Sunday, November 1st - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Today was a somewhat relaxing day and yet very busy at times.

To start the day, Lynn went for a run and I started the laundry.  We have a washing machine but it isn't exactly automatic so you have to attend to it regularly.  It's a great machine though and does a fantastic job so no complaints there.  Our problem was that we had a lot of laundry, most of which had just come out of the freezer.  Several in our group were bothered by fleas but Lynn and I seemed to get it the worst.   Freezing for at least 24 hours and then a steamy hot wash and rinse is supposed to be the cure as the fleas live on your clothes - in the waste bands or seams of clothing in particular.  I washed clothes I hadn't even worn and clothes that had just been washed and not worn again.  For a few days my wardrobe was a bit limited with almost everything in the freezer but hopefully it was worth it.  

Anyway we had about six loads of laundry to do. The only hose to the machine is for cold water so we had to fill the tub for the wash and the rinse with buckets of steamy hot water from the bathtub.   It worked fine but it was a bit more work than one would have in Canada.  And after the wash, we had to put the clothes in the spinner part of the machine - a very amazing spinner that had them almost dry after just a couple of minutes.   Then we had to go downstairs and outside to hang them on the line.  On a good hot windy Addis day, they can be dry in about an hour.  It was a nice day yesterday but not a lot of wind so it took a bit longer for some things, and we had the line absolutely full so had to double up on some items, which of course caused a bit of a delay in the drying.  It was a full morning's work without much of a break in action.  You could get a load started then just have time to get down and hang up the last load before it was time to get back upstairs to drain the new load and fill the bucket for the rinse.  Everything is manual so you had to be there to keep changing it from wash to drain to rinse to drain and then into the spinner while you started the process all over - all the time filling and carrying buckets of water.  It seems hard to describe but it actually works like a charm and under normal circumstances of a load or two you think nothing of it.  The extra volume this time just made it a really long process.

During the process we managed to have some breakfast and munch on things on our way through the kitchen.  Lunch also seemed to just be a munching affair.  I guess it was just one of those days.  During the afternoon we typed up our notes from Saturday's sessions and we worked on the materials for Malawi.  We even had a little time to do some blogging and just read for pleasure.  It was very nice and relaxing for a change.

Ketema, our driver, came over about 6 p.m. and took us to the Bow Hotel.  This is the hotel run by two Albertans from Ethiopia now spending half their time in each place.  We had lunch here a few times with the expedition group and we all thought it was delicious.  This is also the place that had good internet so our goal was a good dinner and some good internet.  I'd have to say that we lucked out on both counts.  They had steak and potatoes and vegetables on their menu so we asked Aster if it was an Ethiopian style steak or an Alberta stye.  She said it was Alberta stye because they too missed a good steak when in Ethiopia, so we both ordered the steak.  Wow, was it good!!!  It was cooked just right and had a little lightly seasoned sauce on it and it tasted delicious - as good as any steak you'd get at home.  The vegetables were also cooked to perfection and delicious.  The mashed potatoes were real potatoes so they were a treat as well.  We didn't leave a bit of anything on our plates.  She then prepared a dessert which was fruit and a light cake with some chocolate sauce and it too was delicious.  Add to that the glass of local red Acacia wine and it was a terrific meal.

The internet was also good so I got a couple of blogs posted and some photos added to facebook.  I even had a chance to look at some hotels and tours in Malawi so it was a good session.  And if you are ever heading to Ethiopia and Addis Ababa, I can certainly recommend a stay at the Bow Hotel (named for the Bow River).  The rooms are beautiful - probably the best I have seen anywhere in Africa for cleanliness, comfort and western-style.  The bathrooms especially are a wonderful upgrade from the usual.  And the price is very reasonable with rooms going from $30-$45 US per night.  If I come back to Addis after we finish in Malawi, I will definitely be heading for the Bow.  

Once Ketema dropped us off at the house we read for a while and then it was bed time.  Oh, and speaking of Ketema, he is also the driver for the Bow so if you fly into Addis Ketema might be the one to greet you and he is a wonderful man with a beautiful family.  He has a great sense of humour and he is a very safe and reliable driver.  It's always a pleasure to come here with Canadian Humanitarian and know that Ketema will be at the airport to greet you and to drive you around throughout your stay.  The other driver, Getu, is also great.  His English is not quite as good as Ketema's so it's a bit harder to joke around with him but he's still a great guy.  Both of them are wonderful with the children at the centres and you can tell they really believe in the work that Canadian Humanitarian does.