the scenic route

the girls and i were talking tonight about driving in Africa.  we were on our way to basketball, going down highway 402.  we were all struck by how dull and uneventful the driving is here!  mostly that is a good thing.  a sign of order and technology and modern advances in transport available to most.  a sign of affluence and infrastructure.  in Ethiopia, however, a six hour drive can feel like two, or three hours at the most.  there is literally so much to see!  whether in the heart of Addis, or out on a winding road to and from the numerous rural villages, it is almost too much to take in.  complete sensory overload.  cattle, goats and children everywhere.  people always visible, walking the highway or road, to and from a well, market, etc.  children with babies slung on their backs, adults carrying a makeshift stretcher with a patient in tow (we saw this twice.  the driver would only speculate whether the patient was dead or alive at that point).  how would that feel if you were alive and seriously ill?  bouncy and hot~ less than comforting i'm guessing...round mud and grass huts dotting the landscape, so beautifully crafted and actually very pretty to see.  banana patches, acacia trees and different coloured plots of field, looking much like a quilt from a distance.  add a touch of adrenaline for every time the driver seems to just miss a herd of cattle, oncoming vehicles (thank goodness for the invisible third lane that seems to magically appear just on time) or people at the side of the road who seem unfazed by the traffic hurtling past, all while unbuckled and talking on one, sometimes two cell phones....no exaggeration....jeff commented that driving in Ethiopia really only requires a gas pedal, brake and horn.  the horn is used repeatedly...anyway, i don't think the pictures quite do the scenes justice, but you get the basic idea.