Enchanting Ethiopia

Without doubt Ethiopia was one of my most memorable travel experiences. The trip was a spur of the moment decision really; after watching a television programme about the Great Ethiopian Run in Addis Ababa, the capital city, I thought "I wanna do that!". So after very little persuasion my friend Gill agreed to join me and we embarked on our African adventure. We went to Addis to take part in the event which is a 10k run organised by the world famous Ethiopian runner Haile Gebrselassie, along the same lines as the Great North Run in Newcastle. We also took part in the Great North Run before travelling to Ethiopia and raised over £1000.00 for the Asco Children's Centre run by the missionaries of charity in Addis who look after over 400 children who have lost their parents to H.I.V., many of whom also have the disease themselves.

To many people, myself included, Ethiopia evokes certain images, many negative, as we recall the horrendous scenes of the famine in the mid-80's. Indeed, in many parts of the country, drought and crop failures still cause problems today and since our visit, Ethiopia is sadly back in the news again for the wrong reasons. I am a firm believer however, that income from tourism is essential for so many countries, particularly those that are affected by harsh occurrences caused by the weather and other factors. I am happy to say that the pre-conceptions I had were all blown away very quickly after arriving. Far from a depressing place, in Addis Ababa we found a beautiful sprawling city with its own unique charm. The people were exceptionally friendly and as welcoming as I have found anywhere in the world. In addition we felt very safe walking around, both day and night. Yes there are scenes of poverty as this is a fact of life in all corners of the world. But you will also find the people in general are a most industrious bunch and there are European-style coffee shops (the coffee is to die for by the way) that wouldn't look out of place in Rome or Madrid & fashion and jewellery shops, together with signs of ongoing modern developments and economic growth.

There is a good choice of restaurants around the city offering delicious local and international dishes at amazing value as well as some great bars and jazz clubs. There's an Italian influence to parts of the capital as Ethiopia was briefly an Italian colony in the early part of the 20th century.

Apart from visiting the children's centre and the run itself, one of the big highlights was a trip to the Entoto Hills, to the north of the city. The views from here are breathtaking - quite literally as Addis is 2,800m above sea level! As a proud Yorkshireman I can attest that the scenery compares very favourably too! They burn eucalyptus from the trees and the place is simply magical. This is where the serious runners went to do their training and to adapt to the altitude.

All in all Ethiopia is a beautiful country and one that I definitely intend to return to. Next time I will spend longer there to have time to take in some of the sights around the country outside of Addis Ababa. If you have a sense of adventure and are looking for somewhere very different for your holiday then I would certainly recommend this wonderful destination.