72 Jinka

So we arrived in Jinka and would be here for three nights. We were meant to be camping, but for just US$6 I was able to upgrade to a nice room with ensuite. Why not?! That first evening we went to a nearby recommended restaurant where I was able to get my first meal with injera; that’s the spongy round bread that is served with many Ethiopian meals. Your dish is served up on the injera and you beak off bits of it to eat the meal. We had time to ourselves the next day so I went for a wander into town. First stop was Ethio com where we bought SIM cards. Less than $8 for 50gb of data, so I should be set for Ethiopia and uploading videos. Across the street was a cafe I’d seen on google maps, so decided to give that a go. Delicious coffee and scrumptious chocolate coated donuts. The waiters were really friendly and one spoke really good English. Actually, I enjoyed the place so much I returned for lunch and dinner!The town really only had one mains street. Plenty of banks, and seeing that change is so hard to come by I went into one to see if I could swap some of my larger bills. Actually, that having been said, the largest bill is 200 Birr which is about US$1.30. So when you change $100 you get quite a wad of cash. But paying for anything smaller, it’s a challenge to get change. The bank I went into said I needed to go to the bank of Ethiopia. Found that, and when I asked for change, I was ushered into the area behind the tellers to speak to the manager. He sat me down, then took my 800 Birr and personally got as much change as he could; filthy 10s, 50s and 100s. There was a fairly large market area, although the produce available was pretty sparse. Plenty of shoes though, if you weren’t that hungry. Passing a bar I noticed the sign with prices. Just 50 Birr for a beer. It was a hit day and I was ready for a rest, so why not. A beer with the locals in a random little bar beside the market. Then I as I wandered past a mosque, almost on cue, the call to prayer started. I’d heard it in many places through Tanzania and Kenya, but this one sounded perfect. Actually, the call to prayer really isn’t that prevalent here. By comparison, it is the Christian churches and their loudspeakers that are most likely to keep you awake. In Jinka there was some sort of fasting going on, and we could hear the singing from the speakers all through the night. It was an enjoyable day in a friendly little town. I’d seen it on the map years before, and now I will always know what Jinka is like.

Видео 72 Jinka канала Paul Artus