Ambo, redux
I got a little off topic in my last post! Here are my photos from Ambo. My first thought when driving through the phenomenally precipitous valleys and lush greenery was: "Where are the hobbits?" For those of who who have seen Lord of the Rings (including Kat, who has repeatedly asked for those 3 hours of her life back--what sacrilege!), the landscape here in Western Ethiopia is strangely reminiscent of The Shire (or rather, southern New Zealand.)
The road to Lake Wenchi was over a mountain pass that required 4-wheel drive and a young boy standing at attention at a small creek running across the road, creating a deep crevice. When we approached he picked up several large rocks lying in the creek and wedged them under our tires so we could cross without ripping off our undercarriage. I would have taken photos of this but I was too busy grasping the side handles of the SUV and trying not to fall into the windshield.
We finally reached the lake shores, wedged more stones under our tires to prevent rolling into the lake, and I fell out of the car, as green as the fields surrounding us, to the amusement of the gathering village men. This is where the infamous bathroom search took place.
The round huts you see in the distance are tukuls: traditional houses.
On the way back, waiting for the boy to create another bridge for us at the creek, three young girls approached and B. called them over. Only one was bold enough to talk to him; she had an axe slung over her shoulder, clear brown skin and eyes, and stained front teeth. They had a brief discussion and B. later told me he asked her if she went to school. She replied that there was no school in the village; she had never been to school and spent her days gathering firewood (her escorts, one of which appeared to be about 5 years old, were carrying what looked like 30 kilos of firewood bundled on their backs, secured with fraying ropes.) B. advised her to go to school if she could, and to not get married until she had finished school. She was 13, and probably already engaged. These boys were less timid, and wanted me to take their pictures:
Below is a photo of the deforestation taking place in Ambo, a sadly all-too-common scene in Ethiopia, whose once lush forests are decimated and whose native plantlife, trees in particular, has been almost wiped out by the fast-growing, soil-ruining eucalyptus.
posted by Margot @ 7:50 AM
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