Konso – Wednesday Sept 26th

We started the day stopping by an Ari tribe village and even though we weren’t able to stay and visit them, I noticed their village had long grassy lanes between rows of small houses and yards.  It reminded me of the place I grew up in Bristol, Orchard Road; it had a back lane running behind the houses.  As kids we used to play in the lane and would get up to all kinds of things and it was great fun.  I could see the same in the kids playing in the lane next to the Ari houses today and I wonder whether we have lost this in our childhoods today where being online is as important than actually physically playing with other kids?

The rest of the day was mainly a travel day, heading back to Arba Minch for the return 350 mile drive to Addis Ababa tomorrow.  Piper had mentioned stopping by the Konso tribe on the way to view one of their villages.  I have to be honest I wasn’t that excited as I assumed it was a time filler as a late addition to the itinerary.  I left my camera in the car with low expectations and as our guide pointed out the village and we started exploring, it quickly became obvious how unique this village is.  This was a chance for my iPhone camera to be tested and I think the pictures turned out very well, albeit with a little bit of post processing work.

The tribesmen are master stonemasons and build terraces as they live in very steep terrain.  They had also constructed the village by creating lots of natural stone walls, creating small pathways.  It was in fact an incredible site and like nothing else I have seen.  It is now listed as a world heritage site and I rate it as a highlight of our tribe, truly amazing architecture.

Tonight I feel that my cold and sore throat is finally starting to subside and I can’t wait!  Even though this has been a great trip, I am now getting excited about going home.  We’ve seen and done so much, re-entry to normal life might be quite hard, although I can’t wait to see Sue and the boys!