Yabello (Days 43-44)
By admin. Filed in Ethiopia |
South of our camp in the dry lake bed, the road was sparsely populated and peaceful. There was a lot of downhill terrain to enjoy and more lush green vegetation. We had some rain during the ride, but not enough to crush my spirits—we were on our way to another rest day. My knees barely survived the long ride. The incredible amount of unexpected climbing the day before destroyed them. If not for the rest day, I might have had to ride the truck.
The booming metropolis of Yabello was a bit of a disappointment. We camped on the grounds of a hotel. The only place to eat in town was our hotel restaurant, where the service was phenomenally incompetent. The waiters definitely played favorites, and I definitely wasn’t one of the favorites. They would actively avoid me once it became obvious that just ignoring me wouldn’t make me go away. If I waved, they would wave back and walk away. If I tapped them on the shoulder, they would pull away, and if I stood in front of them, they would push me out of the way. Nobody had good results. People spent two to three hours of pestering to get an order of fries. The bills were never right, and the waiters had to be cornered if we wanted change. The best results came from going the kitchen and placing the orders ourselves.
Aside from the food, the other surprises included a complete lack of Internet access in the town. There was also only one shop with food, and it was nearly sold out by the time I had arrived. Electricity was often unavailable, or worse—stuck in an electronic-damaging 70-volt brownout. Finally, I washed my clothes immediately when we arrived and hung them out on a line to dry, where they sat through the rainstorm that started just after dark. I spent most of the rest of the rest day creatively hanging/wringing things out trying to get them to dry.