We left our fabulous Haile Resort hotel at 8 AM to head further south to visit more tribes in the area to explore their cultures and way of life.

Chris tried to teach me some local language. Hello is phonetically said: “Nay Guy Da” and thank you very much is “Ah Mess ah  Ga Nah Lo”. I struggled with them the entire time I was there but the locals seemed to appreciate me trying to speak their language.

The morning temperatures are higher and so are the daytime temperatures, as we are at lower elevation and closer to the equator. The good news is the humidity is low so we remain comfortable.

The roads are getting worse. We seem to have about 1-2 blocks of pavement followed by a stretch of rocky, unpaved road. However, there was evidence of some road construction underway. The roads became better after awhile, I.e. all paved.  We still had to deal with all the pot holes, by weaving back and forth across the roadway. You could get seasick from all that motion! And there was always the presence of animals on the road.

At 9:15 AM we stopped at the side of the road to see some bee hives that are located in the trees, the typical way the Ethiopians collect honey. The hives are hollowed out logs in which a queen bee is placed; she does the rest. It is traditionally considered to be man’s work because of necessity of climbing trees.  Funny story: They have experimented with ground-based hives (like we use) which the women controlled as they could easily service them. People said it would not work.They were wrong and they are learning the women are better at managing the system!  The men may lose out in the end.

Our major destination was a visit to a Konso village. The Konso people are agriculture based people who ironically live in fortified, walled villages located high on the mountain side (1700 meters). We were warned that any photo we took would involve a payment of 5 birr to the person we photograph. That is why Chris gave each of us a big bundle (100) of brand new five birr notes to use as we visited the tribes in the area. If there are two people in the photo you are expected to pay each person. That is the one way the people in the Omo Valley make money!  Once we arrived we learned they have changed their policy. We are free to take photos of children at no cost  as the adults did not want the children to learn bad habits. For adults we are expected to pay the 5 birr/person fee. Our local guide said he would keep track of what we took (and of whom) and we can pay him afterwards; he would distribute the funds to the people involved after we leave.

A local person told us about the Konso people and their culture. There are 300,000 Konso people in the area. They live in 42 villages involving 9 clans. The village we are visiting  is listed as a UNESCO site.  We were walked through the village and shown how they live. An important aspect of their culture is the use of carved wooden statues marking the graves of village chiefs and heroes. They were originally a pagan society and the use of phallic symbols was/is part of their art. They have an interesting way of telling time over generations. Every 18 years a generation change is assumed to occur and they add a tree trunk to a growing number of trunks at their central meeting point in the village. A new generation is then assumed to take over.  Right now there are 49 tree trunks there, inferring the village dates back 882+ years!

There are a series of circular rock walls surrounding the village. As the village grows they add another ring; currently there is three separate stone walls surrounding the village; each wall ranges from 2-4 meters in height. These walls were used as part of their fortification system. There are a heck of a lot of rocks here! We did not enter any homes on this visit; we simply walked through the village , taking “free” photos of the many kids who came to see us, and occasional pictures of adults who were especially photogenic in our eyes. The exit of the tour took us past the mandatory shopping area where local art and craft was for sale. Their major offerings were made of wood although they also do weaving. Prices were cheap and people made some sales, myself included.

By 1 PM we were sitting down to our pre-ordered lunch at a restaurant in Konso in a lovely setting with blooming flowers, overlooking the valley. They offered the usual menu choices; the same as we see at every other restaurant we had eaten at. There has not been much variation in the offerings. I settled for the spaghetti with meat sauce, a safe option which has been tasty in the past. The good Italian food is a legacy of the Italian occupation in the 1930s.

We left at 2 PM to continue our journey. The landscape is lovely; green and lush with very few homes or people. It is now warmer and a bit more humid. We descended into the Omo Valley and the Omo River where we will be visiting some more tribes who live here.

Chris provided a fun stop on our way to Jinka when we pulled off to the side of the road where 9 young boys were standing on wood stilts of varying length. They are members of the Bena tribe which means their face and bodies were decorated with white chalk. Tommy, our driver, negotiated with them to allow us to take as many photos as we liked for 30 birr ($1)each. Normally they would want 5 birr (~15 cents) for each picture. We snapped away as they posed and deftly managed to not fall; they were darn good!

A little after 5 PM we arrived at the Eco-Omo Lodge in Jinka. It is basically a tented camp in the middle of the forest. The “rooms” are tents located atop wooden platforms. They are VERY basic, but at least they are “in suite”! No AC but there is a big floor fan and there is mosquito netting around the bed. Time will tell if I will need it. There is hot water from 6-9 PM and 6-8 in the AM. After our marvelous experience at the Haile Resort this is obvious a bit of a letdown. The good news is we will only be here for one night.

Internet was only available in the dining room but it seemed adequate given where we were. The buffet dinner was decent.