10th May - 5th June: Ethiopia Part 1 - Danakil Depression

When I left the UK last September, my (very) rough plan was to 'travel from South Africa up to Ethiopia and then back down again'.  So, arriving in Ethiopia at the beginning of May marked an important point in my travels.  But much more than that, Ethiopia was a country that I had wanted to visit for many, many years and I was thrilled to finally arrive.

The reasons why I had wanted to visit Ethiopia so much are many, but include the following:

• The Danakil Depression (see below)
• Ethiopia is part of the 'cradle of humanity' - in other words, it is highly likely that the earliest humans came from this area, which makes us all a very little bit Ethiopian!
• Ethiopia was one of only two African countries that were never colonized (the other being Liberia)
• Ethiopia uses a different calendar from the rest of the world.  (This means that I left Kenya on 10th May 2015 and arrived in Ethiopia - a couple of hours later - on 2nd May 2007!)

After a couple of days in the capital city, Addis Ababa (more about Addis later), I was on my way to the Danakil Depression.

The Danakil Depression
The Danakil Depression is in the Afar region of Ethiopia, in the North-Eastern corner of the country, close to the border with Eritrea.  Danakil is often described as 'one of the most inhospitable regions in the world', being one of the hottest and lowest places on earth. Rain hardly ever falls in the Danakil and the only river that flows into the area ends up drying up and leaving just a chain of salt lakes, never finding its way to the Indian Ocean.  

The only way to visit the Danakil Depression is with an organized tour.  This is in part due to the remoteness of the region, in part due to the unresolved border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea, in part due to the potential for local tribal conflict and in part due to an international incident several years ago. (!)  As a result of the last three factors, all tours also have to be accompanied by 'local security' - in our case, 4 armed soldiers.

So I guess this doesn't sound like an ideal holiday destination to many of you...but it was one of the places on the continent of Africa that I was most desperate to visit, so I booked myself on a 4-day tour and set off into the dust and the heat!

My transport for the trip. The local goats quickly took advantage of the shade under our vehicle when we stopped at their village for lunch.

Sulphur and salt in the Dallol region
The Dallol region was our first stop on the tour. The region is home to some of the most surreal and beautiful landscapes, with vivid yellows and oranges, bubbling sulphur lakes, entire mountains made of salt and glistening crystalline salt lakes. It may be one of the most inhospitable places on earth, but i think it also probably one of the most visually striking.

The beautiful sulphur plains

A bubbling sulphur lake

Sadly many thirsty birds mistake the sulphur lakes for fresh water

Salt mountains

Two of our armed escorts - chirpy fellows!

Salt lake at sunset

Despite the hostile environment, the local people have found a way to survive here and to use the land to support themselves - by mining the salt.

Miners use axes to hack into the salt plains...

 ...before levering huge chunks up out of the ground.
 

The chunks are then cut into smaller blocks...

and loaded on to camels for transportation to the nearest town for sale.

On the day we visited the salt mines, our thermometer registered a temperature of 54 degrees Celsius (or 129 degrees Fahrenheit).  Stepping out of the car felt like stepping into an oven and it was a huge and intensely uncomfortable effort to walk the 50 metres or so to join the miners.  Watching the miners working relentlessly, without water or shelter, in the harshest possible conditions, was an incredibly humbling experience and one which I will never forget.

Our first night's accommodation - my bed is to the right of the door.

Erta Ale

Our next stop was Erta Ale. Erta Ale is a 'continuously active' volcano - one of only six in the world which have active lava lakes.  In fact, Erta Ale is the volcano with the oldest/longest existing lava lake, as it has been active and bubbling continuously since 1906. It's southernmost pit is known locally as 'The Gateway to Hell'.  Nice.

On our way to the volcano

  

We arrived at base camp in the late afternoon and were instructed to "rest" ahead of our climb.  Our climb was due to start at 5.30pm - the coolest part of the day - and to last approximately three hours, depending on our speed.  The climb itself, we were told, would not be that steep, but the heat (for the first hour before sunset) and then climbing over uneven and rocky ground in the darkness would be the biggest challenges.

So, at 5.30pm, we set off.  It was indeed the coolest part of the day.  It was 44 degrees Celsius...

There's not much to say about the climb.  It was hot, it was tiring and it hurt.  But, a gentle breeze provided some relief and the beautiful star-filled sky, a fat-tailed scorpion and an ever-brightening orange glow illuminating the horizon provided some distraction from the relentless stomp.

Finally at the top, we paused for breath and a safety talk (ish).  Our next hike was to be brief - and downhill - to the crater itself. 

I'm not sure I have the words to describe the mixture of achievement, excitement and terror that standing next to a bubbling lava lake made me feel.  It was the most surreal experience.  And the hottest!  The risk assessor in me was concerned that maybe we were all standing a little bit toooo close and the thrill-seeker in me was squealing like a small child.  It was both a thrilling and intensely unsettling experience!  And this is how it looked....

After an hour of watching the surface of the lake crack open and the lava bubble, spit and explode into the air, we made our way back up to the rim of the crater to sleep. (ha!

My cosy crater-side bedroom...

The following morning, we rose before sunset to spend some more time watching the mesmerising lava before beginning our tired descent back to base camp and a very welcome breakfast. We were all exhausted, but very proud that we had conquered the volcano. 

My fellow volcano-climbers - a lovely, lovely group of people

The four days I spent in Danakil were incredible.  They were physically, mentally and emotionally challenging and they taught me a huge amount about myself as well as about the power of the human spirit to adapt to and - mostly - overcome the most hostile of environments.  The experiences I had here and the people whose lives I was privileged to take a brief peek into will stay with me for ever.