chris2x

I thought people here on the Fodor boards would be interested in the latest episode of my show on Ethiopia. I had back a wonderful guest who shared stories of his trip to Ethiopia. I also have links on the show notes to his picture gallery if you don't want to listen but still want to see wonderful pictures.

Bottom line:

1) You still have to be somewhat adventurous to go to Ethiopia
2) It's worth it: churches carved into and out of the bedrock, old fortresses and ruins, lovely landscapes, wonderful people

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Ethiopia
http://AmateurTraveler.com/2007/02/0...e-79-ethiopia/

The Amateur Traveler talks to Chris Willis about Ethiopia. Chris was on the show before talking about going to Tonga and swimming with whales. He returns to talk about churches carved out of the rock, old fortresses, the people, the beauty and the difficulty of traveling in Ethiopia.

Chris_GA_Atl

I don't know about how "wonderful" I am, but I am the one being interviewed on Ethiopia in this podcast. So if you liked my Ethiopia trip report or want to hear a more condensed presentation where I am having a dialogue about it with Chris Christensen (the host of the show), please check it out.

Chris

maxwell

Listening to it now Chris - very cool!
I hear you missed the honey wine too - apparently that was a big thing in Lalibela - one of the locals kept telling me I needed to try it but then I forgot...

Chris_GA_Atl

We never even heard about it, so I didn't even know we were missing it!

I think we likely would have been skeptical about a locally-produced beverage, though, from the standpoint of perhaps causing stomach problems ...

Chris

maxwell

So I guess you didn't try the banana beer in Uganda (made by the locals by stomping on the bananas with their feet)? I wanted to but my guide wouldn't take me anywhere I could try an authentic version.

thit_cho

Interesting site, and I may listen over the weekend. Chris, I also saw a reference to your trip to Tonga, which you also mentioned on another post -- I have booked most of my trip for December/January to New Zealand, with some time in a few South Pacific islands, including Tonga.

Chris_GA_Atl

I skipped the tour near Buhoma that featured the banana brewery because I was so wiped out by the Habinyanja trek, but my wife and our Canadian friends went there. I don't think any of them actually sampled the resulting product!

Michael, the episode where I talked about tonga is #38, and there is a gallery of pictures from Tonga accompanying it:
http://amateurtraveler.com/?p=819

I really enjoyed Tonga, but I think you will be too late for whale season, which goes from June through October. The diving near Vava'u is incredible, though, I would highly recommend it.

Chris

thit_cho

We will be in Fiji, Tonga and the Cook Islands, and will dive/snorkel each day. We will also be in Kaikoura, on New Zealand's south island, where you can take boats to see sperm whales, and we may swim with the dolphins (I don't think its possible to swim with the sperm whales -- they are toothed, not baleen, whales).

Chris_GA_Atl

Michael, I second your reluctance to swim with sperm whales -- they can be grumpy and aggressive. I saw a documentary once where a sperm whale charged a cameraman in the water and it looked pretty harrowing.

Chris