If the 2,000 meter ascents weren't enough to give you vertigo, on many of the descents it was impossible to see the road around hairpins because the slope was so steep -- in some cases the hairpins doubled back so sharply we had to do three point turns in order to maneuver through them. And of course there was the dust.Coal miner or Hot Rock member? Me a bit dusty after a couple hours on the road:
Henry was white knuckle on our final ascent when the gravel road narrowed to the point we were inches from scraping the cliff on the left side in order to avoid the 1,000 meter drop on the right. Some roads just weren't designed for BiRT.
Other than spectacular scenery, the road is also entertaining because of all the old Soviet tanks and various military hardware used in the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea that lie abandoned and rusting in the ditch.
Tom, Phil, Henry, and Matt investigate a tank:
Or, in some cases, a river. One early evening we noticed a tank half buried in the embankment next to a bridge and stopped to investigate.
Me on a tank:
Further poking around revealed yet another tank that was in the river under the bridge.
Bathing beauties. Henry and Matt try to wash of accumulated road dust:
Danny prepares to do some cliff diving:
Phil goes for the big splash:
There was no question about it: we had found our bushcamp for the night.
Random local, me, and BiRT at site of bushcamp:
The rest of our drive passed without incident. Gondar proved to be a nice little town that afforded us a chance to blow our food budget on the first decent cheese we had seen in a month, gorge on cheap cake, and receive dancing lessons from the locals in the numerous bars. After a few days we were fed, we were rested, and we were ready for our entry into Sudan.
