After a fitful sleep i got out of bed about 5:10am, letting Simon sleep for a bit until i was done packing the car and my stuff. Then i treated myself to my first proper hot shower in 20 days, getting nice and clean. With Simon doing the same we were ready to leave at 5:55am until as I was reversing, one of the locals furiously waved and pointed to our rear tyre which was flat. This began events of almost comedic proportions. First we tried to replace the tyre but the jack just wasnt big enough for the special springs fitted to the beast despite us using rocks and wood to raise the spring until in its compressed state it was touching the jack point. Strike 1! Next we tried to use the airjack. An airjack uses the hot air from the exhaust to inflate a sort of bag which, when placed under the vehicle easily raises it. Unfortunately for us the the exhaust fumes and the connection were to loose to get any air into the airjack. Strike 2! Then we decided that since it seemed like a slow puncture we would simply reinflate the tyre using the built in air compressor. Unfortunately the air compressor seemed to have some sort of electrical fault and it simply would not start. Strike 3, we were out of options. We started asking around to see if someone had a bigger jack but had absolutely no luck. Eventually a truck driver came up with an ingenious (if dangerous) plan and we ramped the rear wheel up and over a brick so it was raised. Then he jacked up the wheel on the actual axle. Lettting down the tyre further provided the room to remove it and with the extra space we (or should i say they) were finally able to fit it ...over 1 hours and 15 minutes later.
Simon had ordered breakfast so we sat down and had omlettes, toast and jam with butter (which i have been craving since i left Cape Town). Simon had the mango and paypapa mix i had had last night and i had another awesomely delicious avocado smoothie, this time with freshly squeezed lime. While Simon had a coffee i checked email and then we were on our way; a whole hour and a half later than planned. Another challenge presented us when the GPS was unable to guide us out of the maze that was Jima and so we resorted to the basic compass and managed to find our way on to the silky smooth, tarred road.
We travelled for a few hours passing through amazing mountain scenery with green, deep valleys dotted with villages. Along the way we thought we had taken a wrong turn when we started heading south instead of north. Turned out it was just the road. Why they have built such a curvacous road i dont know...perhaps money was a constraint. As we drove along in one town we spotted a goat who had obviously had enough and confronted its master, a young boy, and proceeded to try and head butt him. Although on its legs the goat was actually taller than boy, the boy was not going to let the goat get the better of him and so fought back :).
Passing through an area with a few trees we had our first monkey road crossing. A monkey with something in its mouth, running at great speed, crossed directly in front of us and just in time otherwise it would have been my first roadkill. Although the road was lovely tar they were also winding, with few cars. This meant that the trucks and buses; instead of sticking to their own side took up the invisible middle lane which resulted in us nearly being roadkill several times . Another very interesting site was a very young muslim boy of maybe 3, being carried by 4 men on a sort of whicker-work throne. We wondered what the significance was...perhaps he was some sort of Dali Lama to them?
In some of the highland villages women and boys were selling boiled mealies, eggs and giant guavas so we purchased 4 huge ones for about R1.40. On one downhill we found a man racing a home-made go cart. Fortunately for him he was on the other side of the road to us. It continues to amaze me how people neither hear nor see cars, or even expect them. We passed one dead dog and one dead cow and i can only imagine what sort of death-toll there is. Even when they see you coming they dont move at all until you are already on top of them!
All along the road we had people gesturing us in way that look like they were carrying some sort of really big invisible box in front of them. After much debate we think its equivalent to the thumb sign for catching lift. The correct response if you are full seem to signal in much the same manner as an umpire signaling a 4 in cricket.
Since we had left in a hurry from Jima we need to fill up with petrol along the way. This proved challenging as one town after another had only diesel. Fortunately, with both tanks flashing the low level indicator we drove into the town of Weliso at around 11:30am and found a Total garage that actually had garage. Of course it would not have been the end of the world had we run out as we had 60l of petrol on the roof but that would have been time consuming.
Simon who was navigating, had read up about the town earlier and found out that it had a church who's spring waters had apparent curative powers. We were eager to see and try and so asking directions from lots of strangers we made our way in fits and starts to the old Orthodox church, which was a very simple wooden building. With no one able to speak English we were reduced to sign language. First we visited a barnyard that doubles as an adhoc museum of artefacts associated with illnesses that were cured including crutches, charms, talismans, walking sticks and chains left by the mentally ill. Then we took a visit to the new church being built in the hope of finding the spring there. Eventually we tried the old church and inside found a bucket of water and a non-working pump shower. However the young boy who was acting as our impromptu guide poured the water into our hands and first Simon and then I poured it onto our heads, enjoying the refreshment. I put some on my back in the hope of curing my herniated disc.
Having waypointed the church we headed out of Weliso noticing along side the road dozens of men and women chipping away at white rocks. For what reason we were not sure as nothing appeared to be on sale. I must mention again just how beautiful the highlands and the area we travelled through are. Big green fields, separated by trees, blue skys, white clouds and mud and thatch dwelling with wooden fences are the norm.
Around 12:40pm we passed some big, commercial greenhouses but i could not see what was in. Also on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere was a rather unexpected site; a beige VW Beetle in excellent condition. One one uphill was got to see two bulls having a real tussel with the one bull pushing the other one down the hill before, in a clever move the one being pushed, spun around and managed to push the other bull back, right off the road. When off the road the bull really got going and the other one called it quits. An hour later as we got closer to the Addis we noticed what appeared to be walking bales of straw but were actually donkey's, piled high and to the side with straw; so much so that only their heads and legs were showing. Fiveteen mintues later we passed our first signed junction; we were definitely getting closer to the city and a little while later a sign stating "Bantu 23" which i though was quite funny.
As we got closer to the city the the number of cars increased we crawled along for the last few kilometers before entering the ring road that surrounds the city of Addis Adeba. Our gps guided us to what we thought was the Toyota dealer but it turned out they were just Toyota specialists. Although they looked very professional and were helpful what we actually wanted was the Toyota dealers. They were nice enough to tell us where and with the help of the GPS we made our way to Moeneco Toyota. The Toyota dealership, although very smart and huge was not really helpful. What we wanted was for them to inspect the car from top to toe and let us know what the problems were and the cost to fix. What they did, despite our best efforts, was give a quote for parts and to fit them for the things WE thought wrong!!! I mean we are not mechanics...they are supposed to tell us what is wrong! Not only that but they took 2 hours to give us a quote without even inspecting the vehicle or switching on the engine. While we waited we phoned Taryn and Deon were not having any better luck finding accommodation in the city. Feeling peckish i had a bowl of pronutro and when the hunger got to Simon he went off and picked up some Oreo rippoffs that weren't too bad.
Eventually we left, making our way downtown in search of a decent place to stay. On our third attempt we found a hotel that was not too bad and had a good chat with a Cape Town couple who were overlanding to Denmark. They provided us with some advice on finding shocks and would also be able to provide the Mapa Project with good waypoints and routes. After chatting with them we phoned Taryn and Deon who decided to come to our hotel.
Perhaps i should give my first impression of Addis. It seems a city of contrasts with lots of new high rise building being built alongside dirt, potholed roads; smart modern building with goats outside in the street. The city itself seems to be situated on one or more hills, with the CBD sitting in the bowl. The streets are busy but not to bad and the ring road make access quite easy. The men and women are quite different from the South with hardly anyone wearing hijab...I so am not a city person!
While we waited for them i sent March an email with a copy of the quote and request to phone me. On phoning me we had a long discussion on the vehicle and determined that if we couldnt get the special shocks we needed we would have to replace the non-standard springs with standard ones which would allow us to use standard shocks. We would also try the Toyota specialist who had earlier proved more helpful and then come back to March with whatever information we had been able to obtain.
Later we allowed a "Guide" to show us some auto spares shops in the hope of finding the special shocks but alas they were either closed or did not have. Afterwards we took a walk on the streets looking for a place for supper. Many young people were out and once again it was refreshing to see the streets alive and busy. We stopped at an internet cafe but it was too slow so we moved on and decided to have supper at a place called Chicago. There i had a peanut tea which tasted like pure peanut butter mixed with milk. It was suprisngly nice with a bit of sugar. Afterwards i had a fish burger which reminded me of the fish burgers i had at Burger King. Taryn and Deon joined us a little later before we headed home rather tired.
Back at the hotel we enjoyed our first TV set, watching Shanghai nights before showering, praying and heading to bed
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