Last weekend, I have been on a mini-adventure. A mixture of VSO volunteers and GTZ (German NGO) headed off into the Afar region, which is a poorly developed area even by Ethiopian standards. We leave Mekelle and head east for about 8 hours (about 50km). Most of the journey is slow and bumpy and our 4x4s are essential. The Danakil depression is registered as the hottest (average of 35oC and maximums of 50+); the lowest (-116m) and has to be one of the remotest places on this planet. Starting from an altitude of 2000m, as we descend into an enormous valley, the temperature rises. Along the way, the track changes from a steep mountain pass, to an easily missable desert path, to a dry, rocky river bed which offer their own obstacles. The river bed will flood in July and August, and off to the side, we can see examples of the immense geological pressures that created such an impressive feature. We have taken an English-speaking fixer/guide from Mekelle, who half-way at Berhala, arranges for the compulsory local guide and police guards to join us and show us how to continue along the same single track.
Due to time constraints, we camp out at our first night by a waterfall just short of our destination – Hamidela. A full moon, campfire and freshly slaughtered goat make the evening popular with both cultures. The Afar people are nomadic, dress traditionally in colourful wrapped skirts and have visibly different bone structure to Tigrinians. The following morning we continue on to the army-manned village that acts as a gate to the Depression. Six more guards (soldiers this time) join our convoy, allegedly for protection as Eritrean resistance have kidnapped people in the past. They escort us across the vast salt-covered Lake Asale - which is the Depression. At the far end they fan out and search the small hill in front of us for bandits. At the top is a beautiful collection of orange, yellow and green sulphur geysers and stalagmites that change position and structure each year. Down on the plain, we visit a larger geyser and two rocks that stand out as the only rock for miles – (see Bible and the Story of Lot for more information). Apart from being a special place for tourists to visit, salt is mined in the area and used across Ethiopia. 40-strong camel caravans trek in and out (a million per year) along the same route we took, transporting 100kg of salt blocks that fetch a mere 2 Birr in the local village before being sold for 20 Birr in the capital.
My words will not do the place justice, so I leave the pictures to speak for themselves. Visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/30047150@N02/
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