What a ride... three days from Gondar to Axum, ca 1800 meters of climbing per day, a total of 350 km, half of it being very bad dirt roads. My heart went out to the people on cyclecross bikes... without the front suspension and the low tyre pressure that made it bearable for me! Still, the arms are must as sore as the legs, and more to come, the way to Lalibella will be 4 days, with lots of climbing and dirt roads.
Ethiopia is very, very beautiful. Ethippian kids have however proven a challenge. With a birth rate of nearly six live births per woman, there are a lot of them! When they see you coming, they start with a slight agressive "youyouyou", followed by a more agressive "moneymoneymoney", and if your reaction is not satisfying them -which it never is- this is followed by stones thrown at you. Luckily they are pretty bad at actually hitting you. As one of the first riders, it is not that bad, the slower people at the back have a much harder time. The past few days have been less bad, so we hope for the best!
In between of cycling, there has been some time for sightseeing, getting my hair cut at the Georgeous Hairdresser in Axum, eating a lot of good food and drinking a lot of fresh fruit juices, and cleaning and maintaining my bike. I could get used to this way of living...
