Into the Wilderness

"If they do not stop denuding the trees, soon they will have nothing nothing nothing!"
-Sister Evelyn  [The Ethiopia Lonely Planet guidebook states that over 95% of Ethiopia's forests have been denuded thus far]

On Sunday, June 23rd, I found myself bouncing along a bumpy dirt road past baboons and jungle foliage as UNHCR trucks raced past.  Beside me in the old Toyota Landcruiser, a stone-faced Ethiopian driver pushed on the gas while behind me, a small but effervescent Filipino nun named Sister Evelyn provided commentary as the landscape sped by.  I had  parted ways from the rest of the group and flown out of Addis Ababa earlier that afternoon and journeyed to the airport in Gambella, a town in western Ethiopia near the border with South Sudan.  From there, I had met up with Sister Evelyn and her driver en route to the town of Dembi Dollo, which lay three hours up the mountain from Gambella.

Map of western Ethiopia- Gambella on the far left, Dembi Dollo at the red "A" marker, and Addis Ababa on the far right

There was a palpable sense of excitement in the air as we bounded down the unpaved road, deeper and deeper into the forest, bordered on either side solely by wildlife and plantlife without any sign of human inhabitance.  As the truck climbed further up the mountain, the temperature began to drop as did the rain.  After a quick "bathroom" stop, we headed back into the car and drove in the pouring rain past rolling pastoral landscapes.

My mom has been requesting I post a picture of myself... so Hi Mom!

The nicest view I've ever had while using the "bathroom"- even better than Namsan tower in Seoul

About an hour after we had left Gambella, we saw our first houses on the mountain- thatched huts lining the side of the road.  The landscape at this higher elevation reminded me of Kauai- reddish-brown dirt, mountainous terrain, no shortage of rain, and lush, green tropical foliage.

An hour and a half later, after passing by two weddings, a number of men peeing on the road, and kids who excitedly shouted "China!" as I passed, we arrived in the town of Dembi Dollo, which would be my home for the next two months.  It was time for the real work to begin.