The Hike to HMA

By Mark C. Hale

The seasonal rains have wiped out the only road to the school, so we needed to navigate the muddy path through the farmlands and homes of the local Ethiopians. There are a mix of Christian and Muslims walking with us, most all dressed in local garb with western influences. I was surprised how many folks were hiking our same trail.

But, before we left Debre Birhan, there were eggs to buy and vegetables to purchase at the local market.


 


The walk was filled with slippery rocks and lots of mud. fortunately, it wasn't raining during our time on the road. The temperatures range from 49 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit this time of year, so it was a comfortable, though sometimes treacherous hike.
















Comments

Barbara said…
Oh my gosh Mark! What an experience! What about all your baggage? How did that get there? How long was the walk? Are your shoes totally wrecked? You asked for an adventure and boy did you get it in "spades!" "Dorothy, you're not in Kansas anymore!!" Love your blogs. Keep 'em coming. But you must fill us in on how long you had to walk and your baggage, etc. etc. Details please!
August 22, 2022 at 7:40 AM
Unknown said…
Do you have to buy your groceries every other day? How often?
Will they rebuild the road soon? Will students be able to get there?
August 22, 2022 at 4:14 PM
The View From Here said…
Sorry that I didn't see your comments before!
Yes, Barb, my shoes are a mess! But, I brought hiking boots, so they are used to it. The walk is about 2 kilometers. Where there isn't a lot of mud there are ankle turning rocks to be navigated. Fortunately, the baggage was loaded on carts pulled by either a horse or a donkey. But, we carried a lot by ourselves.

It's difficult to get to town, as you must traverse the 2 kilometer road and then catch a TukTuk into town, unless you are lucky enough to have a driver of one of the school's vans there. So, if you want to buy your own food, you need to get it in bulk, but the cafeteria feeds us three times a day. I bought cheese, chicken, hamburger, shelf milk, bread, bacon, most of which I froze.
We are in great hopes that the road will be rebuilt before this coming Sunday so that the students and their families don't have to walk the road. We had a good day yesterday and we dumped 40 truck loads of rock and dirt, all spread by a huge front loader. If there is no rain in the next 18 hours, we should be able to finish the project with another 60 truck loads of gravel.
September 14, 2022 at 3:25 PM
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