Walk this way

I think I have my favourite walking route ... I head out the street level entrance to Deker and am confronted with the Bilo's pastry shop terrace that is always bustling with clientel around the time I go out. The terrace has four tables with some very nice brown wicker chairs. The servers hover around the door to the inside furniture and pounce like hawks at a customer's slightest gesture. I am tempted to always tell them ... it's just a coffee, there is no need to run :). They are very attentive and just when the peace and quiet of my street is being enjoyed by all, a new mark comes driving up to the shop with horn-a-blaring as though the server better get out there NOW. These dumb f____s can't even get out of their cars and they want to make sure their arrival is noticed by all and how important they are; perish the thought they would have to wait 4 nanoseconds for some sustenance. If these people lived in Csnada, they would use the Tim Horton's drive through.

I then weave my way through the cars parked on the front walk at Bilo's. There is really room there for 4-5 vehicles, but habesha loves to do a national lampoon style cram to see how many cars can fit on the concrete allocated to house Bilo-ites. Sometimes they are so tightly packed there is a 15-20 centimetre passage-way at the widest gap between these amazing four-wheeled contraptions. Once this Ms-Pacman-like creature named ferenge navigates through the lot, the next obstacle is the collection of street vendors. They are selling just about everything any sane Ethiopian would ever want all the way from cell phone A/C chargers to cell phone A/C chargers :). They are such a nuisance and my defence is to don sunglasses before I head out so I can pretend I don't even know they are there.

The next site is Blue Drops restaurant next door to Deker where I consume the vast majority of my meals. I feel like I work there! The other day when I arrived, the TV was not woring. I headed to the back of the device and lo and behold it was un-plugged. I took it upon myself to get the entertainment centre working much to the glee and interest of the lady behind the bar who always has a 10-foot smile for me. Just before getting to Blue Drops, there is the first of what seem like dozens of drops in the sidewalk that are all over Addis, especially my street. Part of me hates these dips and risers, the other part appreciates them as they accentuate the exercise I get during this trek. My solution when I tire of them is to walk on the street, looking backwards at every opportunity to ensure there is no car bearing down on poor innocent ferenge.

I waddle down Bole Gambia at a feverish pace, negotiating some rocky sidewalks with a whole bunch of those ups and downs that force me on to the street. I arrive at the place where my street and Mickey Leyland meet, carefully crossing at the un-controlled intersection. The next stretch of the walk passes a handful of grocery stores with the maticulously created piles of fruit out front. One of the stores in particular is nicely stocked with very common western brands of shampoo and conditioner. Then there is an overpass that traverses one of the few creeks in Addis. This is the same creek one crosses on Bole Africa that is mainly rocks and garbage strewn all over the bank of the stream. It really is quite an unbfortunate site.

Then a cluster of stores are encountered with a rocky side street accompanied by a big red sign that says "Central Park". Next, for a few hundred metres, are just about every kind of knick-knack store you would care to come across. You can buy melmac plates, a wide assortment of grains, popcorn, teas, mirrors, Jesus pictures, hand tools, and it goes on and on. Once these outlets peter out, there is a handful of those up-and-down sidewalk obstacles and the first of 2 or 3 large office buildings encountered along the route. There is a McD restaurant in one of them as well as travel agencies and a Lufthansa outlet. There is a very odd furniture outlet called White Bird. The intriguing thing about some of these furniture stores in Addis is the nature of the goods they have for sale; some of them look like they have been through many many hands before being deposited in stores. The majority of furniture we do see is recycled and all the more power to habesha for using furniture like this for so long, not depositing it in the garbage for a landfill like we tend to do in the west.

Just before getting to Kazanches, a major thoroughfare that my street morphs into, there is the most interesting collection of stores yet, most selling a wide assortment of goods and some very interesting colourful sun umbrellas that are made out of bright brogue material like we may have seen on our grandparent's sofas ... definitely these umbrellas are brighter but similar. There are railings between the busy intersection and the sidewalks, designed to keep the pedestrians from flodding the road and overwhelming and delaying the vehicular traffic. Once across the street, one is positioned on some very rough rocky terrain leading to a few stairs that lead to a popular church. The street people and beggars are plentiful. Then the stroll back the other side commences, amidst a plethora of hair parlours and used furniture establishments.

The stores along the east side of the street are not as intriguing or as diverse as on the first side, but get my attention anyways. There are some furniture factories along this side, some proudly displaying white dining chairs that resemble thrones. Apparently they are popular with habesha but do nothing for me. Not far from crossing Mickey Leyland again there is the Molla guest house and a strip mall set back a bit from the road containing, amongst other outlets, a bridal gown store. After crossing the large intersection, the footing gets worse as the asphalt has crumbled and been washed away leaving loose dirt and lots of stones. Next is the Atlas hotel, a landmark that I use when cabbing it back to Deker. Most drivers know the hotel and it is a good stake in the ground that gives the driver a clue as to where I am going. There are then a gaggle of small shops set a bit back from the road, the contents of which still remain elusive. Finally, before traversing the street to get back to Deker is the TDS hotel, another affordable guest house whose room rate I have been curious about for a while ... just checking, loyal to Deker.

When Marou is working as security guard at the bottom of the Deker stairs, there is always a huge friendly greeting accompanied by a fanfare of handshaking and sometime high fiving.

What contributes to the pleasure of the route in general is the people I see. They are fabulous to watch as they go about their doings, and there is never a shortage of people to watch. The whole journey takes me about 40 minutes and it is time well spent. Melaku reminded me again today how important exercise is ... you got that right.