October 2014, thirteen residents of the United Arab Emirates set out for a weeklong trip in the remote Simien Mountains of Ethiopia, Africa. This excursion was heavily planned with trekking and horseback riding thru this vast and beautiful landscape near the border of Ethiopia and Sudan. Within our group, twelve different countries are represented, two from France, one each from Poland, Estonia, India, New Zealand, Netherlands, China, Norway, Lebanon, Egypt, Russia and the United States of America (me). The trip is hosted by Trekkup Dubai and Piotr Bural (Poland) is the group organizer and leader, thru him many of us have trekked together within the UAE and Oman planting a seed of friendship. Our backgrounds are diverse from management office jobs to former military but the common thread we share is the love of travel, hiking, and diverse cultures.
On a late afternoon at the Dubai International airport we board Ethiopia Airlines enroute to the capital, Addis Ababa, then to the small town of Gondar, followed by car to the Simien Mountains. My childhood memories of what I thought I knew about Ethiopia came flooding back along the ride, from the most extreme shallow jokes in junior high school to the commercials played on American television featuring actress Sally Struthers bringing awareness to the poverty stricken country. One of the first enlightening moments came outside of Gondar where we stopped for tea and coffee in a small village. I noticed seven Ethiopian males (late teens to early 20’s) standing near a building where a wooden plank substituted as a chin up bar. They were doing repetitions, competing amongst each other and laughing; it piqued my interest so I walked over and before I was able to offer “hello” they began flexing and pointing in my direction. I didn’t need to speak their language; I understood clearly, they were calling me out. I removed my outer garment and wearing only a t-shirt, I mounted the chin up bar. We had a great encounter, they began to challenge me with behind the neck chin-ups and one-armed pull-ups, which I enthusiastically joined in on as we mocked each other and celebrated with high fives.
Into the Simien Mountains the elevation increased at every turn as we made our way to base camp. Prior to arrival we stopped in an open field where there was roughly 30-40 Gelada Baboons grazing and grooming one another within their colony. It was a beautiful site, from what I knew of a baboon they were aggressive and fierce but these baboons were reserved yet possessed the most ferocious teeth. Their chest looked like an open bleeding heart and their size was impressive, their noises sounded human, and their playfulness made anyone watching giggle, and we witnessed the birth of a baby baboon; today has been a great day.
Over the next two days we made camp high in the mountains, had dinner and breakfast together prepared by cooks who travelled ahead of us and we packed/carried our own lunches. The terrain was magnificent with carved rocks on the mountain faces, and the weather changed every 20 minutes like someone literally flipped a switch from rain, to clouds, to sunshine, and mixtures of all three. Two local scouts accompanied our guide; these men carried assault rifles and knew the mountains like a walking GPS. Our first embrace of the landscape came at a peak roughly at 4,070 metres (13, 535 feet) where beautiful waterfalls surrounded us in the distance pouring from the peaks like an open water faucet. It was a moment to cherish reflecting in the moment I was sitting in a remote location within Africa “How amazing is life?” I asked.
We planned to alternate our trekking of five to seven hours a day with three to four hours on horseback tentatively but we soon discovered we wouldn’t receive horses as originally scheduled. This was a blessing in disguise and I felt it allowed more time on foot to really get our bodies and minds into the exertion of activity.
That evening it rained and the temperature dropped drastically, our campsite had an old foundation structure with a roof overhead. We changed into dry clothes and huddled together next to the fire waiting for our well-prepared dinner. This was a ritual during the entire trip and the power of “breaking bread” is still a wonderful way to unite. We stayed up late; devoured a warm meal, shared tea/coffee, and told intimate stories. These people are extraordinary, for instance Katie Aun (Estonia) a remarkable woman and photographer decided one day she wanted to start trekking. She had never been before, so a friend mentioned trekking the Mount Everest Base Camp, with no previous experience she says “ok I will do that” then she goes out and does it, how incredible! Then we have Adib (Lebanon) and Shereef (Egypt) who have conquered Mount Kilimanjaro, each person had unique stories, they were humble and I really enjoyed listening throughout the night, in fact I didn’t share one story about me this night.
Sunrise was extraordinary; we had a hearty breakfast above the clouds then immediately departed to begin horseback riding. To our surprise, instead of seeing 13 horses with 13 owners we saw an estimated 30 horses and owners all expecting us to ride their horses, it became immediate chaos. Ultimately our guide with Piotr’s recommendation was able to work out the details and we mounted the horses and rode thru narrow trails decorated with mud and rock. The horses were strong climbers but very small in stature, many of us chose to hike on foot along the muddy trails then ride horses only in the open fields.
We arrived upon a village located at a greater elevation than the climb the day before; the imagery of the village is burned into my memory. If I were placed here and told to open my eyes and guess my location I would guess Cambodia or Vietnam — it had that appearance to it. The locals greeted us with smiles and their children gathered around us as we shared high fives then we were graciously invited into a hut to attend a local coffee ceremony.
To my complete surprise Ethiopia is often referred to as the birthplace of coffee. This ceremony is customary and everyone in the village was invited. We observed three ladies laying out fresh coffee beans, breaking them apart with hardened sticks, roasting the beans over a fire, boiling water, mixing, draining, and finally pouring into a cup for serving. It was the most enjoyable moment of serenity thus far on our trip. One of the local villagers we met had worked for an Arabic couple in the country of Sudan and she became fluent in Arabic. This was beneficial to us since we had two men in our group who were Arabic, they translated her stories, and it was fascinating.
For dinner our beloved cook prepared meat for the first time since Sarang (India) and I made mention of it a few nights earlier. I was in the military for a career so eventually the story and questions were directed at me. The setting was made for a Hollywood film: a fire atop the remote Ethiopian mountains, the sound of a slight drizzle, the cold chill in the air, I was asked “Have you been to war?” I was vague but mentioned some heart-felt stories and received a very warm and attentive audience.
The following day’s events challenged everyone’s patience and moral fibre. We climbed to higher altitudes then at midday with the weather change an aggressive hailstorm ensued. We had two hours left on foot to our final campsite with no tree coverage or overhang to protect us. I laughed a few times as I went from walking to riding horseback to walking in constant repeat while being belted by “stinging” chunks of hail. About that time I vividly remember thinking “Will this end soon?” At that moment the air was interrupted with my name being shouted: “JP, JP!” On my horse I went from a walk to a trot to quickly observe one of our local scouts lying motionless in the mud. My friend Linda, (Holland) calmly told me the man just collapsed while having a conversation and that he appeared to have had a heart attack. I ran to the man, turned him over opened his jacket and did an assessment of his breathing and pulse. He didn’t have either, I executed a sternum rub to get a response, and there was no response so I began rescue breathing and chest compressions for a cycle of two breaths and 30 compressions for four cycles before taking another assessment. Immediately Sarang jumped in to assist me, the hail continued and the wind ripped thru the peak of the mountain but quickly we dismissed the elements as instinct and focus took over. Moments past in slow motion and after another attempt with no response I looked up to those near and said “He is gone, there is nothing more to do” the rain and hail ripped across my face, there was silence followed shortly with whimpers of sadness. The local guides quickly built a makeshift sled from nearby wood and the decision was made by Piotr to have one group of locals take the body down the mountain while the trekking group with a guide made it to our campsite.
The evening camp was a “come together” moment; we sat around a fire, collected donations in local currency for his family, and told stories. We had only known him a few days yet he seemed to be in all of our moments from the coffee ceremony, hiking, camp sites, and to the Munchbox moments of laughter (a local UAE company that provides convenient snacks) provided by Shereef.
Piotr arranged a visit with the deceased man’s family before we would depart for Gondar — they resided in a nearby village. We continued on with trekking and horseback riding to reach the summit of Mount Bwahitat (4,437 metres, 14,557 feet). Not everyone was able to reach the summit on foot, some rode the horses and some rode the mules but we all came together in the cold windy and wet morning atop for a group photo holding our now traditional Trekkup Banner. Personally it was the highest summit I had climbed, I have trained at high altitudes in the military multiple times (even once at 3,500 Meters where I had mild altitude sickness) but on this day I was strong, no fatigue, and I was enthused.
The following day on our way back to Gondar, we diverted to the route to the village of our deceased friends family. His funeral was in session; his wife, his children, and his father (the village elder) were in attendance. The mood was sombre; there must have been 50 local people of all ages dressed in white. We had the pleasure of sitting down and observing the memorial, his family was incredibly courteous ensuring we were comfortable and had food and drink. It made me feel extremely aware of how selfless these people are. We were able to speak to them as the guide interpreted our words and we offered our donations, they were humbled yet overwhelmed with emotions.
People use the term “adventure” often but when plans change and things go wrong (Murphy’s Law as we say in the USA) this is when the true adventure begins. We shared a unique adventure together in the wonderful land of Ethiopia, Africa.
Jean-Paul is a retired US Marine and is currently living in Dubai. He is part of Trekkup Dubai – a group that focuses on having active holidays and taking a break from the daily city life, away from clubs and malls. Jean also inspires people to take on the great outdoors in his Instagram handle @jaypee1972 with the hashtag #JPCPOSE. For more information about Trekkup Dubai, contact Piotr Bural at trekkup@yahoo.com.
Words By: Jean Paul Courville
Photos: Katie Aun
