zenjaro
so my weekend was very interesting. i didn't know my parents had it in them to go "adventure" holidaying, but apparently they do. friday we left the capital for the bishangari lodge on the shores of lake langano, www.bishangari.com. the ride there wasn't bad; the road was paved most of the way. the last 20 or so kilometers, however, was unpaved. so we got to offroad it in and use our SUV for what it was made for. my parents didn't think to buy any offroad tires, unfortunately. the last leg of the road was more like a path. because it had rained the night before the path was full of water filled holes. course my dad being the adventurer he was decided to ford the holes instead of drive around them. about halfway to the lodge, we encountered a hole that was deeper than the others had been and the car got stuck. the water was deep enough to swim in; i don't know what my dad was thinking. we were trapped for a few minutes - me wondering if we would be able to get out and trying ever so hard not to make any snappy comments to my dad (though i told you so was on the tip of my tongue...). so we finally make it out of the mud and get to the lodge.
now i've stayed at eco-tourist places before but this had to be the most natural one i've ever been to. the cabins were out in the middle of nowhere! there was a trail cut through the grass and woods to our cabin. at night there were only oil lanterns placed to guide us. i was very surprised to see that we had running water. i don't think i slept at all the two nights we were there; almost too much nature around for me. our cabin was filled with spiders and all kinds of random insects. usually i am up for ruffing it but i don't think i was in the mood. still aside from the accomodations the place itself was quite nice. there was a beach on the lake where you could play volleyball, sunbathe, etc. i went horseback riding through the nearby forest. and we got to see lots of baboons. so twasn't all badness. the morning of our departure there was a light rain. things were going fine until we got to this part in the road that split; one side was all eroded and muddy from the recent rains and the other was blocked by some people whose cart was stuck in the mud. so my dad decides to try the eroded side and lo and behold, we got stuck again - this time for two hours! course like i was saying the car isn't really equipped to take on the wilderness (it has cruise control for goodness sake...). so we had to wait til another truck could come pull us out. so sad. our car looks like it's been through world war III. so in a nutshell that was our trip. this weekend i think i am finally going to axum. at least i'll have seen two places outside of the capital before je reviens aux etats-unis! alors, a bientot!
now i've stayed at eco-tourist places before but this had to be the most natural one i've ever been to. the cabins were out in the middle of nowhere! there was a trail cut through the grass and woods to our cabin. at night there were only oil lanterns placed to guide us. i was very surprised to see that we had running water. i don't think i slept at all the two nights we were there; almost too much nature around for me. our cabin was filled with spiders and all kinds of random insects. usually i am up for ruffing it but i don't think i was in the mood. still aside from the accomodations the place itself was quite nice. there was a beach on the lake where you could play volleyball, sunbathe, etc. i went horseback riding through the nearby forest. and we got to see lots of baboons. so twasn't all badness. the morning of our departure there was a light rain. things were going fine until we got to this part in the road that split; one side was all eroded and muddy from the recent rains and the other was blocked by some people whose cart was stuck in the mud. so my dad decides to try the eroded side and lo and behold, we got stuck again - this time for two hours! course like i was saying the car isn't really equipped to take on the wilderness (it has cruise control for goodness sake...). so we had to wait til another truck could come pull us out. so sad. our car looks like it's been through world war III. so in a nutshell that was our trip. this weekend i think i am finally going to axum. at least i'll have seen two places outside of the capital before je reviens aux etats-unis! alors, a bientot!