Ethiopia 2014_1

EAF-14 Trip to Eastern Africa in 2014 (SOMALIA,ETHIOPIA,BURUNDI,COMOROS) Date of travel: Jan 29 - Feb 12, 2014 ITINERARY: On Jan 29, 2014 late in the afternoon I leave my home in Vista, CA and drive rented car to Los Angeles airport. From there I take a United Airlines plane to Washington, DC. Here I change to Ethiopian Airlines plane for a 12 hour flight to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, where early morning Jan 31. Before noon a short flight to Hargeisa the capital of the northern part of Somalia called Somaliland for 3 day stay. I travel alone. In the afternoon sightseeing of Hargeisa. The following day a car drive from Hargeisa with stop at Laas Geel cave to see prehistoric paintings and to Berbera on the Red Sea. Feb 2 is devoted to sightseeing of Berbera. Back to Hargeisa the following morning and flight to Addis Ababa in mid afternoon. Overnight in Addis. On Feb 4 in the morning flight from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to Bujumbura, Burundi. There is a stop in Kigali, Rwanda. Landing in Bujumbura is early in the afternoon. My hotel “Club du Lac Tanganyika” sent a car for me. As the name suggests, my hotel is on the shore of Lake Tanganyika. Next day I spent getting to know this beautiful resort. For Feb 6 I had arranged a car trip through the capital of Burundi, Bujumbura and to the old capital Getiga high in the mountains. There is very high humidity and temperature in Burundi. On Feb 7 afternoon I fly from Bujumbura via Addis Ababa to Nairobi in Kenya. The plane lands in Nairobi very early the following morning. I spend the rest of night in the airport. My plane for Comoros takes off in mid morning. Before noon it lands on Mayotte Island. Though geographically it belongs to Comoros, this island is part of France. I visited Mayotte with the cruise ship Minerva II. in 2004. After short flight from Mayotte the plane lands in Moroni, the capital of Comoros, on the Grand Comoro Island. In tropical rain by a private taxi to my hotel. It is raining the next day, too. So I am exploring only the vicinity of my hotel which is on the shore of the Indian Ocean. For the last full day I arranged a car and a driver and circumnavigate the island. There is an active volcano in the center of Grand Comoro. Its activity is visible due to many lava flows. In the afternoon on Feb 11 I am taking a plane from Moroni to Nairobi and Addis Ababa. I reach Addis in the evening. Few hours later I board Ethiopian plane to Rome, where the plane fills its tanks and flies to Washington, DC., where at about 7 AM EST on Feb 12. After going through the immigration procedures I continue on another plane to Los Angeles, where in mid afternoon local time. There I rent a car to go home to Vista. Travel office: Partly Spiekermann Travel Office but mostly I arranged the trip myself Who took part: I traveled alone