At last, the promised account of Rupert and my nine days trek in the Simien mountains. Photos include the amazing scenery, distant peaks, precipitous cliffs and lush green hillsides covered in yellow flowers. We did not take our best cameras up to the summit of Ethiopia’s highest mountain (at 4,600 m it is just over 15,000 ft) so you will have to wait for photos taken with a disposable camera to prove that we did it. We saw three of the very rare Simien fox, a very few of the equally elusive Walia ibex and hundreds of Gelada baboons but photos also include the people, the camp sites and , I hope capture something of the experience of being miles from road, network, taps and electricity. Less easy to show in photographic form is the biting evening wind, the small patches of ground frost and the horrible lose paths we sometimes had to scramble down. Not for the couch potato but we always felt safe (well nearly always) in the hands of the guide, scout with Ak47, one chef, three porters and three mules it took get us round fed (with amazing variety) watered and accommodated. The cook, mules etc usually went a different route so we would arrive to an erected tent and mugs of tea.

The lives of the people living there are very different and we are still haunted by our involvement with two young girls waiting to be taken off to work in Sudan and a whole community mourning the death of a woman in child birth. For that and more you will have to read the article.

I am also attaching another article called Trampled Rose, read it to find out why, but be warned it is asking for your help.

One last photo, in the Aspiration Hope album shows club members at a party in my house, modelling the new running vests brought over by Rupert and THRILLED with the arrival of 60 pairs of shoes.

Work continues apace which is great and I love my little house and the fresh breezes and sunshine
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