"Despite a short stop in the market and another for beer we still managed to be on the track before 9:00am. It was a beautiful day, and though a bit fresh at first, it soon warmed up. I had been able to leave some of my baggage at the aprk warden'd office, making the walking, I found, quite easy, and dispelling any early doubts by the Rangers office that I couldn’t manage without the help of a horse. I got the feeling that if anyone needed a horse it was my guide.
By mid-morning we reached a small village where a service was in progress at the local church. My guide told me it was a religious festival day, and because of this one of the rangers suggested I might like to visit one of his relatives who lived nearby, and where there would also be a gathering. When we were invited into the house for coffee I knew it was going to be a long stop, but by this time I had decided to accept that this was all going to be part of the Simian Mountain experience, and to relax and enjoy it.
As I did not have a tent it had been agreed that the rangers would arrange for me to stop with them on the farms they knew. Our first nights stop, after about a 13 mile walk, was at a scenic spot, close to the edge of an escarpment. It was very basic and more like indoor camping. The farmer and his family made me very welcome, and it was not long before the coffee beans I had brought were being roasted ready for us all to have a drink. Within an hour of us arriving it had got dark, and we joined the farmer and 6 of his family to sit round the fire while the lady of the house first served the coffee, then a meal of beans and potato, followed by, the now familiar, home-brew. The only light, a few candles which we had brought, and the fire. Their 3 cows and about a dozen chickens were also brought into the house. It was like being back in medieval times, the only signs of the modern world to be seen was the kettle and a few cooking pots.
When it came to sleep, they laid out a few cow hides on the raised earth section around the fire, and with the exception of the farmer and his wife, who slept on a platform above the cows, the rest of us had to use that as a bed. I was glad I had at least got my small sleeping bag with me.
Though I was not asked to pay anything for my accommodation my guide suggested I gave the family 10 Berr, about £1.20, which seemed to be gladly accepted. While here, and on a number of occasions on this treck, I was asked for eye ointment for the children. My guide told me it was a bad problem in these parts. It was good that I had brought quite a large tube of it with me. I felt more like the big white doctor arriving in some places." - MH
Farmhouse in Simien Mountains National Park, 1993
All items are produced from original paintings by Martyn Hanks.
Prints:Size is A4 (8.27" x 11.69"/210 x 297mm). Printed onto high quality 245gsm fine art watercolour paper to give the print an authentic look and feel. Supplied in a textured off white mount size 12" x 16" (305 x 406mm), backed and sealed in a clear cellophane wrap and delivered in a protective carton to ensure it reaches you in perfect condition.
Cards: Size 7" X 5"/178 x 127mm. Packaged in a clear cellophane wrap with a top quality 150gsm self-seal white envelope.