Axum to Gondar

by Daniel

Traveling from Axum to Gondar is an adventure in itself. The basics: Either you fly (via Lalibela) or you do it it the hard way :-)
Doing it the hard way means getting a minibus first from Axum to Shire (max. 25 Birr, should be less), preferably in the afternoon. There is not much to do or see in Shire (correct me if I am wrong). I came very early in the morning but was still too late for the Gondar Bus. At the bus station people will try to sell you a contracted minibus for horrendous prices and some will also tell you that the bus does not exist. It does exist.

At the bus station I met two Israeli girls who were also stranded - Rinat and Yarden. We decided to get a hotel (Sirit Hotel, 160 Birr) across the bus station in Shire and then hung out together, walking through town and trying to find a decent juice shop with other than plain avocado juice (we ended up going to the market and buying bananas which we asked to be mixed with the avocado at the juice bar). Later on we tried to buy tickets for the morning bus, only to be informed that the bus was already completely booked. However, the ticket seller was confident that we could get a seat the next morning, still, we left feeling uneasy. Another night in that crappy hotel where you wouldn't dare to enter the bathroom? In a place with next to nothing to do?

It became an early night with mosquito-interrupted sleep and at 5.15 am we hauled ourselves tired as a bunch of sloths to the bus station. We were too early, just to make sure to get that bus. So we waited for half an hour with an ever growing crowd of local travelers at the gates of the bus station. Eventually, someone opened the gates - just for us three. It was yesterdays ticket vendor. Expecting another attempt to scam us we wearily followed him to his office. However, he turned out to be our saviour. After selling us tickets (180 Birr) he showed us the bus and told us to get a seat - and not leave it. After I put my backpack on my window seat I realized why.

When the gates of the bus station opened all the locals who waited outside poured into the bus station running towards their respective buses. Within a minute our bus filled up with people trying to get a seat. Interestingly there was no fighting or shouting. Had we been trying to do the same we would have stood no chance to make it to the bus. It also turned out that, despite the bus being already fully booked, that nice dude at the ticket office somehow managed to get us a seat for no extra charge. Unfortunately we did not see him again to really thank him.

Feeling relieved when the crowded bus left, we embarked on maybe the most scenic road in Ethiopia. Built during fascist Italy's short occupation as a means to quickly move troops through the remote mountains of western Tigray and northern Amhara the roads winds from valley to valley over countless mountain ranges. Villages float by with sheperds using the road as a suitable passageway for theit herds of sheep, goats, cows and donkeys. The closer you get to the Simiens the more spectacular the landscape becomes with giant vertical mountains looming in the distance.

Eventually we reached the first Army checkpoint. With protests being raged in Amhara and Oromia regions, the security situation has worsened. We were all asked to get outside the bus and a couple of militiamen climbed onto the bus roof to open every single bag. After an hour long control of bags and passports we were allowed to proceed with three more checkpoints following.

After a lunchbreak in Adi Arkay - a rural town at the foot of the mighty Simien mountains - the paved road ended and a narrow gravel road starts to slowly wind its way up up up, bend after bend, at times forcing you to look into a deep vertical abyss. The road passes steep cliffs and roaring waterfalls filled up by the rainy season - and the natural surroundings begin to change. The higher you get the denser the mountain forest becomes, with black and white gibbons swinging in moss-clad trees and grass-chewing baboons sitting peacefully on the mountain side. This stretch of road is in itself worth a trip.

After a lot of aching our old Tata bus made it up to the plateau, reaching Debark at two o'clock. The Israelis disembarked and I continued with the locals, chatting away with a construction worker sitting next to me. At five in the afternoon, after an 11-hour journey crammed into my seat like a sardine I arrived in Gondar - tired, my shoulder hurting from constantly bouncing against the window yet full of unforgettable views and memories.