Pole to Pole
Day 77: Shedi to Gondar

The soldiers who are travelling with us as protection are part of this volunteer EPRDF army - paid only in cigarettes, food and accommodation. The emblems on their tunics are inked in by hand, they wear cut-off jeans and carry Kalashnikov AK-47 rifles. They are probably fifteen or sixteen years old.
The scenery outside is now almost alpine. Green meadows are filled with the short-lived but intense yellow flower called maskal, which is the national emblem. There are butterflies and gold and green weaver birds and brilliant red bishops. A Soviet-built tank stands abandoned in the long grass. It looks idyllic out there, but there have been frequent attacks on the road since the end of the war and our escort slips a bullet into the breech and pokes his rifle out, looking watchfully around at the mountains.
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PALIN'S GUIDES
- Series: Pole to Pole
- Day: 77
- Country/sea: Ethiopia
- Place: Shedi
- Book page no: 166
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