“They’re fries, Phil, but not as we know it.”

Chris’s birthday is 5th May, always close to a bank holiday weekend and not infrequently close to a general election. It’s often been an opportunity to get away for a few days and happily the situation continues here, as her birthday is always a public holiday.

Just like in the UK 1st May is “International Labour Day” and is a public holiday, and Chris’s birthday is “Patriots’ Day” or “Arbegnoch Qen” (or more correctly የአርበኞች ቀን) and commemorates those who died resisting the Italian occupation of Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941. This year 1st May was a Friday, የአርበኞች ቀን was a Tuesday, and as Bingham thoughtfully declared Monday 4th May a school holiday we suddenly have Friday through to Tuesday off. Add to this a general election in the UK on 7th May and we’re all set up for a lovely break combined with much political discussion – usually (and understandably) about education and health policy.

If you don’t know anything about Haile Gebrselassie then click here and here (sorry about the adverts on the second link but check out the second paragraph). Suffice it to say he’s one of the greatest distance runners of all time and we decided to visit a hotel he has built in Awassa which has an excellent reputation for being one of those places where everything actually works. Gary and Peggy Ifft live in Ziway, half way to Awassa,  so we teamed up with them for our trip. Going off with people who know the area and also speak Amharic well is a hugely relaxing way to enjoy a trip which for us would otherwise have been into the unknown. And as Gary hates driving but I really enjoy it (especially now I have a four-wheel drive truck) it was a win-win situation.

Peggy loves to eat out, so our quest for good food began as soon as we arrived in Ziway. Haile has a resort there as well, and we had lunch in the garden watching the huge ugly storks being shooed out of our sheltering tree by the resort staff. I really fancied some decent chips (no, dear American friends, not crisps) and getting them can be a challenge but there were none available for lunch.

In addition to a Christian school for 1100 needy Ethiopian children Gary and Peggy have provided “Samuel’s Home” - home for ten destitute orphans. A brief visit to meet these youngsters (and for Chris an opportunity to play “jacks” with them) was a highlight of the whole trip.

After an amazing afternoon roaming around Ziway and Bochessa in Gary’s bajaj (there’s a whole blog post right there…) we went to Keriftu Lodge restaurant  in Ziway who not only had no chips but had practically no food at all. So after eating a cheeseless vegetable pizza and a salty spinach salad we spent the night in Gary and Peggy's lovely home dreaming of better culinary things (especially chips) the next day.

Awassa was not our destination for the next night but we bypassed the town at lunch time and stopped off at the “Gezahegn and Elfinesh Resort” (built by another two famous Ethiopian athletes) for lunch. Settling at a table on the veranda, a menu - alive with hilarious mis-spellings -  advertised a cheeseburger and fries.  Surely a smart modern place like this would come up trumps? Gary, Peggy and Chris received their salads with no problem. Then my cheeseburger arrived – accompanied not by chips but by cold rice. The waiter apologised and explained the chip-making machine wasn’t working. Noting my crest-fallen expression he headed off back to the kitchen while I despondently tucked into my chipless burger. He came back a few minutes later with a replacement for my missing chips - a plate of cold boiled vegetables including cabbage and green beans! Oh yuk!! Gary and Peggy were then privileged to witness a very rare event – realising how I was reacting to being asked to eat cold cabbage instead of lovely golden chips, Chris collapsed with laughter until she cried.

Aregash Lodge was an hour or two’s drive further south. We slept in a bamboo “tukul” (quite a posh one it has to be said) situated on the side of a lush green valley inhabited by hyenas that howled around us during the night. The coffee was great and the walk in the valley was wonderful and the food was – Ethiopian; no chips. The quest continues.

Back to Awassa and to Haile’s hotel the next day but first to Lewi’s restaurant for lunch. A fish sandwich may have been just bread and a thin sliver of Tilapia, but there were chips. Luke-warm, slightly over-cooked and occasionally too crunchy to eat chips. Progress, but not success.

Haile has built a hotel that is pretty western in standard and quality and we enjoyed our two nights there, with power and water almost continuously for two whole days - bliss! Sadly there were no chips on the menu but lunch at another resort after a morning spent feeding Colobus and Vervet monkeys by the lakeshore involved a ham and cheese toasted sandwich – and chips. There may have been little in it that resembled either ham or cheese, but the chips were hot, crispy, and absolutely delicious. Finally!

Getting away from it all is quite hard here as places to go are not prolific. Which explains why when Chris, Gary , Peggy and I walked into the hotel restaurant, 4 hours drive south of Addis, we were greeted by a long table full of over 20 Bingham teachers enjoying their extra day off.

The market in Awassa was great fun. Peggy and Chris bought several kilograms of green coffee beans from one of a multitude of possible vendors. This is a great area for coffee and they bought Ethiopian Yirgacheffe for a little over £2 per kilo. (In Whittards, it’s £28 per kilo).

On Tuesday after a delicious lunch of fresh fish from Ziway lake (no chips) we bade Peggy and Gary farewell and headed back to Addis, refreshed and relaxed.

So next time you go and buy lovely fresh crispy golden chips – think of us.

(Don’t forget to check out the photo gallery – especially if you want to see Chris with a monkey on her head).