I mentioned to Solomon and Andarge that I wanted to go hiking on one of the nearby mountains and they were more than willing to guide me. We met at 8am on Sunday and hitched a free ride with a school van that was headed to Dire Dawa. We were dropped off on the side of the road maybe 10 miles or so from campus. I remembered seeing this area when I drove to Haramaya University for the first time. I never imagined that I’d be climbing the mountains just a few days later!
The mountains here are not frequently climbed for pleasure, so there are no designated routes. The land is owned by various farmers, but usually it isn’t a problem to walk through their land (as long as you don’t take any of their crop yields). I was glad that Solomon and Andarge were with me because we garnered a lot of attention. It’s quite possible that I was the first foreigner to climb this mountain, so I was an exotic sight to see!
The mountains here are not frequently climbed for pleasure, so there are no designated routes. The land is owned by various farmers, but usually it isn’t a problem to walk through their land (as long as you don’t take any of their crop yields). I was glad that Solomon and Andarge were with me because we garnered a lot of attention. It’s quite possible that I was the first foreigner to climb this mountain, so I was an exotic sight to see!
We started near a little village – a complex of maybe a dozen buildings. Before we could climb up the mountain, we first had to descend. There was a small river valley that cut through between the road where we were starting and where we wanted to go. The terrain was a bit tricky to navigate because of loose sand and rocks. Another problem was that the path was so narrow and surrounded in many areas by sharp, desert plants, including cacti. I came home with many scratches on my legs and even my arms, but it was well worth it!
We took a lot of photos along the way, but didn’t take a break until after we reached the first peak. I was sweaty, of course, but felt pretty good considering that my body was still acclimating to the elevation gain. On the way up, we were followed for a while by some children from the village and we also came across a few farmers tending their fields (sorghum and chat). The last part of our climb to the second peak was really steep and rocky, but we were rewarded with an excellent view of the surrounding area. We could see the narrow, winding road to Dire Dawa as well as Lake Alem Maya. I was surprised to find farms and houses on the very top of the peak…how isolated! I tried to touch a donkey that lived on the top of the mountain, but it just wanted to kick me. The cow nearby wasn’t much friendlier!
We took a lot of photos along the way, but didn’t take a break until after we reached the first peak. I was sweaty, of course, but felt pretty good considering that my body was still acclimating to the elevation gain. On the way up, we were followed for a while by some children from the village and we also came across a few farmers tending their fields (sorghum and chat). The last part of our climb to the second peak was really steep and rocky, but we were rewarded with an excellent view of the surrounding area. We could see the narrow, winding road to Dire Dawa as well as Lake Alem Maya. I was surprised to find farms and houses on the very top of the peak…how isolated! I tried to touch a donkey that lived on the top of the mountain, but it just wanted to kick me. The cow nearby wasn’t much friendlier!
We walked to the other side of the peak and started to make our way down toward Lake Alem Maya. Haramaya University is named after this lake because it used to be right next to the school. However, the past 40 years have seen the unfortunate shrinking of this body of water. Solomon and Andarge tell me that there is some kind of proposal to restore the lake over the next few years, so hopefully that will be successful.
On the way down, we ran into an Oromo woman. Solomon asked her the name of the mountain we climbed and she told us that it is called “Ganda Gaaraa Barreedu” which means “beautiful village mountain” in Afaan Oromo. I think this name is very fitting (see my photos for proof). This woman had two little girls with her and one of them literally ran away screaming when she saw me. I was the first foreigner that she has ever seen and she thought I was there to take her away. Even when her mother told her that it was okay, she would not come near. After I gave her mother and sister a piece of Starburst candy, she was finally convinced that I was harmless. It is hard to imagine growing up in such an isolated situation, but I admired the innocence of these children and the simple life they led.
On the way down, we ran into an Oromo woman. Solomon asked her the name of the mountain we climbed and she told us that it is called “Ganda Gaaraa Barreedu” which means “beautiful village mountain” in Afaan Oromo. I think this name is very fitting (see my photos for proof). This woman had two little girls with her and one of them literally ran away screaming when she saw me. I was the first foreigner that she has ever seen and she thought I was there to take her away. Even when her mother told her that it was okay, she would not come near. After I gave her mother and sister a piece of Starburst candy, she was finally convinced that I was harmless. It is hard to imagine growing up in such an isolated situation, but I admired the innocence of these children and the simple life they led.
We ran into more children on the way down. These children were a bit older and were not afraid of me, but still somewhat shy. They were carrying long pieces of wood in the same direction we were going so Solomon and Andarge helped them carry a piece for a while. We finally met up with the main road, but not quite where we had started. We purchased some mandarins and got on a mini-bus for just a short ride to Lake Alem Maya. There are about 100 flamingos that live on the lake and I wanted to get a closer view of them. We could only get so close though because of the marshy, swampy conditions. It was neat to see flamingos in the wild for the first time; they were very light pink colored, almost white. We also saw some local boys swimming in the lake. I was jealous – swimming is my favorite thing to do after a sweaty workout – but I couldn’t trust the sanitary state of the water. A quick dip would not be worth some kind of parasitic infection!
After looking at the lake, we got on another mini-bus to the town of Alem Maya (just 5 km from campus). Since it was past 1pm, we wouldn’t be able to get lunch on campus, so we ate at a hotel in town. We ordered 1 kilo (2.2 lbs) of beef. I went right up to the butcher to pay and see my selection of meat – so fresh! The meat was then cooked with onions and hot green peppers and served to us with injera. Between the three of us, we were almost able to polish it all off!
After looking at the lake, we got on another mini-bus to the town of Alem Maya (just 5 km from campus). Since it was past 1pm, we wouldn’t be able to get lunch on campus, so we ate at a hotel in town. We ordered 1 kilo (2.2 lbs) of beef. I went right up to the butcher to pay and see my selection of meat – so fresh! The meat was then cooked with onions and hot green peppers and served to us with injera. Between the three of us, we were almost able to polish it all off!