Lake Langano

Margot and I are spending the weekend at Lake Langano, hiring a hidden away bungalow. I feel like we’ve found our own little world.

Lake Langano is one of the rift valley lakes, about three-four hours drive south of Addis. The Lake is amazingly peaceful. There are no cars, no people shouting “frenji, frenji”, and just the gentle squawks of a fantastic selection of rift valley birds. The lake is bordered by impressive mountain ridges, sits at 1,500 meters (a whole km less than Addis) and has a surface area of about 230 km squared (I measured it). While the lake is the only lake safe for swimming in Ethiopia, the water is a vey muddy, brown colour. Apparently this is due to its high mineral content. Yet, while I’ve been promised that there are no crocodiles and hippos only appear during rainy season, you can’t help thinking what lurks at the bottom of the dark lake.

The bungalow is basic, but great fun. It has a small kitchen and a couple of bedrooms. The kitchen is good for cooking, but it’s normal to load up the car with a weekend’s supply of beers, pizza, snacks, and other goodies. The place is powered off a battery, charged during the day by solar power. It means that you need to turn all the lights off during the day, and keep your fingers crossed at night. The shower and toilet are connected directly to the Lake: While the water is clean, it’s slightly odd showering in water that’s the same colour as the muck under your toe-nails. The bungalow is ten meters away from the lake, and walking down to the water this morning, I felt warm sand on my feet for the first time in over a year. It’s a strange feeling when you swim, as in many ways you feel like you’re at the beach, but is not that salty taste in your mouth. Margot and I have been out canoeeing as well, and trying to top up on the tan (Margot, not me - I stay red). Tonight, we’re lighting a fire on the beach, taking out some blankets, and watching the shooting stars while eating roasted marshmallows. Bliss.

What was not bliss however was the drive down. I am really starting to love Ethiopia. But I don’t think any degree of warmth will ever allow me to like Ethiopian drivers. They are the worse in the world (in my mind). You go to overtake, and then you have a small horse-driven cart trying to over-take you are the same time. You drive up hill, and you’ll find two lorry drivers, one in each lane, grinding their loads uphill at a painful pace, talking to each other through their windows. There are donkeys and horses standing in the Ethiopian version of the M1 (in fairness, this isn’t the drivers fault). And best of all, you be happily driving in your land, turn a corner, and find a car coming towards you in the wrong lane (i.e. your lane) at 120 kph, flashing and beeping because it can’t be bothered to move back into it’s own lane. Driving down here, I reckon Margot and I lost three of our nine lives (and we’ve still got to go back).

But driving aside, a great weekend. And a great place to bring friends and family.