Return to work and bike tour

This week we officially started working at Addis Guzo again. There are clear rules: everyone entering the compound must wash their hands first, visitors must wear a face mask. The 2m safety distance must be maintained where possible and depending on the size of the room, only 2-3 people can be together in a room. In addition, there is currently no customer contact. In physiotherapy, we have created individual home programs for the children and have provided hygiene items such as diapers, soap, toilet paper, etc. Starting today, Monday, we plan to make home visits to families and bring them the home programs, hygiene items, and possibly some helpful tips.

Over the weekend, I went on a beautiful bike tour to Mount Wechecha, located on the southwestern outskirts of Addis Ababa. Stefan, Moritz, and I drove by car for 1 hour from home to an altitude of approximately 2700m. From there, we climbed Mount Wechecha in about 3 hours, mostly pushing our bikes. That day, we were probably the main attraction for the people who live up to approximately 3200m on this mountain, which was once a volcano. The locals were always friendly, watching us curiously, and sometimes the children accompanied us for a while or exchanged a few words with us. Mount Wechecha is 3384m high, just above the tree line. Almost up to the top, there was agriculture and livestock: fields of cereals and rosemary, horses, sheep, donkeys, cows, and oxen. The animals looked much healthier than most of the animals I see in Addis. They seem to be doing well with the fresh mountain air and lush grass.

At the summit, it was about 18 degrees and windy, and of course we had chocolate at the top. The descent was exciting, diverse, and unique for me. Sometimes we went over rocks, sometimes over paths formed by the livestock and rain, which could have been intentionally made downhill paths, and sometimes through smaller eucalyptus forests. Unfortunately, the descent (and maybe my riding style) was a bit too daring, and Barbara's shifter broke after about 10 minutes of descent. We had to tie the shifter and chain to the frame with a dog poop bag and a piece of string from my backpack. That way, I was still able to enjoy the descent. Always with a view of the city. This trip exceeded my expectations and was unique!

Next weekend - May 1st is a holiday here - we will be going to Lake Langano in the south for 3 days. I'm excited and looking forward to it.

Video of bike descent: https://we.tl/t-g3aveeXXCO