Back Into Africa

Having been lucky to spend 3 weeks in the birthplace of human beings (Lucy being the oldest skull, named after the ‘in the Sky with Diamonds’ soundtrack of the archaeologists), the idea of ‘being’ has been hard to ignore – for better (in the moment, no treadmill, no stress) or worse (after all my years in this continent, Africa Time will always frustrate!). I know I will sound like a mid-life-crisis drifter but Ethiopia has been a useful reminder how much we / I’ve become fixated on ‘doing’. “How are you doing?”, “Doing the right thing”, “the kids are doing well at school”. Of course, ‘being’ isn’t great for progress, economic growth or even the sense of self-achievement we all need BUT we could probably all benefit from 'being' human a bit more often. That said, I’ve managed to ‘do’ a few hours a day of work from my bush office almost 6,000 miles from my client and 10,000 feet asl. It gives promise to my vision of a Write to Roam career.  The church in the cav...

There is a mysteriousness about Ethiopia that’s captivating. Perhaps it’s the constant, slightly eerie hum of Orthodox prayers, or the white-shawled women prostrating for hours on end. Perhaps it’s the fact that every face is so completely different, or the Muezzin call to the 40% Muslim population. The incense-filled daily coffee ceremony and the ritualistic devotion to Injera (spongey pancake type bread – not actually a fan) and Wat (the many dishes piled onto the Injera) – add to a sense of timelessness and magic. Coffee time Me and wat not I can report to Bob Geldof that they know Christmas is approaching, even if it’s on 7 January (it’s also the year 2012 and New Year is in September – and don’t even ask me about the Ethiopian clock…). Everyone is fasting and praying militantly – I’m told they will all get hammered on honey wine and will eat their weight in lamb come the 7 th . Simien mountain hiking After 2 days acclimatising in Addis (nothing special, a typ...