The trip is over, now it's time to process the experience at home.
The group reached Addis Ababa on the 17th. After a day of rest following the final stage in Tigray and discover the unusual churches in the capital of Ethiopia, they boarded their flight home. Many feelings, including climb Erta Ale, need to be fully digested.
Here is a selection of photos and comments from Juancho Pozuelo , a friend and collaborator of Mirada Viajera, the photographer accompanying us on this trip to Ethiopia.
«We are in Kombolcha, you might say the last trace of urban life before heading into the Danakil. The market for Sembete is very colourful and noisy.”
‘On the market for Bati, where we can already see some salt stalls. We must be very respectful when taking photographs here: these people have strong personalities. There is no one here yet Afar.»
“Bouncing along a rocky, dusty track in a cramped off-road vehicle at over 40° is only worth it if, as tonight, it leads to a three-hour climb by moonlight to sleep almost inside the volcano of Erta Ale.»
“I don’t know what to write! Seeing, smelling and hearing a volcano roar. Sleeping on edge, recording, taking photographs. Adrenaline pouring out of me. I’ve just thrown the crisis into the volcano. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. IT IS THE ERTA ALE, IT FASCINATES ME!”
«It is incredible how the volcano changes from night to day. It’s bloody hot! But tonight we get to enjoy the Erta Ale, then descend in the morning."
“A demanding trip. We’ve come to Ahmed Ela, where the salt cutters and miners live. Watching them is a spectacle, and the caravans of salt-laden camels seem to belong to another era. Tomorrow it is time for The Dallol!»
“Is it Mars? Is it Photoshop? No, it is the Dallol, a formation of salt, water and minerals, and above all heat that goes to your head. It smells of sulphur, but the beauty around you is hypnotic. I look at my companions’ faces and imagine my own on the first day I saw it too. …”
‘The Erta Ale It's the Erta Ale, Dallol is beauty brought to life, the village of Ahmed Ela and the salt workers is a visual spectacle, but following the river upstream Saba and salt caravans in action is an experience worth the journey in itself. Simply the perfect finale.”
«Well, already in Addis Ababa after seeing in the Tigray two of its famous churches and to recharge at a beautiful lodge owned by an Italian with exquisite taste, on a hill with lovely views. Now for some fun and tonight’s farewell party, and time to take in everything we have experienced.”
Want to know more about our next photography trip Rajasthan and classic India?
Upcoming trips to Ethiopia
✔️ 18-day trip
✔️ Departures 7, 28 JUL > 11 AUG > 8 SEP > 6 OCT 2023
✔️ From 3375€
The north is the land of Christians who have left their ancient monuments as testimony.
In the south, in sub-Saharan Africa, culturally diverse peoples live alongside one another along the Omo River.
