Topic: Hello from Madagascar - Errr...Ethiopia...Canada...56k, no f'in way

[AdamMc]

Despite your comments, your journal is really making me think about my boring office job.  It really gives me the urge to sign up for Habitat for humanity in some 3rd world location so i can help build homes for people in need for a few years. 

Or Maybe i just need a vacation some where outside of Canada.

[pistachoo]

Booked up an appt for Tuesday there

Are you back home?

[mudferret]

Oh yeah, I'm home 

Will have to sort through my pics and do a mass upload.  I realized today that I haven't sorted through my pics from last fall either. 

[mudferret]

Uploaded a bunch of pics, hard to tell if I picked the good ones in the small preview screen and I should really sort through all my pictures at some point and cull out the crap, I'm about 2 years behind...  Here's a small sampling, the rest can be found here: http://s90.photobucket.com/albums/k254/maynardx/Ethiopia/

Addis Ababa


Oops, they did manage to rescue the "scaffolding" and no one died


"Hotel" in the nomadic village near camp; Germans like paying a lot of money to stay here


The volcano trip, Antenna's first time in a chopper, he was pretty stoked








Mt Dallol, Sulpher springs and mine from the 50's - 60's








Salt Miners

[mudferret]

Interesting thing to note; you'll notice how thin the salt miner's appendages are, you can't accuse these guys of being overfed, but they're not starving.  It's an adaptation to the heat.  Even very well fed, wealthy people in the capital city share the same body structure.  A BBC documentary on the area called "The Hottest Place on Earth" looked into this, the thinner body is more efficient at shedding heat.  The Afari's can also get by on much, much less water than we can, and their bodies run much cooler in the heat.

Daily mean temperature during my visit to camp was 37.X C, a low of 32C and a high of 46C, August should be into the mid 50's.  This is the first proper weather station in the area since the 60's.  At that point the area had the highest daily mean temperature on earth for ~10 years (34.X C).

[mudferret]

"Progress?"

A new cell tower scarring the landscape.  The cell phone is king in Africa.  Likely the govt's reaction to the influx of mining/exploration companies to the area.  It was inevitable either way, but likely got fast tracked.  Seldom a clear day as you can see, this was one of the clearer days.

[mudferret]

Processed one of the photos from above, looks much more like it did in person now.

[mudferret]

Damnit, volcano erupted Sunday in Eritrea.  The Eritrean border is to the north, and east of where I was.  Same volcanic chain as the one I camped on, but further to the east.

[saar]

Been lurking on this thread for a while now now, living vicariously through you.

Thank you for posting this, it's amazing.

[mudferret]

Thanks, it's a hard life at times, but I'm thankful I get to see areas that a lot of people, including myself would never see.  I really should work at taking better photos, or at least deleting the junk, I've become much to apathetic/complacent and don't take the time to compose shots and shoot them well.  I'll likely be back in Ethiopia again, and possibly Burkina Faso this fall.

[mudferret]

Okay, in the past little while:

mudferret, would you like to go to Burkina Faso?  Yes, yes I would. - now on back burner.

mudferret, would you like to go to the Ivory Coast?  Yes, yes I would. - wishful thinking on my boss's part I think.

mudferret, would you like to go to Australia?  Yes, tell Australia to lock its doors. - this will likely be a go, we've got 2 people over there right now and the client requested me.  Will be a 6 week on, 2 off rotation, or something similar. 

[MRS.Bignerd]

Australia would be nice no??

[mudferret]

Should be, and I'll be working with a few people that I really enjoy working with as well. 

[mudferret]

Haven't traveled in a bloody year and a half, I hate being office bound.  So I was pretty stoked when my boss just asked me if I want to go to Eritrea.  Essentially just over the border from where I was in Ethiopia, 50 to 100 km away if I had to guess.

[basrah]

If you get a chance to go to Burkina Faso or Ivory Coast, or anywhere in West Africa, I highly suggest it! I did a trip to Senegal and Sierra Leone this time last year and it was amazing. The beaches were the best out of anywhere I have ever been, and there is so much to see and do while there. If you somehow end up in Sierra Leone let me know. I have a huge stack of their money left over and it is useless anywhere except there.

[pistachoo]

If you somehow end up in Sierra Leone let me know. I have a huge stack of their money left over and it is useless anywhere except there.

lol... this almost sounds like a Nigerian prince scam in reverse! "Help me move my inheritance of leone from Canada safely to Sierra Leone and be handsomely rewarded!"

[mudferret]

If you get a chance to go to Burkina Faso or Ivory Coast, or anywhere in West Africa, I highly suggest it! I did a trip to Senegal and Sierra Leone this time last year and it was amazing. The beaches were the best out of anywhere I have ever been, and there is so much to see and do while there. If you somehow end up in Sierra Leone let me know. I have a huge stack of their money left over and it is useless anywhere except there.

Someday hopefully.  APU I haven't been updated on Eritrea lately 

Working in the office is killing adventurous Rob.