Camel Crossing

This really isn’t a story, just a picture that I wanted to share with ya’ll. After visiting a place called Awash National Park with some fellow Cheeseheads during our first few months in Ethiopia, we wanted to share the experience again with Andrea’s parents. Awash is in a lowland area to the east of Addis Ababa, an area where a famous people called the “Anear” live (I changed the name of the people group because they are a notoriously hostile people, if you want to Google them just change the “near” in their name to its opposite). While most Ethiopians use donkeys for transporting heavy loads, the “Anear” are known, among other things, for their tending and working of camels. We knew that the trip to Awash would find some camels alongside and even in the road, but we didn’t expect to see this! Apparently, the driver of this large truck ignored the non-existent “camel crossing” sign and came barreling down the road. I don’t know what stopped him first, his brakes or huge camel bodies that had lodged themselves under his front tires. That’s right, “bodies” is plural. We aren’t sure whether there were two or three camels smeared on that stretch of road, but we are sure it’s more than one! As we drove past and rolled down the window to vent the stench of rotting camel (for it had happened some days prior), I couldn’t help but think of the fate of that driver. I’m sure he survived the accident, but I wonder if he survived the wrath of an enraged Anear camel owner, whose murderous reputation far outweighs that of the rightfully feared Gmz. Just another reminder that driving in Ethiopia is serious business. May the Lord make our paths straight, and clear!