In Ethiopia again.

I’m currently travelling around fascinating and wonderful Ethiopia with its ancient history and religious cultures, both Christian and Muslim. Before Ethiopia, I was in Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea and Djibouti. I crossed overland from Djibouti City to Harar in East Ethiopia, where I spent a couple days exploring the old, medieval Islamic walled town – the fourth most important destination in Muslim culture and history. Eventually, a loong 11 hour coach journey brought me to Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia. This is my second visit to the capital, having brefily stayed during my first visit in December 2013. Fortunately, on this ocasion, I’ve had more time to explore and enjoy this huge city. , I’ve been eating tasty foods like Engera, a unique elastic bread-like substance that slightly resembles a pizza base, but not really. It is the base of nearly all Ethiopian meals. Sauces like Shero, made from grounded chickpea are mixed together with tomatoes, onions, and spices. It’s delicious; eaten by hand and shared with friends/family. You pull the Engera type bread apart and gather up the sauce and vegetables/meat, roll it into a small ball and feed each other. It is a sign of love, affection and respect between individuals. It’s not just a meal. This is Ethiopian culture and why it is so wonderful and the people so warm spirited and generous. I’m here in Ethiopia for a second time, making another fascinating and entertaining documentary with the BBC Travel Show. It’s going great. I was on Addis Ababa Breakfast radio show this morning and also had my hair cut by a local barber, great fun! Now the film crew and I are in a Rastafarian village called Shashamene, roughly 4 hours south of Addis. Next stop is Lalibela in the north. I should be there sometime on Thursday. The trip is full of positive energy, warm, kind people, tasty food, mixed weather and amazing naked scenery with bumps and bounces on every road and around every corner! I’m loving it and the film crew are wonderful. They treat me like a king! Together, the BBC Travel Show and I are showing people all over the world, what can be done and what people can achieve, disabled or not. It just takes a little bit of heart and a bit of help here and there. I’m so fortunate to be doing this. Keep following and watching. Check out BBC Travel Show social pages, they are posting photos of our adventures daily. I’ll let you all know when the documentary goes out. Happy travels and thanks for following and supporting. Tony :)