Keren - November 23 2009

 

At 7:00 I am at the bus station. The queue of people waiting for the bus is so long that I have to wait until 9:00 to have a seat.

Like all passengers, I park my rucksack in the virtual queue of bags, stones, and other items representing the boarding position.

It is not an efficient mode of transport, but a contacted taxi will cost me 1500 Nakfa (or a fair share if I can find someone with some budget) compared to 23 Nakfa for the bus ticket.

A taxi passes, offering a seat for 300 Nakfa. But I will have to wait for another three passengers with the same budget, which may take more time then waiting for the bus.

When it is my turn, my seat number is written on my hand with a red marker. I spoke with the driver to have a seat in front of the bus. It is okay. It will help at the checkpoints, and guaratee a good view on the countryside.

Boys enter the bus to sell various food and non food items. I buy some grissini to share with the passengers.

The queue of waiting people is growing. The line of stones and bags is snaking in hairpins on the street in front of the Dolphin Bar.

Every once and a while someone tries to move forward illegally with some kind of story, resulting in emotional discussions with the other waiting passengers.

We leave at 9:30 to descend the Asmara escarpment in the northwest direction through a landscape with scattered Acacia trees, Euphorbia and other shrubs.

25 kilometers before Keren we pass Elabered, an agricultural area, and traditional houses with their cone shaped roofs. Two kilometers before we enter Keren, one has a view on the town from a distance.

At 12:00 we arrive at the Keren bus station. I enjoy some fruit juices in the snack bar of the bus terminal, before visiting Nazret in Kidane Asgedoms Restaurant. I ask her to take care of my rucksack, since I am unable to store it in the house where I will stay for some nights.

From the restaurant I  walk to the livestock market on the road to Afabet. I watch the farmers trying to sell their goats, cows, donkeys, and camels. In a makeshift tea bar I drink tea and have some bread.

Back in the Kidane Asgedom Bar I ask Tekie, Nazrets brother, if he can serve a cold coke. "Give me five minutes" is his answer. Five minutes later he returns with a cold coke, imported from Sudan.

I order diner and tea for myself, for Tekie and his fiancé Rawha.

In Bar Stuttgart I visit my girlfriends Hidat and Rahel, their mother Elen and the rest of the family. I have some araki to eliminate any bacteria, and a large bottle of mineral water.

When it gets dark I walk to the house of Afworki and Hansu. Bereket is waiting for me.

When Hansu returns from her job she wants to make me diner. I tell her I had my diner downtown. Hansu boiles coffee in the garden in front of her house, and prepares my room.

At 21:00 it is time to rest. The animals will wake me up very early.

 

Immigrations checkpoint - Road from Asmara to Keren Eritrea.

Hairpin curves - Road from Asmara to Keren Eritrea.

Landscape - Road from Asmara to Keren Eritrea.

Village - Road from Asmara to Keren Eritrea.

Landscape Elabered - Road from Asmara to Keren Eritrea.

Camel - Road from Asmara to Keren Eritrea.

View on the animal market from Mariam Dearit - Keren Eritrea.

View on the animal market from Mariam Dearit - Keren Eritrea.

Livestock market - Keren Eritrea.

Livestock market - Keren Eritrea.

Haystacks - Keren Eritrea.

Traditional house (Tukul) - Keren Eritrea.

Traditional village - Keren Eritrea.

Rawha - Keren Eritrea.

Afewerki - Keren Eritrea.