Adventures in Sodo

Today most of us went down to Sodo, the nearby town down the mountain. To get there we hiked down the mountain through small trails the local men that work at camp know. While we made our way down the mountain and across the nearby hills we were able to witness some of the most spectacular views of the area. While walking down we met a few of the local children who would walk with us for some time and then slowly break off from the group. When we finally got into Sodo, we walked around with wide eyes glimmering with excitement of seeing something new. The people in the city were not as intrusive as we were told they would be. We got many stares and several times young children asking for Birr, but nothing that wasn’t totally bothersome. We visited a small museum, the actual museum was closed because it was a Sunday and most businesses are closed due to the religious observation of the day, but we were able to walk around the grounds and take pictures. After the museum we found a restaurant to eat lunch at and then headed out to find the bazaar. There was a small entrance price to get into the bazaar, 5 Birr, but we paid and went in. It was small and had very little traditional goods, but it had mostly things that the people living in the city would need on a daily basis such as plastic jugs, belts, shoes and other such things.
On our way back from Sodo Dr. Brandt picked all of us up in the Land Cruiser. We crammed 11 people into the Land Cruiser, in the rain. We made our way to the mountain and then at the foot of the mountain, at the dirt road the rains really started to fall. We all looked around the Land Cruiser with worry in our eyes, but excitement at the roller coaster we all knew was coming. Once Dr. Brandt pressed the gas, we knew this was going to be one hell of a ride. The cruiser slid, and fish tailed, we got stuck in the mud and we all had to pile out of the cruiser in the rain, but we finally made it up the mountain with a sigh of relief and left over nervous giggles.