The Ethiopian Bus Station at 5am

Airfares are prohibitive in this country, leaving the next best option: the bus. All buses leave around 5:30am, and I am told to report to Gonder's "bus station" at 5. Not a problem. It's pitch-black outside, and I can see through the locked chain-link fence dozens of buses dimly lit by some florescent lights in the distance. Hundreds of people are kept outside in the street, dodging the incoming buses that are also waiting for someone to unlock the gate. Suddenly, noise, fumes, glaring headlights, smoke, and stampeding people mark the beginning of the transport day. It's a mad scrum to find my bus, grab a window seat, and try to ignore or insult the various scam artists who clamber on. I put my head down until they go away. When the buses get going, all is mellow, and my fellow passengers are interesting to chat to, and they look out after you.

Today's challenge is to get from Gonder to Lalibela. I'm told, if I'm really lucky, I might make it in one day, and if not, I will have to stay the night in Gashena--a town that's not even on my map. All goes well, and we only have one flat tire, but the driver is careful. My fellow passenger tells me that we are now passing through Gashena and yells at the driver to stop: Gashena looks as miserable and windswept as anything off the I-80 in Wyoming. I jump off the bus and walk along the road and spot a minibus, parked facing the direction I want to go. I point and ask some people along the road: "Lalibela?" and they nod: Cool! People pack on the bus, standing room only. The driver comes, and I plead my case. Ferenghi prices mean there's always room, and I even score a seat for the two-hour drive up a gravel road: Again, everyone is very helpful and seems to be fascinated that I come from a place where Arnold Schwarzenegger is governor.