Sunday 19 Jan 2014 (11 Tir 2006) to Meskel Square

Sunday 19 Jan 2014 (11 Tir 2006) to Meskel Square

It was around 12:30 PM, and time for a quick bite and maybe a toilet stop.  We were across the street from  Ledet Pastry, housed in a 1930's Italian Moderne building.  Inside the ceilings were very high and airy. There were short tables and benches for sitting and tall wooden tables for standing and sipping.  We selected a chocolate-nut-orange peel bun and a cappucino. 

One of the counter girls was in a very playful mood: she was singing and trying to engage the other girls in a clapping game - no takers.  Carol tried to teach her "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes."  Lots of laughter.

Our first Turkish toilets (porcelain floor - no seat, just squat) of the trip.

The cappucino came - a large glass of steamed milk, and a small shot of coffee. 

On the street, there was a sign for Colgate Herbal, with eucalyptus, myrrh, chamomile and sage among the ingredients.

Our goal: catch a bus to the Selam Bus office in a different part of town. We needed to verify our bus tickets to Bahir Dar, departing Tuesday AM.  We had reserved the tickets on the computer before we left Atlanta. The computer website had not asked for a credit card number at that time, so we had registered but not formally paid.

Our Bradt and Lonely Planet guide books showed different spots for the Selam Bus office. The Bradt showed it at Legeher (the old railway station neighborhood: Le Gare); the Lonely Planet showed it at Meskel Square, not quite a kilometer away. 

Large numbers of buses were going everywhere at Merkato, but were there any going to Legeher, or Meskel, or even Mexico Square? [From west to east: Mexico, Legeher, Meskel - close to a km between each.]  After about 12 different answers, we found a small billboard with a table listing all buses leaving from Merkato.  Translating the Amharic letters, we couldn't find any to anything that sounded like Mexico, Legeher, or Meskel.

Time to recalibrate. We got on a bus for Piazza, going back to our familiar homebase where we knew that there would be buses to our destination.  So 30 or 40 minutes after we started our search for the bus we needed, we were on our way. 

We paid the fares of 2 birr each and got what we thought were transfers. The digital clock on the bus read 7:08 (the real "European time" was just after 1PM [never forget that time bump]). Not a chance that our 'transfers' would work: what we had received when we boarded were just receipts of payment.  A short ride later we got off near Piazza, and waited for a bus going to any of our possible destinations. 

Finally, a 6 bus came along, going to Mexico Square. After a several km ride, we got off.  There across the street was a small fair, with music.  It cost 2 birr each to enter.  There were lots of micro businesses displaying their products: ie, a development expo. 

What caught our attention was a mushroom business, Ethio Mushroom and Spawn.  Mushrooms - the perfect fasting food for the Ethiopian Abyssinian Orthodox, who modify their diets on every Wednesday and Friday.  Cooks were cutting up lots of mushrooms, adding veggies and onions, and making a spiced stew. 

We ordered a 'mushroom burger' for 25 birr, sat and watched. Finally our Sloppy Joe-style sandwich was in line for completion.  As the cooks assembled the mushroom on a bun, we called out No Lettuce, No Tomato - uncooked veggies can equal tummy trouble.  We shared the burger. It was really delicious.

At the end of the aisle of businesses was Mulu Tej.  Tej is a honey wine: you want to get pure 100% honey wine that has not been cut with sugar. We wanted to taste it directly from the producer, so we ordered one for 15 birr (80 cents).  The woman owner poured a portion into a long-necked bulbous vessel, and we drank away.  Very light and pleasant.  Thus lightly buzzed, we walked down to Mexico Square proper. 

Now about 200 meters away, in the square (which was totally under construction), we found a Timket parade. We joined the fun for a few minutes.  There was an enthusaistic group of white-clad men and women surrounding a drummer.  People were singing along, jumping, and ululating.  A group of youths ran by, waving their walking sticks, much to the delight of everyone.

The entire roadway, from Meskel to Mexico (with Legeher in between), is torn up.  Addis is constructing a long east-west urban elevated train line.  In order to do so, they have closed the rights-of-way completely, the whole length.  This is sort of like closing Peachtree Street in Atlanta from downtown to Buckhead, without providing a detour.

So we walked on a rocky dirt path towards Legeher, next to the hole in the ground and the elevated line being constructed pylon by pylon. 

Finally, we got to Legeher, looked around, and realized that Bradt was WRONG about the Selam offices. Nothing to do but continue on. We were tired, out of water, and really beat.  But we needed to get to Meskel.  We passed a stadium with a football (soccer to you) game in process. We got picked up by a guy trying to sell us "Amharic for Foreigners," and with his help finally made it to the Selam Bus offices (Carol thinks that we were so befuddled by this point that might never have made it to our destination alone; Mike demurs).

At Selam, the first thing we determined was that we had not really made a reservation.  The second thing we learned was that the Tuesday bus to Bahir Dar was sold out - "finished".  A ticket for that bus would have cost 334 birr (apx $18).  We could either (1) stay in Addis an extra day and travel onward on Wednesday or (2) buy a Gonder ticket for Tuesday for 435 birr ($23 US).  Gonder is 178 km past Bahir Dar, we would have to abandon the bus early as it passes through Bahir Dar, thus forfeiting the rest of the ticket.  So that is what we did. It was time to leave AA, and time trumps money.

The bus to Gonder was scheduled to leave at 5:30 am from Meskel Square; passengers need to be there by 5:00 AM (the 11:00 Ethiopian time on the ticket).

Thus finally ticketed, we needed to find a bus back to Piassa in order to collapse.  Across the street from the Selam offices, all the buses were going in the wrong direction for us.  However, up a broad leafy stairway, there was a church (Kidus Istafanos [St. Stephen]), and some sort of Timket celebration.

Quote from Bradt: "...Built during the Haile Selassie era, this church is notable for the mosaic above the main entrance, depicting the martyrdom of its namesake...  On Festival days and Sundays, white robed worshipers congregate . . . a scene characteristic of rural Ethiopia, but transplanted to the big city."

Lots of well-dressed people were carrying umbrellas: both to protect themselves from the sun, and as part of Orthodox worship. There were many many many speakers, many many prayers (was it in Amharic or in the liturgical language of Ge'ez?). We lasted for 15 minutes.  It was now around 4:30 PM.

Back across the street there was a OiLibia gas station. Gas station = BATHROOMS. Yaaaay.

Mike watched people pumping gas.  Note: gas in Addis sells for 19.96 birr per liter. That works out to just less than $4 US per gallon.  He also read some of the attendant's notes, with a heading that read "11/05/06."  What could that heading possibly mean? Perhaps the 11th day of the 5th month (Tir) of the year 2006.

We later confirmed that the date was correct.  SO, our first post showing Saturday as 9 Tir was wrong; it was really 10 Tir.  As we started paying attention to dates, it turns that all sorts of receipts show the date as 11 Tir 2006, and the time in Ethiopian time.

We caught a minibus back to Piassa, walked to our hotel, took showers, and relaxed. 

Toward 7 PM we went back to KG Corner for dinner, This time we ordered shiro (a spiced chickpea puree) and fish goulash (a stew made with fried fish), And, of course, two macchiatos.  Delicious! 

On to an Internet cafe, then back to Taitu.

And so to bed...