price but I just used the 30 minutes and then stuck to the laptop and getting all my purchases out of their boxes and packets and packing them away.  I felt bad having a coke at 7am in the morning but the guy next to me was drinking a beer, so it made me feel a whole lot better.

My next flight was from Frankfurt to Rio and I was preparing myself for the 12 hour flight.  The departure gate didn’t look that busy so I was hoping to have a spare seat next to me for this flight, especially as it was a long haul one.  The plane seemed brand new and I have totally been pleasantly surprised with Lufthansa.  I flew them over 10 years ago to London and I remember then that they were old aircraft and not having much legroom, so it was good to travel on them to update my knowledge on them and I haven’t had a bad experience to date with them. Touchwood.  The plane was an A340-300 with a 2x4x2 configuration and again we had in seat TV’s which was the bonus of flying into Rio and not Sao Paulo where they operate the old aircraft.  I had my window seat in the 2 seats and I didn’t have to wait long for my seat companion to arrive.  Damn I was hoping I would have that seat to myself.  He was an Aussie guy and after 10 minutes they started to shut the aircraft we decided for him to jump to the spare seat across the aisle before someone else would take it and after a few false starts as 3 late comers joined, he was home and hose and we both ended up having spare seats next to us.       

This flight was also uneventful and after feeding us a cooked breakfast I watched one movie, New Year’s Eve, and then went to sleep for 9 hours.  I must have been tired and I love sleeping on planes as it kills the time like nothing else can.  I did wake up as the sun was setting and we were at this point back flying over Brazil and it was one of the most spectacular sunsets I have seen from the air.  The orange colours combined with the reds, the white clouds and the dark blue clouds made for some amazing photos.  There is a whole album just of these pictures.  What a nice way to be welcomed back to Brazil. Beautiful.

We arrived into Rio just after 5pm.  2 continents later I found myself back where I left exactly 4 weeks earlier but at the international terminal rather than the domestic.  As my bags were checked all the way through after only waiting 30 minutes at immigration I walked straight to the ‘nothing to declare’ channel and was half way through when I thought about LA, where even though your bag is checked all the way through you still need to see it before connecting, so I doubled back out of the line and asked an airport dude and lucky I did as I did have to collect my bag and re-check it at the domestic terminal.  BIG problem averted that was for sure.  The Addis check-in chick should have told me that small piece of important information.

It was easy enough to walk and push my free trolley from the international to the domestic terminal as they are located in the same building.  I found all the domestic check-in counters and looking at the flight departure board I couldn’t see my flight up there.  I look for the flight number to start with and if I can’t find that I look for the destination as it may code share with another airline, one of them generally works.  Well when neither of them worked this time I was getting this small niggling feeling of maybe my flight has been cancelled.  There is a massive TAM counter (the airline I was flying) so I went over to them and asked if my flight number had changed.  Well she tapped on her computer for like 10 minutes and then called someone else over who shrugged his shoulders and they both told me they couldn't see the flight either but to just go to check-in and they can let me know for sure. Um isn’t that your job?  Anyway they must have a system so I just did as I was told.  There was no-one in the check-in queue so I got straight to a counter as I was looking at the board wondering what other flight I could make thinking the worse when he took my Addis issued boarding pass and gave me one to replace it and it was on the same flight I had been originally booked on and my bag was taken and I had one more leg to get me to Manaus.  Phew what a relief, I hate the thoughts that run through your head when you think your flight may have been ‘rescheduled’.  Thank goodness I was in Brazil, thank goodness I had a day up my sleeve, thank goodness the flights are on the one ticket etc……..

My flight from Rio left on time for Manaus at 10.45pm and I was feeling surprisingly okay.  Probably because I had slept for 13 hours on the other 2 flights.  I have a growing suspicion I may have problems adjusting to a sleep pattern when I get to Manaus, but I’ll deal with that when that crops up. I have only gone through 4 time zones with a total of a 7 hour time change so you would think it would be that hard.  We’ll see.   This flight was only half empty and I had the whole row to myself.  The aircraft was an A330 with a seat configuration of 3x3 and a 4 hour fly time.  The announcements were all in Portuguese and when they served a hot toasted sandwiches at midnight the hostee said I was the only foreigner on board so they didn’t bother with an English translation so if I had any questions to ask her and she reconfirmed our arrival time into Manaus.  I was sitting on a TAM plane and this was also a new aircraft.  They had mobile and Wi-Fi facilities onboard for certain flights and they even had a special mobile phone light right next to the seatbelt light on the overheads when it was clear to use the service.  This flight it was unavailable but what a cool idea and a sign of things to come on other airlines.                

I finally arrived into Manaus at 1.30am.  36 hours after leaving Addis Ababa and already it seems like a distant memory.  I am lucky I have new adventures to enjoy and help my time pass quickly, poor Zeme is back to dreary work and ‘normal’ life till his trip to Australia and my eventual arrival back to Ethiopia.  At least he has something to look forward to.  I had arranged through Mark for a transfer to take me to the hotel and he was there at 2am with a sign with my name on it and we drove the 20 minutes to the hotel who was expecting me which was nice at 2.30am in the morning.  What a successful travel day and that is how it should always be. 

So welcome to Manaus.  The group is due in tomorrow morning and it will be great to see some familiar faces and to meet the new crew.  I’m back in Brazil for another 11 nights and on tour for another 41 days.  I plan to make the most of what is left of this amazing journey even though I will miss Zeme every second of everyday, it won’t be long till we are reunited.

WITHOUT YOU

Love songs and dedication to Zeme Moges.  This is our 'Western' song xx

I can't win,

I can't reign

I will never win this game

Without you, without you

I am lost, I am vain,

I will never be the same

Without you, without you

I won't run, I won't fly

I will never make it by

Without you, without you

I can't rest, I can't fight

All I need is you and I

Without you
Without you

Oh, oh, oh!

You! You! You!

With out You! You! You!

Without you
Can't erase, so I'll take blame

But I can't accept that we're estranged

Without you, without you

I can't quit now, this can't be right

I can't take one more sleepless night

Without you, without you

I won't soar, I won't climb

If you're not here, I'm paralyzed

Without you, without you

I can't look, I'm so blind

I lost my heart, I lost my mind

Without you
Without you

Oh, oh, oh! You! You! You!

WithoutYou! You! You!

Without you

I am lost, I am vain,

I will never be the same

Without you, without you

Without you

MY FINAL TWO DAYS IN ADDIS

My last 2 days were a blur of meeting family, packing, dinners and consulates.  On Friday Zeme had a busy morning as he had to return the work car that we had for the last 17 days and then pick up our run around hire car for the next 2 days.  He had to make a trip home to collect his passport for our visit to the Australian Consulate in the afternoon; he also picked up some goodbye roses for me which was really sweet.  I got 5 red roses when I got here and I got 5 red roses for my departure.  What we have done is kept all the petals (not sure of customs bringing petals into all the countries) and we have 131 of them and I am going to paste one in my diary for each day that we are apart and to be re-united again.  Corny but admit it, it is sweet all the same.  I also wanted to get some stickers as I have collected a sticker from each country I have been to and the ‘good’ ones get a spot on my laptop, so he also went and ordered some of them for me and we can go back this afternoon to collect them.

So when the busy bee returned we started to look for the address for the Australian Consulate online.  We found the address and phone number and decided to call them before heading out in the car to see them.  It is just as well we did this as they have a third party visa processing center that does all the tourist visas.  So we got that address and decided to have lunch before going.  The point of doing it while I was here was in case they needed something from me, I could do the paperwork and leave it with Z rather than trying to get it too him down the track while I am on tour somewhere.

As it was just the 2 of us for lunch we decided to head back to the Top View Restaurant and have a romantic lunch.  There were a lot of embassy cars in the car park, so it must be a really good spot for somewhere to eat.  Z was explaining how all the number plates work in Ethiopia and you can tell which cars are diplomats and you even know to which country they belong.  The Germans had 3 cars in the car park, the Spanish, the Kenyans and 2 British cars were all dining at the same restaurant.  Rubbing shoulders with the best of them, that’s me!!!

Next stop was the VPC (Visa Processing Centre).  Zeme knew the address and after sitting in some extreme traffic we found the building no problems.  They were located on the third floor (no lift) and Z had to sign in, security check and leave his phone with me, as I wasn’t allowed to go into the waiting area at all.  It then surprised me to only have to wait 5 minutes and he was back out again.  He pretty much got fobbed off to a website that would tell us all the information that we needed to know.  I HATE the fob off, but we had no choice so when we got back to the hotel we jumped onto the said address and after a good 15 minutes clicking around the government web site we found the visa that Zeme needed and all the answers to our questions.  We decided to print off two copies of the application form, I was going to fill in one and then Zeme would copy the information in his hand writing onto the second one once again to try and nab any paperwork or questions in the bud while I am here.  So we saved them to a USB along with my letter of invitation that was also required and off Zeme runs to the printers to get it all printed.  In the meantime he also picked up the stickers on his return.  He is amazing at doing all the running around all day.

We were struggling for dinner ideas tonight so Zeme asked what food I liked.  So besides Italian food I said I liked Chinese food.  Well he’s never had Chinese before and I said you should like it as it is just meat and vegetables served with rice.  So he knew where there was a restaurant and he was happy to give Chinese a crack.  Well we pulled up at Lin Jong’s Chinese Garden and walked in.  There were a lot of Asian people sitting at the tables and I saw this as a very good sign, if they are eating here it must be pretty good.  Well we ordered a beef in black bean, crispy chicken and rice and I have to say it was just about the best Chinese food I have ever eaten and Zeme loved it!  The crispy chicken was like it had been cooked in a BBQ fire and the skin was super crispy and very succulent.  So it was a great decision on our part and I am glad that Z liked it.  In Ethiopian terms the meal was quite expensive at 19AUD including 3 drinks but man it was a good feed.  It was a great last meal to have had in Addis Ababa and I know that I will definitely be eating there again on my return.

Saturday was D-day for meeting Zeme’s family and I was nervous as hell.  We had a few things to do before that though and filling in the Australian visa application was one of them.  It was 16 pages long, so it took a little time, but it all looked easy enough and they didn’t seem to need anything out of the ordinary.  Mind you what it looks on paper and the actual process are completely 2 different things and when we got to the end of the application I could legally fill the form in for Zeme and we just declare and sign the application, so it was good that we did do that before I left.  Zeme has a tour to Kenya in April, so once he is back from there we will start the process and let’s hope it is as easy as it looks on paper.

My flight on Saturday night wasn’t until 11.35pm, so I decided to pay the additional nights’ accommodation at the hotel so we could have the room up until 9pm.  There is nothing worse than having to check out at 12 noon and then not being able to freshen up and have somewhere to relax with a 36 hour travel day in front of me; the 50AUD was well worth its weight in gold.  We were told that we couldn’t keep the room we had as it had been booked, so I had packed early in the morning and we waited for the new room to be ready, well at 10.30am they decided that we could keep the room we had after all!!!  What a pain as I was all airline packed and ready to go. 

Zeme wanted to show me a little more of Addis that I hadn’t seen on my last visit so our first stop was the Holy Trinity Cathedral, known in Amharic as Kidist Selassie.  It is the highest ranking Orthodox cathedral in Addis Ababa.  It was built to commemorate Ethiopia's liberation from Italian occupation and is the second most important place of worship in Ethiopia, after the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Axum.  The cathedral bears the title 'Menbere Tsebaot', or 'Pure Altar'. The church compound is the burial place for those who fought against the Italian Occupation, or those who accompanied the Emperor into exile from 1936 to 1941. Emperor Haile Selassie I and his consort Empress Menen Asfaw are buried in the north transept of the cathedral. Other members of the Imperial Family are buried in the crypt below the church. The High Altar of the cathedral is dedicated to 'Agaiste Alem Kidist Selassie' (Sovereigns of the World the Holy Trinity). The other two altars in the Holy of Holies on either side of the High Altar are dedicated to St. John the Baptist and to 'Kidane Meheret' (Our Lady Covenant of Mercy). In the south transept of the cathedral is a recently added chapel of St. Michael, which houses the Tabot or Ark of St. Michael the Archangel, which was returned to Ethiopia in February 2002 after being discovered in Edinburgh. This relic was taken by British forces from the mountain citadel of Magdalla in 1868 during their campaign against Emperor Tewodros II.  It was pretty amazing church and it had some beautiful stain glass windows running down both sides of the church.  It wasn’t open to the public, but you could pay to enter and the priest and a guide would let you in for a small tour. 

Our next stop was the Lion Park.  As we had heard of some lion stories when we were in Gondar, we decided to visit the Lion Park upon our return.  I am not sure what I expected but the lions looked like they were 100 years old (reality was most of them were 25 years old) and they looked so sad.  The Lion Park is actually called the Lion Zoo and its home to 19 adult lions and 4 young ones – two males and two females. There are nine other animals at the zoo including Gelada baboons, Lesser Kudu, turtles and Egyptian Geese but the lions are the main attraction.  The zoo is a small oasis of green in a city that’s increasingly becoming less green. Apparently it used to be the place for couples to hang out once upon a time.  The zoo was founded in 1940, Ethiopian Calendar (that’s 1947 for the rest of the world), and started off with a couple of lion cubs – Molla and Lulu – that were donated by the Emperor Haile Selassie.  The lions were collected from Western and Southern Ethiopia (Wollega, Elubabur and Sidamo)

We got to the zoo at around 1.30pm and the entry was 10 Birr per person (52 cents per person) and an extra 20 birr (1AUD to be able to take pictures with my camera).  We then proceeded to walk around and admire the lions. There are 10 enclosures, each with a pair of lions – male and a female – except for one lone female whose mate recently died. I must say that they are beautiful creatures and they were massive.  I don’t recall the game park lions being this big and we did get pretty close to them as well.  The zoo reminded me of the zoos of the 80’s.  There was no grass for them, the enclosures were small considering their size and that is just the lions.  The cages for the monkeys were terrible and people were throwing bottles into the cages and a coke can to watch them play with them.  It was actually heart breaking and I decided to not even post any photos on Facebook of my time there.  Apparently there is talk of building a new zoo with more room and greenery for the animals, but I am not sure when and if that will eventuate. 

The Chinese last night left such an impression that we decided to go back for lunch and we had exactly the same thing and it tasted just as good as it did last night.  It was soooooo good.  From here Zeme’s house was only a 10 minute drive away and it was time for me to meet the family.  I was so nervous but also excited to be meeting them.  I think my main nerves were because they don’t speak English, but after arriving and being welcomed in it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.  His mum is just beautiful and his Dad speaks a little English.  I met his younger sister but his younger brother and older sister weren’t at home, but it feels good to have it done and next time I see them it will be easier and they seemed really nice which is a bonus as one always needs to get along with their In-laws. 

So the afternoon went far too quickly and before I knew it, it was time to head to the airport.  We got a quick visit from Chombe who came bearing some Ethiopian gifts for me which was super sweet and a quick stop off to say goodbye to Minalu on our way to the airport and the realization hit me that I was finally leaving Ethiopia and saying goodbye to Zeme.  People who are not travelling are not allowed to even enter the airport building, so our goodbye had to be done in the airport car park.  Luckily we had said most of what we wanted back at the hotel, so after our departing words, hugs and kisses I was left wondering where the last 25 days had gone.  My Facebook status for the day was:

“leaves Addis Ababa and Ethiopia tonight. I know deep in my heart and in my soul, that this truly is real love. Real love that overcomes all obstacles-colour, creed and culture. Real love that lasts until the end of time. I'm going to miss you Zeme Moges and we only have 131 days till we meet again xx”

I think this sums up my feeling totally in a nutshell and with a last hug I walked through the throngs of people also saying their goodbyes to friends and loved ones and with a look over my shoulder I saw him wave from the car as he drove out of the car park.  I feel sad, but I also feel happy as I am one step closer to getting back to South America to finish that part of the trip, which brings me one step closer to getting to the USA to see friends, which brings me one step closer to New Zealand to see Lisa, which brings me one step closer to getting home to Shelly, my God-daughters and friends and finally Zeme’s arrival in Australia.  There is always an upside to a downside and this is what I was clinging to as I checked in and my African Detour comes to an end.

So with that said I need to thank my wonderful boyfriend Zeme.  He has restored my faith in love and romance.  There are so many things in this world we can't control, so it's important to remember the things we can change. There is one thing that turns a lonely place to a beautiful place and that is love.  Love gives us hope.  Hope for the future.  131 days till I see my lover, my friend, my soul mate is just a dip in the ocean of the rest of our lives together.  You make me a better person Zeme and I can’t wait for my return to you and your beautiful country in August.  I love you baby xx

BACK TO ADDIS-THIS MEANS MY TIME IN ETHIOPIA IS NUMBERED

WEATHER: Hot and 30C

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: The scrambled eggs at Sabana Lodge

BUMMER OF THE DAY: We’re back in Addis

WORD OF THE DAY:  Hello-Good Morning!!!!

DISTANCE TRAVELLED: 210KM

So today the ‘official’ Zeme tour comes to an end.  This is okay as Z and I have both said the sooner we part then the sooner we will be reunited.  It makes sense and is what is going to get us through the next 131 days when I finally get on that plane in 2 days’ time.

We have 210KM to cover today, so we wanted to get a good start as we have a few things we need to do in Addis before my departure on Saturday night.  I still stand by my call that the made to order scrambled eggs at Sabana Lodge have been the best on the trip so far.  It will be sad to say goodbye to this amazing oasis in the dry landscape of Langano Lake, but it was a superb way to finish our time together and I know that when I move back we will certainly be coming back here for a weekend away from the busy city of Addis Ababa.   

We were back on the road for the last time at 9am and making our way back to the city.  The traffic starts to pick up and even though there are still herds of cattle and donkeys and children by the side of the road they are not as numerous as in the country.  The trucks are the main vehicles on the roads again and every time I see a bright yellow truck it reminds me of Rosita and what I am going back to in South America.  I have said numerous times that there is nothing worse than joining a tour that has already started.  The new group joined in Rio, so there will be 21 new faces and 5 familiar faces.  I think this will be my saving grace that this time I already know people and one of them is my roomy.  But that in its self poses an issue as Kate has been sharing with one of the newbies Natasha and when I get back will she continue to share with her or come back to the Bernjuane?  I am not too worried about it as by the time I get back to the tour, that section finishes in 12 days and 11 people leave and we pick up 6 fresh faces, so if the groups are clicky for any reason there will be a shakeup not long after I return.  I am looking forward to seeing the gang again though and I feel like my batteries have been recharged for the final run through Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia and back into Ecuador.

The scenery back into Addis in the morning was mass cattle crossing the roads and then the closer we got to the city there are a lot of flower farms, mainly roses.  Who would have thought that Ethiopia would be a mass market flower grower and 90% of all the flowers are exported to Holland and the USA.  One of the main farms is enormous and is owned by a company called Sher, which rents them out to three large Dutch flower companies, including Herburg Roses Ethiopia.  They are massive, rows of identical green plastic greenhouses, each one a kilometer in length, covering a total of 325 hectares. 

Roses have boomed in Ethiopia, overtaking Kenya this year. Cut flower exports have risen tenfold over the last 3-4 years and now bring in an annual $170m in 2008 – that’s 11% of national exports. 

We arrived into Addis at 2pm.  It was a long drive and the traffic was manic.  It took nearly 2 hours to travel 71KM.  Insane I tell you.  I will NOT be driving outside the city limits when I move there that is for sure.  It really is pure chaos and makes the city traffic look like a Sunday drive and that is saying something.  So we booked back into the Baks Hotel again mainly due to its location and they also had 2 bags of my belongings that I had left there 3 weeks ago.  We are having dinner with Minalu and Chombe tonight to say goodbye and see you in 5 months, so we had to get ready for that and in the meantime Zeme had some running around to do.  The car needed to be refueled as it had to be handed back in the morning.  We had to put in photos to be printed as I had selected 96 of the ‘best’ shots of our trip so far, so I could show them all off back on the truck and so that Zeme had some hard copy pictures for himself.  The pictures weren’t that much cheaper to print back home at 12c a photo, but that’s okay and it is always nice to have hard copies of photos to flip through when you need to.  We also got a bottle of vodka for us to have a few drinks at home over the next 3 days as we both ‘love’ vodka and Zeme also had to take a trip home to collect his passport as we are off to the Australian Consulate tomorrow to see what will be required for him to obtain a visa to come and visit Australia in July.  I will not be buying an airline ticket until he has his visa this time, I have learnt my lesson the hard way there, but we have plenty of time, so fingers crossed it will not be difficult like the Brazilian process.  They are one tough visa to get that is for sure!

We decided to lash out and have a nice dinner with new and old friends present so we went to one of the top restaurants in Addis called Top View Restaurant and as the name suggests it had an amazing view of Addis all lit up at night time.  It was busy and there were a lot of farangees there, probably the most I had seen all in one place on my entire trip so far.  We really are few and far between in Ethiopia, even though they have a large expat community, we didn’t see them on our ‘touristy’ trip of the country.  Before we ordered I wanted the guys to know that I would be buying dinner for them all and it was a thank you for making me feel welcome in their city.  It means a lot to me to know that I will have people I know already for when I return in August and for the transition of meeting new people a little bit easier.  This is another reason that it was good to come back again before the big move and it is still the best thing I could have done.  The dinner was great and I have to say being one of the top restaurants in Addis we all had steak for dinner, 4 wines, 2 soft drinks and 3 desserts the total bill came to a grand total of 37AUD.  Can you imagine how much a meal like that would cost back home? 

So the Grand Zeme tour comes to a close and after 3400KM in 17 days, I had an amazing time for so many reasons the 2 most important being spending every waking moment with Zeme and seeing more of the country I am going to call home.  Ethiopia has so much to offer for tourists and they really need to market themselves more and showcase what an incredible country they truly have.  I will certainly try and become a positive ambassador for Ethiopia even after I am living here.