Day 1: Sur les chapeaux de roue!

D1, 10am (ie 4 ethiopian time, yes it is confusing but you better get the time right as early as possible or spend your time waiting for people). So 10am, on Saturday morning, I got invited for a nice ride in the mountain behind the compound. I haven’t horse ride since I was 12, but I am hoping it is like biking, you never forget. So here I am, wellies and hat on, riding Kapena, a lovely stable horse. The view of Addis from the top of the hill is stunning. It is a really really big town, very polluted and not that pretty, but in the middle of the green forest, strolling on my horse, I am not that bothered. The thing about Addis (I am anticipating on my next post) is that after a few hours, you don’t care about the pollution and the construction and the ugly buildings because it is such an easy place to live in. But let’s go back on top of the hill, where I am with a few FCO people, riding in a nice forest. The hill is lovely, loads of sheeps (apparently, there is a sheep market somewhere), donkeys, young children picking up grass and climbing up trees to pick up the eucalyptus leaves. They look like monkeys; they go up with just their hands and feet and wave to us!

As I am enjoying the view and the peacefulness of this moment, my colleagues decide it is time for a bit of trot… Well, I mustn’t have looked too glorious because after one minute, the guides decide to put me on a lounge. It is not like biking after all and my bottom hurt for 2 days afterward. But my instructor taught me how to follow the move of the horse, and by the end of the promenade, I was feeling a lot more confident. Despite the rain (yes, it is raining season and you should never, never go out without an umbrella), I had a great time and what a wonderful way to start my stay! I am pretty sure you will hear about Kapena and my horse riding progress in the near future.