I’m back from travelling

Street scene, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

I’ve been travelling, so I’ve been rather quiet here on this site over the last 7 weeks. The posts which did appear were prepared before I left.

Over the last 7 weeks my wife, daughter and I have had a wonderful journey through Ethiopia, Morocco and Spain. We had a wonderful time and I will be sharing my experiences and many photos here over the coming weeks and months.

Ethiopia has a great deal to offer the tourist but it seems that this country never features much in most travellers’ thinking as a desirable destination. Sure, poverty and homelessness is in your face wherever you go, especially in the capital Addis Ababa, but then I’ve seen that even in our cities here in Australia. Ethiopia has much to offer the tourist.

The reason we went to Ethiopia was to spend time with our daughter who was finishing up her term in an international school in Addis Ababa. We spent 2 weeks with her, living on the campus where she taught. It was great to see where she had been working and to not only meet her colleagues, but to meet some of the local people and students. While we were there we also took the opportunity to do some touring around, employing local drivers.

The photos on this post are first shots taken while driving from the airport to the school. They show typical street scenes that could have been taken in any large city in Africa. I was warned by our daughter not to take photos of the many soldiers and police present in one part of the city. Former US President George Bush was in the city for a major conference, explaining the strong security presence.

In the photo below you can see a high truck load of mattresses, tied down with a couple of thin ropes. We were all amazed how the mattresses managed to stay on the truck while negotiating corners. Had they toppled though, I’m sure there would have been a soft landing.

Street scene, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Construction site, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia