It is big and it is high in the sky!  The 2008 census shows that 3.4 million people live in Addis Ababa. It is the 12th largest city in Africa. What really surprised me was the city sits at an elevation of 2355 meters( 7726 feet)! No wonder I am seem a bit out of breath! Trivia for the day: Addis Ababa is the 5th highest capital city in the world; La Paz, Bolivia is #1.

Addis Ababa means “New Flower” and it is the capital of Ethiopia. It is commonly simply referred to as “Addis”. The headquarters of the African Union is here and Addis is often considered to be the diplomatic capital of Africa. Although the area was populated in medieval times the city is relatively new, founded in 1886 by Emperor Menelik II. An interesting story about Emperor Menelik. He was intrigued by technology and learned about the invention of the electric chair in America. He wanted one and got it, only to realize Ethiopia did not have electricity at the time!

Because of its elevation and location near the equator the climate of Addis Ababa is moderate. The dry season runs from November to March, followed by a rainy season from June to September. Daytime temperatures  now are in the mid 70s with nighttime temperatures in the upper 40s. We were warned to bring jackets or sweaters to protect against the evening chill. Today it was 50 degrees when I got up and it is expected to reach 78 degrees later in the day. These temperatures are expected the next week with no rain in sight- ideal sightseeing conditions.

I awoke refreshed and ready to tackle the day, starting with breakfast. The breakfast area and food selection are what one would expect from any major hotel in the world. It was good and the Ethiopian coffee is outstanding!

I found a note from our tour leader, Chris Tripodi, under my door, stating we would be meeting at 6:30 PM to go to a local restaurant for an introductory group dinner. I intend to spend the day exploring the local area around the hotel, working on my blog and probably taking a nap before meeting my travel group this evening.

I ventured out to buy more bottled water. We were advised to not drink the local water, although the hotel’s water is purified. I was shocked that a 2 liter bottle of mineral water only cost 13 birr (41 cents US). The area around the hotel has many really small shops clustered on multi levels in small shopping arcades/malls. There are security guards at the entrances to the shopping malls who frisk everyone entering.  The sidewalks are not in the best shape and you need to watch where you are walking to avoid potential falls. I was amused to see many “shoe shine” stands along the streets but they do not shine shoes, they wash the soles of your sneakers, the predominant footwear of men. They also sell new shoe laces to spiff up your look. There are banks and ATMs everywhere; there are 5 of them right outside the door of our hotel.

Crossing the street is not for the faint of heart as traffic only stops if you are in danger of being hit. I watched some locals do it before proceeding to venture from the curb. As is typical avoiding eye contact is an important aspect of crossing. Surprisingly there is no evidence of drivers sounding their horns at every chance they get.

At 6:30 our group convened and met with Chris Tripodi for a quick briefing before departing for dinner. There are 17 in our group, nine men and eight women. Not all had arrived yet; some are due in later in the evening. I am not sure how many couples there are versus singles. I will sort that out as we learn more about each other. Everyone seems to be well seasoned travelers and most (all?) have traveled with Adventures Abroad before, which is encouraging, as it implies they like what Adventures Abroad offers and delivers. Several people have traveled with Chris before and said he was a fabulous tour leader.

Chris said in the past the group dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant (with music and entertainment) occurred at the end of the trip. They learned by that time everyone was tired of Ethiopian food so he switched the event to the first night as an introduction to the food and culture of the country. Everyone thought that was a good idea.

The restaurant was not far from the hotel but we drove in a mini bus, which gave us another Ethiopian experience. The main roads are paved but as soon as you turn off onto a side street you are on unpaved dirt roads. Cars are parked every which way and gridlock is common as cars try to maneuver through the maze. Traffic on the main road was heavy and chaotic, with additional lanes made by drivers who felt two lanes were not enough. Welcome to Ethiopia!

Our destination was a restaurant on a darkened  side street called “2000 Habesha”. It is a big place and we were pleased to see that locals were also in attendance; it is not a tourist trap. Water, coffee and tea is included with all our meals; other drinks are on our own. Chris has worked out a slick system for paying for the extras. Rather than waiting for people to pay for individual drinks before leaving, he simply picks up the entire tab, keeps a list of who bought what and asks us to settle up with him on a weekly basis. Now that is a neat idea.

The meal was a buffet of traditional Ethiopian food. Chris tried to explain some of the dishes as we went through the line and warned us that anything that looked “red” was spicy, so beware. There were plenty of other meat and vegetarian dishes, accompanied by “injera” the sour dough spongy bread that is used as an eating utensil by all. There were forks available for those who felt they needed one. I took one but did manage to get through most of my meal using the preferred method of breaking off a piece of injera, using it to scoop up whatever you were trying to eat and popping it all into your mouth.  Napkins did prove to be a necessary accompaniment as the scooping method was not always a neat and tidy process. Oh, and yes, red colored dishes are spicy. I would say the hotness level ranged somewhere between medium and hot on a Mexican salsa scale.

We were entertained all evening by a band of Ethiopian musicians playing traditional instruments. In addition there were several singers and a troupe of 8 dancers (4 men and 4 women) who performed a series of folk dances with multiple costume changes.  They obviously enjoyed doing what they were doing and we were thoroughly entertained. We were at the restaurant for a good two hours before heading back through the maze to our hotel. It was an extremely enjoyable evening and a great introduction to the culture and food of the country.

Tomorrow we meet at 8:30 for a group briefing, then off for a full day of touring the major sights of Addis Ababa.