When I thought through the logistics of visiting Abi, I didn’t spend much time thinking about what would happen when we returned to the dusty, dirt road in the middle of nowhere. I never anticipated the reality of being somewhere without a bus station or even routine traffic. So, there we stood, along with 50 other hopeful souls. What we learned from our fellow roadside squatters is that we had three chances of getting out of Dodge…the bus from DebreMarkos (which would roll through sometime around 10am), the bus from Bichena (unpredictable arrival), and the bus from Addis, which if we were lucky would come through no later than 2pm. From that I surmised that our chances were poor at best. What is the likelihood that enough passengers are going to choose to get off the bus in the middle of nowhere to create space for us? And, what are my chances of beating out the other 50 people who all seem to be heading in the same direction as I?
After standing roadside for approximately an hour, the Bichena bus rolled through. We elbowed with the best of them to make our way to the front of the crush only to discover that the bus was not heading to our destination of choice. The ticket taker assured us that the DebreMarkos bus would be arriving shortly and it was heading to our destination. In retrospect, we should have just elbowed our way aboard, but we didn’t. And as luck would have it, the DebreMarkos bus vanished into thin air much like ships traveling through the Bermuda triangle. Feeling a bit desperate and having no desire to sleep alongside the road, we decided to become a bit more aggressive with our approach and a lot less selective. While I guarded our bags, Smith stood in the road with the goal of flagging down any moving vehicle heading north. Two large transport trucks came along shortly and rumbled by as if she were wearing Harry’s invisibility cloak. Perhaps two are better than one? I asked Souwnet to guard our stuff, and joined Smith roadside…or rather roadmiddle. Much to our delight, the next truck to pass through stopped (it was either that or run us over!). Smith clambered aboard, confirmed that they were at least traveling as far as the next town, and without negotiating a price (we knew we’d empty our purses if he asked), we all piled in. Within minutes we had struck up a conversation with Tesfaye (the driver) and learned that he knew of our friend Kristina. What a small world. Tesfaye not only safely brought us to the next town, but refused to accept payment and even bought us lunch. I am truly humbled by the kindness of strangers!
After standing roadside for approximately an hour, the Bichena bus rolled through. We elbowed with the best of them to make our way to the front of the crush only to discover that the bus was not heading to our destination of choice. The ticket taker assured us that the DebreMarkos bus would be arriving shortly and it was heading to our destination. In retrospect, we should have just elbowed our way aboard, but we didn’t. And as luck would have it, the DebreMarkos bus vanished into thin air much like ships traveling through the Bermuda triangle. Feeling a bit desperate and having no desire to sleep alongside the road, we decided to become a bit more aggressive with our approach and a lot less selective. While I guarded our bags, Smith stood in the road with the goal of flagging down any moving vehicle heading north. Two large transport trucks came along shortly and rumbled by as if she were wearing Harry’s invisibility cloak. Perhaps two are better than one? I asked Souwnet to guard our stuff, and joined Smith roadside…or rather roadmiddle. Much to our delight, the next truck to pass through stopped (it was either that or run us over!). Smith clambered aboard, confirmed that they were at least traveling as far as the next town, and without negotiating a price (we knew we’d empty our purses if he asked), we all piled in. Within minutes we had struck up a conversation with Tesfaye (the driver) and learned that he knew of our friend Kristina. What a small world. Tesfaye not only safely brought us to the next town, but refused to accept payment and even bought us lunch. I am truly humbled by the kindness of strangers!
Me standing roadside, “patiently” waiting for a ride north.
The bus we should have elbowed our way onto.
If I didn’t see so many of these trucks crashed and bashed alongside the roads, I would travel this way more often.
This was truly a massive truck.
Ironically, when we rolled into Gundwegn, Souwnet just happened to spot her 15 year old brother, Sintiyew, who lives and attends school there during the week. It was fun to get to know him and a nice surprise for Souwnet.
