Ethiopia (November-December
2013)
Korem to Tenta (2): From Camp 2
to Camp 4 (Muja)
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Return to main Ethiopia November-December 2013 webpage
To
see the map of the trek with the plot of the waypoints in another tab, click here.
To see the waypoints in Google Earth, click here.
Our
2nd camp was slightly above 3000m and the night there was quite chilly.
But
the early sunlight was beautiful and instantly warm.
After
passing by a few villages like this one ...
...
we reached and crossed the first significant river (Tsuray). All of us (like Gebru on
the right) bathed in the river.
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After
a long ascent from the river, we reached a small group of houses. I pitched my
tent near this one (Camp 3). We were even higher than at the previous camp and
again the night turned out chilly.
On
the following morning, we started climbing again. On that day there was a
market higher up on the ridge. Many people were going there, most with goods (grains,
vegetables, eggs, ...) and animals to sell or
exchange.
Scenery
along the way that gives a good sense of all the ups and downs that are
involved when hiking in this region of Ethiopia.
Finally,
we reached the market place on the ridge.
The
market was not huge, but well attended. In fact, I will see several other such
markets during the trek. For most people living here, there is a weekly market within
a distance of 10-15km. So, during a long trek it is not surprising to see
several of them. Most people go to a market and return home during the same
day. For that reason, markets are very active for a few hours only (about 3) in
the middle of the day. Later, I also noticed that many people don′t
travel further than their nearby markets. Indeed, on most days, we were hiring
a local man and a donkey to carry some of our loads (mainly food and kerosene).
This local man was also supposed to help us as a one-day guide. But it was
often the case that a few kilometers away from his house he was no longer
familiar with the trail and had to ask more local people for direction.
Selling
hot chilis and teff. Teff is a very small grain. Its flour is used to make injera, a flatbread/pancake with
a slightly spongy texture. Chilis are used to spice
the stews that are spread over injera before eating.
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Buying
and selling animals is another important market activity.
Most
markets are also equipped with rudimentary restaurants.
The
market seen from another viewpoint as we were starting our descent toward the
small town of Muja (more than a 1000 meters lower in elevation).
Scenery
on our way down to Muja.
To
avoid faranji hysteria in Muja, Dirar
and I contoured the small town (a rather ugly one anyway), while Gebru and Gebrehiwet went buying some food for the following days.
We put our 4th camp in a quiet area slightly outside the town (at
its southern end).
Other
sections of the trek:
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