This is the fifth in a six-part series describing my visit to Ethiopia last year. The first part can be found here.

Monday, March 27

I was up at 3:30 am to get everything ready for a departure a little before 5. Our route involved driving east and south, descending out of the mountains (Mekelle is at an elevation of 7,395 feet, or 2,254 meters) into the Afar region through the Danakil Desert, where we would stop for the day in Semera, the regional capital. We chose this route because it had been less involved in the war than our other option through the Amhara region. We knew that there would be fewer checkpoints and less suspicion, making it the safer choice.

We drove in the dark for nearly two hours, which is probably for the best, as these roads involve hairpin turns on the edge of cliffs – a nerve-wracking drive if you can see how close to disaster you are, and how many vehicles have come to disaster before you. Jon led our little caravan for two reasons: first and foremost, he is the more experienced driver and has made the trip many times. Secondly, his taillights were out(!), so it was better for me to follow (his LandCruiser is white, and I could basically follow the light from his headlights). Following eliminates at least half of the stress of driving distances in Ethiopia, because the follower doesn’t have to worry about the many potential dangers in the road ahead: potholes (or even large gaps in the paved road), rocks/trees/debris (fallen or occasionally placed there intentionally), broken down vehicles in the middle of the road, sheep, goats, cattle, camels, children, adults, and checkpoints, which often consist of a difficult-to-see (especially in the dark) cable stretched across the road. Jon navigated all of these (and more) admirably, making my job much easier.

Although we didn’t get to see much of the mountains, as most of the descent occurred in the first couple of hours in the dark, the drive through the northern half of Afar were really fascinating. The variety of landscapes we navigated were truly amazing. Flat stretches of dirt/sand, rocky terrain that looks exactly like Mars, salt plains, scrub land . . . I would have loved to have been able to photograph it, but I was trying to stay close to Jon’s tail and survive the trip in one piece. That land is beautiful, but in a haunting sort of way. It’s so very inhospitable, and I firmly believe that the people in this part of the Horn of Africa have some of the hardest lives (if not the hardest) in the world.

We stopped once about halfway for jebena buna on the side of the road, and we arrived at the hotel in Semera a little after noon. It gets hot in Afar, and the next closest place where we could stay overnight safely and comfortably was Nazret, which would have involved driving through the heat of the day and into the dark. Driving in the evening is particularly dangerous, and is best avoided whenever possible. So we had tegamino and injera for lunch (and for dinner) and we rested in our luxuriously air conditioned rooms that afternoon and evening.

Tuesday, March 28

We were up at four to begin our drive from Semera to Addis Ababa, which is part of the route from Djibouti to Addis. This is the primary means by which goods are transported from the sea to Ethiopia, and so this leg of the journey was inundated with trucks. And since nearly the entire route consisted of two-lane highways, this meant a LOT of very exciting passing maneuvers. It’s quite exhausting for one’s adrenaline to pump for 10 hours straight. In addition to dodging trucks, the baboons on the side of this road were often quite entertaining.

There was a fair amount of rain during this leg of the journey, which was unfortunate because as I’ve mentioned before, my windshield wipers didn’t work. At all. For most of the journey the rain was just light enough and/or infrequent enough that I could proceed comfortably. The last hour or so, however, there is a new 4+ lane expressway that makes for great, safe, fast driving – unless it’s raining and your windshield wipers don’t work. Then it becomes a little stressful. Fortunately there were only about 10 minutes where it was raining so hard the I moved into the slowest lane and followed a truck (which was a visible, slow-moving, comforting blob through the windshield) until I could see better. Then before we knew it we were in Addis, which is by far the most insane place to drive I’ve ever experienced.

This is part five of six of the report of my time in Ethiopia in March 2023.