Soon after Gondar begins one of the most breathtaking areas of Ethiopia. The area is becoming increasingly inhospitable and rough, the villages poorer, the Ethiopian roads worse. We have heard a lot about the North, boundless poverty coupled with wonderful scenery, friendly people, but also robberies and bandits, it is controversial – the North, only a few people travel to the provinces of Gondar, Wollo and Tigray. In the media we often hear from the crisis-hidden region of Tigray. Why do we want to go there, we do not know, is it adventure, is it curiosity, anyway we are already on the road, some 400 km of rocky roads ahead of us, we will have to camp in the bush, because there is no accommodation or camping.
We leave a last outpost of civilization to the Ethiopian Highlands. From now on, we will not see any settlement for days because of the bad road we reach an average speed of 12 km per hour, daily maximum 100 km, then you fall dead into the bed of the camper. We have a squeaking noise at the vehicle. Will we get into a bigger problem? Shock absorbers, wheel bearings, or even a transmission or engine mount? We do not know. There is no return, so we go on. Maybe we can locate the sound and fix the damage in Axum.
We get a lot of dust. The dust is pulled into the car through the back door, everything is covered with a finger-thick layer of dust. Before the night the car must be properly cleaned. The road always takes its tribute. Again we see trucks on their sides. Axles or lack of concentration could be the cause.
The day is coming to an end, we will soon have to find a safe place for the night to continue further on in the morning.