Day 6
We reached the limits for comfort yesterday with our room. With all our trinkets we were able to make ourselves comfortable and isolated from any bug with bad intention but the hut in the village was better kept and inspired much more trust than our hotel room... After a quick breakfast in a nearby lodge that is completely empty (low season), we start the long and difficult drive to a Karo village. We can't call it a road anymore but we have less cattle in the way. We're rethinking our definition of remote ;) the dreaded monkeys start making their first appearance. First on the side of the road then we see some of them crossing it in front of us. They are baboons with a dark coat. We then enter a plain with termites towers all over the place. The structures can be up to 6-7m high. Their only predator is a bird with a long beak, long tail and some kind of a Mohawk. Seeing the number of towers, the termites seems to be doing very well! Shortly after we're blessed with multiple sightings of the elusive "dikdik", some sort of pygmy antelope. The region is also famous for its birds; It's a festival of colors and shapes.
We arrive in the village and cross it entirely; we pull up at the edge of a huge cliff. Down below is a majestic loop of the Omo river and we look at it from 200-300m high. The view is breathtaking but spoiled. Upstream a Turkish company bought the land against the will of the locals but with the help of the central government. They plan on growing cotton. The village is showing signs of transitions from tribal village to slums. Traditions are dying and the village is not very well kept. It's sad and appalling to see the destructive effect of predatory capitalism. When the plantation is operational they'll be dumping pesticides and others contaminants in the river, killing the fish and contaminating the water. This tribe's subsistence is based on fishing and growing sorghum, corn and soy; not to mention they drink the water of the river... The Karo only have 3 villages for a total of less than 4000 persons; all 3 villages face the same threat.
On the way back we come face to face with a tanker truck with a trailer. It carries gasoline for the cotton plantation. No wonder the road is in such a bad shape. Back in Turmi to get lunch and tents, this time we head towards Omorate. It's 20km away from both Kenya and South Sudan. The road to get there has been finished recently and it's heaven; smooth asphalt and no cattle make it so much easier!!! It doesn't last forever, the road is still work in progress. On an unfinished section (where you're not supposed to drive in the first place) a jeep managed to somersault in a straight line. Our help is not needed since the police and a crowd have already gathered there. Weirdly we get our passport checked entering Omorate. Our guide tells us it's to fight illegal immigration but the register only shows tourists... It's too hot right now so we have an hour to kill before crossing the river in canoes and walking over to the village. Omorate is the capital for the Daasanech tribe. It's an ugly town of corrugated iron, poorly kept and clearly very poor. To add to the picture, it's very dry and dust is flying all around the place.
It's time to cross. We get in the snake-shaped canoe and cross. There's a bit of current but nothing too strong. The river is red and hopefully we have no crocodiles in sight. It's a short walk to the village. The dust is much worse on the other side of the river. We get in the village and are given a tour. The huts are low (1m high) and round. We get to visit one of them. The entrance is very narrow and it's very dark in there. Some of the huts use corrugated iron for the roof, I can't imagine what the temperature is like during the day in that case. During the whole visits we have a bunch of kids attached to each hand. The show is clearly going both ways. The ritual then demands we take picture and it turns into a shit show. Every one wants its picture taken and then ask for compensation. It's not a great experience. After some time of this, it's time to leave. We give some money to the lady in charge to the deception of many. That's the way the guides want it done to maximize the chance of the money being used for useful things. During the visit, a mother with child asked us for soap... We wish we knew ahead of time. We'll make it right the next day by buying some and asking one of the guides to deliver it to them. Lesson learned though. From now on, we'll ask our guide about their needs and bring some material things on top of the "entrance" fees.
Day 7
The music finally stopped at 11pm and we got decent sleep in our tent. The birds woke me up at 6:30 and I had to drag Mar out of bed at 7:30. We happily leave the dust behind and go on with our program of the day. First we have breakfast back in Turmi, then we head to Jinka. After lunch, we're dropped at the ethnic museum. We suppose our guide has stuff to prepare for our night in the Mursi village. The museum is on a hill; it's very nicely organized with views on the valleys on both side, everything is super green but the museum is closed! It doesn't matter much though, it's a good opportunity to relax for an hour.
The drive to the Mursi village is impressive; green and untouched mountains followed by an endless plain and the mountain again. It's late when we pull up in the village but we still have time for a quick tour. The cattle return for the night and is secured in the village. Teenager boys and dogs will keep watch all night to prevent hyena to attack the cattle. Mursi have a lot of cattle, with so many animals come an insane amount of flies... We spend the night around a camp fire with a few Mursi, exchanging words from our mutual languages. As a sign of honor and protection, the chief sleeps with us (not in the tent of course!!!).