The Last Frontier :: Addis Ababa to Negele Borena
Part I
A two-day bus ride took me through the Great Rift Valley to Negele Borena. Moving fast on the paved road from Addis Ababa we passed many lakes and fertile grounds along the road to Awasa. Stopping at those lakes and towns is still on my travel list, but at this time my destination is Negele Borena, a frontier town in southeastern Ethiopia. After we passed Awasa through a rain storm, our road turns up the hill and the bumpy road rises into the forest. We stay overnight in the small, but busy mountain town of Aleta Wondo. Thankfully the lady in the bus next to me took me along to a little hotel. We have time for a quick dinner and chai and we go to bed early as the night is short and we continue our journey to Negele Borena at 5am the next morning. The bumpy road leads us to higher mountain terrain and I can still see the full moon over Aleta Wondo down in the valley. As the daylight increases I can see the magical forest, sprinkled with lilac and yellow flowers. People are still sleeping in their huts along the road, but I can see the smoke rising from some roofs. The firewood is stacked orderly in front of the huts and I can only imagine that they just started the morning fire to warm up their little houses. The road goes up and down and the landscape is lush and green since it’s the end of the raining season. It is chilly outside and the sun has not come out. Fog lingers over the landscape and we pass along some seemingly thick rainforest. After many hours driving through the mountains the road starts to decent to the lowlands. The forest is less thick, but the trees are tall and the landscape started to remind me of Kenya or South Africa. The soil is red and the trees are green from the recent rain. Many termite mounts tower over the bushes and trees and give the landscape a whole new taste. Everyone on the bus knows we are near Negele Borena and we can see the town from far in the distance in the lowland. We have landed in southeast Ethiopia. This is the road to Mogadishu and the border to Somalia is not far - about 400km. Finally in the afternoon we arrive in Negele Borena and I find a hotel on the other side of town. I made new friends on the bus, people who are also on the way to Dollo Ado. We will continue on the same path for the next few days. This is just the beginning of the adventure to Dollo Ado - the last frontier or “the wild east”, as I call it. Stay tuned!
