Leo Lyons Photography

Refurbishment under way - please forgive the mess and broken links

Occasional musings

On music, politics, travel....
View of under canopy of a dragon tree in La Gomera (El Drago)

Debre Markos – perhaps

4th August 2011

Monday Lunchtime start on the road to Debre Marcos . Hilton staff helpful and joshing as we pack the 4x4s. Then off through the suburbs of Addis . Teeming with activity and humanity and every type of vehicle imaginable – nearly all of them totally dilapidated.  Once out of Addis we pick up speed and pretty much maintain it at all times. This seems to be the norm. It is scary but again not really aggressive driving. The concept of slowing down when you enter a village does not exist. Horn used constantly just to say we are coming

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Mercato

31st July 2011

Mercato is apparently Africa’s biggest outdoor market. But if that gives the impression of acres of canvas covered stalls it is not like that all. It is more a vast area dedicated to trading. Yes there are pitches on the streets but there are also wooden shacks, corrugated iron shacks, mud wall buildings and indoor arcades. And you can buy just about anything – including apparently camels though we did not see any. A few words to sum up my thoughts about Mercato would include chaotic, muddy, noisy, confusing, and bewildering. The guide books all issue dire warnings about

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Arrived

29th July 2011

  Arrived in Addis late Thursday. Not too crazy at airport. Queued for visa (very pretty). Went to bag reclaim and found the zip on pack from my big pack missing and all straps undone. Resigned myself to buying new socks and pants and could not remember what else was in there. Then it turned up. Hard to believe it detached itself… Rebecca & Johnny at airport. Weather warm but very humid. Took shuttle to hotel through endless streets lined with green and yellow striped corrugated iron and dozens of shack shops with shelves piled high with everything imaginable.

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