Excursion to Wenchi Crater Lake, January 17

A last minute phone call put the Bardens and ourselves in one of two SUVs. Sven Kiplisund and Joey Johnson joined us, with Einar driving and Peer, Gru, and the Koning twins, 11 adventurers in all. We headed to Ambo, 110 kilometers from Addis, with decent paved roads. We stopped at a restaurant for coffee and then arrived at the Wenchi Crater Lake in early afternoon. We had to stop and tend to one of the cars when it overheated at the high altitude. This is Oromo tribal country, and our Amharic speakers could not communicate verbally. We parked and climbed up 50 or so meters to reach the rim of the crater. As we peered over the rim with each ascending step, it was breath-taking to look down into the crater and see the lake with islands in miniature from this height. It had an ethereal feeling in the stillness of the afternoon. The paths around us were flush with fragrant wild oregano. It was well worth the lengthy drive for these moments of visual and olfactory stimulation.
    Our car had cooled and decided to behave for the time being. We loaded up and drove on unpaved roads without incident to Negash Lodge in Wolliso. The road was under construction, and we had to wind through some unpaved and rough village streets, but then came upon this inviting lodge compound with bougainvillea and other horticultural delights. We had an incredible lunch on the veranda and then headed for home. The second car just went dead about 50 kilometers from Addis, in a small village. The mechanically minded members of our group could not diagnose the problem nor could anyone get the beast to advance one meter further. Villagers came from everywhere and were perplexed to see our men pushing the car to the side of the road (that’s a woman’s job!). After some discussion with the village elders, the car was left, and all 11 of us piled into the remaining car! It was cozy and cramped, but we were all happy to have had a wonderful day of sightseeing and adventure and were joyous of a safe return home together. (See slideshow in sidebar.)

-- Don