Mount Wenchi

On Sunday four of us drove out to Mount Wenchi Crater. Mount Wenchi is an extinct volcano (alt. 3200 m) that has a lake at the bottom of the bowl. It is now an eco-tourism site. The drive was interesting enough as Mt Wenchi is about 125 km from Addis, we passed through bustling villages and saw a cow attempt to stop a moving truck with its head. That was not a good idea. We broke our journey at Welliso, and had coffee at the Negash lodge. This is a very nice hotel that as a tree house café where monkeys and some sort of marsupials the size of cats hop around above your head. They have bungalows that go for 125 Birr a night (about $18). At the back of the hotel black and white Colobus monkeys play in the trees.

Once at Wenchi we hired the obligatory guide and hiked down 4 km from the lip of the crater to the lake. I gather that the road we walked has only been there a year, and that previously only a hiking trail existed. Once at the bottom a boat takes you to the island in the lake that is home to a small 15th century church and monastery. The monks opened the church for us and we saw the bell brought to the island by King Menelik in the 17th century. The church holds tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments that were gathered from 400 other churches to safeguard them from the Muslims who, at the time, were razing any Christian sites. As we got to the island a tremendous hailstorm started and the ground was soon covered with icy white hailstones. We sheltered at the church from the worst of it and dashed back across the lake, only to be caught in another pelting storm. Once on shore the boatmen let us share their hut while we waited it out. After that three of our four decided to rent horses to ride back up to the rim. I declined as I think I weighed more that most of the horses, and did not want to pay the veterinary-chiropractor bills for the poor beast that had to carry me. The others saddled up and off we went. About half way back up the hill our guide said he and I could take the shortcut and save 1 km on the journey. I took him up on the offer, and we split off the road up a very steep and winding trail. I had just finished complimenting myself on my vigour in choosing “the road less travelled” when we me the first of a series of locals, old men, old women and girls coming down the trail the other way. Sort of knocks the Edmund Hillary right out of you when you see a 60-yr old woman carrying a 20-kilo pack hopping from rock to rock! They asked my guide why the dopey ferenji was taking the hard way up the hill when there is a perfectly serviceable road. I asked the guide to tell me the word for “crazy,” and when I started saying “ferenji jabba” they nodded knowingly. They all shook my hand as we passed on the trail and commiserated with my guide having to follow the crazy ferenji on his wanderings in the hills. The short cut was indeed that, however, and we got back to the rim about 20 minutes before the mounted party.

At the end of the trip, wet and tired, we went for a coffee ceremony at the tourist office. The coffee is part of the guide service and was much appreciated by all. They passed around toasted barley and peas to munch on and also brought out the terecchi (probably misspelled), which is a type of barley moonshine, much prized by the locals. We all had a shot and were suitably impressed, much better than most of the grappa I’ve tasted and a great deal better than potcheen!

After coffee we started back to Addis via Ambo. On the way to Ambo we passed three knocked out T-55 tanks that had been there since the Derg (the old pro-Communist government) was overthrown in 1991. There had been a major battle outside of Ambo. Once there, we ate at the Ethiopia Hotel, the only building in town with more than two stories (it has seven, so it stands out). The Italians built it in the late 1930’s though it looks very modern in an art deco kinda way. The menu had some amusing translations (I had steak “Gordon Bleu” so I was expecting Charlton Heston’s head on a plate), and a rabbit farm in the garden. Bunnies of all sizes and colours hop around between the tables. A great day away from the city - next weekend I think we’ll go further south to the Rift Valley. I will post some photos of the trip soon.