guns, coffee and kids in the simien mountains (gonder, ethiopia)

Many people who visit Gonder, Ethiopia's 4th largest city, spend a few days trekking in the nearby Simien Mountains, home to Ethiopia's highest peak at 4200m. We didn't have the time to join our traveling buddies on their 4-day trek, so we did a half-day trek instead. As always, arrangements were not without a hitch:  as we ate breakfast at a cafe, with our hotel-confirmed driver waiting across the street, the original guy we booked with (and asked our hotel to confirm) showed up asking if we were going! Some angry sounding Ahmaric words ensued between the two drivers. Apparently our hotel manager wanted a cut so, unbeknownst to us, he called his friend to pick us up 30 mins before the arranged time. Oh well - this is Africa. Our driver and a scout with a machine gun (presumably to save us from wild animals?) accompanied us on a trek through beautiful scenery. We saw a few monkeys and lots of baboons, albeit from quite a distance. After reaching our peak, the scout agreed to let us to pose with his gun, admitting this was not a common request! 

After our trek we had some traditional coffee at the lone house located at the start of our hike. Coffee doesn't get any fresher than starting with raw beans and slowly roasting them in front of you! They then wave the pan with roasted beans under your nose (for luck or health?) before proceeding to pound the beans and slow-boil. 

At the house there was a bunch of kids curiously watching us, some waving, some more hesitant. Our camera broke the ice and the kids climbed over each other to see their picture! They giggled and kept smiling for more photos. They were so adorable, despite the tattered clothing and dirty faces. They kept us company while we had 3 rounds of coffee (well, I had 1,  Matt 2, but the Ethiopians had 3 cups) - shyly sitting close to us, staring quizzically and answering our questions "how old are you?" "what do you study in school", etc. As always, the kids made the experience extra special.