Asfaw was overjoyed to see me again, and said he had upgraded me to his deluxe room. Actually it was a vast suite with sitting area and very large bathroom, which I certainly enjoyed after the Danakill. I relaxed.


The following day I ventured into town to use the internet at the main hotel and also found out that everyone from the trip had already left . I did though bump into Stefan, from Salzburg who also had the same idea. I tried to recruit him onto my Omo trip with Emanuel, but he was already sorted with another guide. But we did exchange numbers in case something went wrong. I then met Mekelle and planned the trip to Tigray for the next day. After that he took me off to another side street restaurant for a lunch of “a rosto” which sounded Italian for a roast - and that was exactly what it was. Roast beef, with spinach and rice. Unfortunately the waiter was an arse, whipping the refuse on the table (used paper napkins, bones and spilt food) onto my lap and then getting aggro when I refused to tip him.


The next morning I caught a bus with Mekelle to Wukro, where the locals were enjoying the last day of a large sporting festival. After a tasty breakfast we caught a local minibus towards Teka. Before the village, we alighted and walked the four kilometres to Medhane Alem Kesho. The walk through the villages and fields was most enjoyable and we had some nice encounters with local people. The final approach to the church was up a steep rocky hill giving great views of the surrounding area. This church is one of the oldest of all Tigray and considerably older than those in Lalibela. Inside the 6th century rock hewn church the carvings were high up on the ceiling and were intricate, but not as extravagant as those in Lalibela . Naturally as this hand carved church was estimated to be at least 600 years older than those I had visited in the south this was hardly surprising.


Mekelle found the local priest and he opened up the church, although several of the areas inside were out of bounds to anyone except the clergy. He used a simple but hugely effectively wooden key, that appeared to be just a piece of wood to gain entrance. The building had a similar atmosphere to those in Lalibela and we stayed for a while before picnicking in the grounds.


Back at Wukro it took us four hours to catch a minibus back to Mekele, which Mekelle found quite frustrating. I though, found the site of all the festival goers queuing and pleading for lifts quite entertaining. Finally back at Mekele I said goodbye to Mekelle and packed.


The Salam Luxury Bus to Addis left the next morning at 5 .30am with the usual 4.45am checkin chaos. The 14 hour journey was more comfortable then my more recent bus experiences and I met some nice people, but it was rather monotonous, especially when trying to guess the meaning of Ethiopian movies.


Back in Addis it was great to be back at Yeshi’s guesthouse and the three Canadians, were also there. Michelle, Ge and Jose were very entertaining whilst they were there and we all had a good time. I was there to sort out my trip with Emanuel and we met the next day in the fashionable district of Bole. I had already explained I was not keen on going on a motorcycle, after what Rick & Cathy mentioned whilst we were travelling in the Danakill. However I was unprepared for what Emanuel charged for a 4x4 hire, and the whole trip ballooned to well over $2000. This made it imperative to find some travelling companions, so I told him it was essential to give me an additional two days.


The next two days was spent running around Addis. I spoke to several people I had met in Danakill, but nothing seemed to work. I even managed to met up with You, Shu and Rose the Chinese family from Shanghai who had been in the Danakill, but unfortunately their dates were not suitable.


Reluctantly, I told Emanuel it was either a motorbike or no trip, yet after a few hours he came back to me saying that the people renting motorbikes in the South were now not renting as they viewed the trip as unsafe. This was the final straw as I reluctantly deduced that I had to find another alternative. I phoned Stefan and after a quick calculation released that if I joined his trip it would save me well over $1000. So the decision was made.


Unfortunately this involved a further four days wait for Stefan, as the trip was due to start in Jinka over 900 kms away. I waited two days at Yeshi’s, re-organised my flight ticket again and met up with Henok. The Canadians soon departed and I decided to wait in Abra Minch (which was warmer as Addis was getting cold) so endured a 12 hour bus trip there with four changes. Abra Minch was on the way to Jinka so at least it was in the right direction.


There I found a nice hotel and rested up for the final two days. This was just what I needed as I was exhausted and it was warm. I just read for the next few days and avoided the overcharging Bajaj (auto rickshaw) drivers and relaxed, preparing for the six day trip to the Omo.