Day 148
Sleeping location: Someone’s house (?), Kul Mesk, Ethiopia
Distance (km today/total): 41 / 10821
Estimated climb (m today/total): 800 / 75500
Amount of the day that was easy: 0%
Distance (km today/total): 41 / 10821
Estimated climb (m today/total): 800 / 75500
Amount of the day that was easy: 0%
Day in three words: Dirt of doom
As usual after an extended stay somewhere it took ages to get up and out, not helped by very slow service at breakfast. On the way out of town we went to a petrol station to get petrol for the stove, but was told to try “the black market”. The black market was accessed by a youth selling bananas, who took me to a man pouring petrol out of jerry cans into whatever vessel or vehicle was provided. The pricing appeared to be done entirely by guesswork, but it was only 50p for another month’s worth of fuel, so can’t complain.
The first 10km out of Lalibela was a weird mixture of tarmac, dirt, rock and bump, never the same for more than a km or two. After we turned off this “main” “road” things became more consistent...as loose dirt and gravel on a bumpy surface. The road then kept making murderously steep descents into dry riverbeds, followed by murderously steep climbs back out of them. It was an absolute nightmare on this surface, and I lost it a few times but always managed to get going again, which was a relief as pushing on this skiddy dirt would have been awful. The kids were also a total pain on the steep bits and wouldn’t go away, constantly asking for pens or money (or in one case LSD, which I assume I misheard). On one super technical bit I had to ask a passing car to tell them to leave me alone as I couldn’t concentrate on them and the road at the same time. The views, the same ones as we got on the pickup truck ride to Lalibela, were sensational but I was often too occupied to enjoy them.
In a village I made a solo detour to a church which Rebecca wasn’t bothered about. It was a km up a steep dirt track and I of course had a group of kids stalk me the whole way. The last section up to the church was too steep and bumpy to even push the bike, and I couldn’t leave it unattended because the kids would clearly steal everything off it*, so I had to go back down without seeing the church. At least there was a family of small grey monkeys and a big weasel thing at the top to make it slightly worthwhile.
The road turned into tarmac for the last 500m into Kulmersk, the town where we got the lift from on the way to Lalibela, but of course it was a 15% climb just to make it interesting. I went to the same cafe and had the same meal as four days ago; the guy recognised me, as did the pen kid, who rocked up in a bizarre frilly denim jacket and started his pen chants again. Rebecca arrived about 5pm and we decided to call it a day as it had been brutal riding. I asked the cafe guy about somewhere to stay, and he took me to someone’s house where the guy asked, with a straight face, for $50 for a mattress on the floor. I laughed in his straight face, so he went to $25, so I laughed in his straight face some more and left. The cafe guy then took me to a better room which was ours for 100 Birr ($3). It was seemingly in someone’s house and they seemed totally nonplussed that we were there, which was an odd feeling. After the sun went down I started to feel weirdly cold and had to wear most of my clothes to go out for food. Rebecca was also feeling less than ideal so we both went to bed by 9ish.
*This is a legitimate fear: Rebecca has had loads of stuff stolen and only some of it returned by helpful adults. My losses have been restricted to the poo trowel, but it was a sad loss.
The first 10km out of Lalibela was a weird mixture of tarmac, dirt, rock and bump, never the same for more than a km or two. After we turned off this “main” “road” things became more consistent...as loose dirt and gravel on a bumpy surface. The road then kept making murderously steep descents into dry riverbeds, followed by murderously steep climbs back out of them. It was an absolute nightmare on this surface, and I lost it a few times but always managed to get going again, which was a relief as pushing on this skiddy dirt would have been awful. The kids were also a total pain on the steep bits and wouldn’t go away, constantly asking for pens or money (or in one case LSD, which I assume I misheard). On one super technical bit I had to ask a passing car to tell them to leave me alone as I couldn’t concentrate on them and the road at the same time. The views, the same ones as we got on the pickup truck ride to Lalibela, were sensational but I was often too occupied to enjoy them.
In a village I made a solo detour to a church which Rebecca wasn’t bothered about. It was a km up a steep dirt track and I of course had a group of kids stalk me the whole way. The last section up to the church was too steep and bumpy to even push the bike, and I couldn’t leave it unattended because the kids would clearly steal everything off it*, so I had to go back down without seeing the church. At least there was a family of small grey monkeys and a big weasel thing at the top to make it slightly worthwhile.
The road turned into tarmac for the last 500m into Kulmersk, the town where we got the lift from on the way to Lalibela, but of course it was a 15% climb just to make it interesting. I went to the same cafe and had the same meal as four days ago; the guy recognised me, as did the pen kid, who rocked up in a bizarre frilly denim jacket and started his pen chants again. Rebecca arrived about 5pm and we decided to call it a day as it had been brutal riding. I asked the cafe guy about somewhere to stay, and he took me to someone’s house where the guy asked, with a straight face, for $50 for a mattress on the floor. I laughed in his straight face, so he went to $25, so I laughed in his straight face some more and left. The cafe guy then took me to a better room which was ours for 100 Birr ($3). It was seemingly in someone’s house and they seemed totally nonplussed that we were there, which was an odd feeling. After the sun went down I started to feel weirdly cold and had to wear most of my clothes to go out for food. Rebecca was also feeling less than ideal so we both went to bed by 9ish.
*This is a legitimate fear: Rebecca has had loads of stuff stolen and only some of it returned by helpful adults. My losses have been restricted to the poo trowel, but it was a sad loss.
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