Category: Travel

010 – Alfa

Doug Nienhuis, October 11, 1998

Fortified with my first Ethiopian meal I sat in the restaurant to see if Alfa was going to show up. I’d met Alfa the day before when I arrived at the Palm. He had been sitting at a nearby table with two attractive women. The three of them were dressed…

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009 – Traveller as Baby Bird

Doug Nienhuis, October 10, 1998

My first full day in Ethiopia began with a savage hunger, and I timidly entered the roar of activity in the small room that served as the Palm’s restaurant. People poured in and out and none were strangers. They burst in with laughter and shouts, greeting everyone with a complicated…

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008 – The Palm Hotel

Doug Nienhuis, October 5, 1998

The front of the Palm was in fact a lively bar. Behind it was a dingy room with wobbly tables and equally wobbly chairs. They called it a restaurant, but it had none of the trappings of even a greasy spoon. Just outside the rear door to this room was…

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007 – Heading Into Addis

Doug Nienhuis, October 4, 1998

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a city wake up so fast. One second the road was empty. The next it was chaos. The holes in my grand plan quickly became apparent. I knew of course that I would stand out and attract attention, but I never anticipated the reaction…

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006 – Arrival – Bole International Airport – Addis Ababa

Doug Nienhuis, October 3, 1998

It was 1:30 in the morning. My flight was the last of the day, perhaps the only flight of the day, and with my usual affinity for the tail end of any line-up I was the last one through customs and immigration. The airport was quiet enough to be spooky….

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005 – In Transit – Rome

Doug Nienhuis, October 2, 1998

I’d specifically requested an aisle seat, but when I boarded I found my seat already occupied. An elderly and rather fleshy Italian couple had sat in the first two seats, leaving the window seat open. They had barricaded themselves in with mountains of carry-on bags and were giving the evil…

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004 – Departure – Toronto International Airport

Doug Nienhuis, October 1, 1998

I’d planned my trip to Ethiopia for so long that when I finally left, it felt very dreamlike, as if I was only acting out the stages for flying to Africa. But there was no mistaking the reality of Terminal 3 at Toronto’s international airport. If it wasn’t real then…

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003 – My Marmot Peapod Tent

Doug Nienhuis, August 14, 1998

My Marmot Peapod Tent I was just as picky when it came to picking out a tent. When I cycled in Canada and the US, I literally lived inside my tent and assumed I’d do the same in Ethiopia. So I wanted to pick the right tent. It made sense…

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002 – Rocky Mountain Route 66 & Arkel Overdesigns

Doug Nienhuis, August 7, 1998

Preparing for Ethiopia 2 – Rocky Mountain Route 66 & Arkel Overdesigns I had my wheels. The next step was to find a stock bike with the frame I wanted. The guys at “Two Wheels” would strip it and “spec” it for me. But that was easier said than done….

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001 – Sun Rhino Rims and Alpine Spokes

Doug Nienhuis, August 1, 1998

Preparing for Ethiopia 1 – Sun Rhino Rims and Alpine Spokes I’d gone on three cycling trips before I decided to go to Ethiopia. The first was a short weekend trip when I was a teenager. I put a backpack on my back and rode down the St. Clair River…