1/5 Alessandro B. 4 years ago on Google
As
a
solo
traveler
I
only
hired
the
mandatory
guard
for
400
bir
a
day
and
decided
for
a
3
nights
4
days
hike
(2000
birr,
park
entrance
and
camping
fees
included)
to
the
imet
gogo
without
vehicle
except
for
a
bajaj
(tuk
tuk)
from
debark
to
the
entrance
of
the
park.
Everything
was
organized
at
the
park
office
in
Debark
by
me
and
some
people
working
for
the
park.
The
first
day
we
started
to
hike
at
about
8
and
after
a
few
of
hours
we
reached
the
first
camp
site,
Sankaber.
It
was
raining
and
the
guard
started
to
tell
me
we
should
have
gone
back
to
Debark,
signifying
putting
an
end
to
a
4
day
trip
after
a
mere
3
hours...
I
said
no
and
explained
to
him
I
wanted
to
continue
to
Geech,
which,
according
to
the
park
staff,
would
have
been
the
destination
for
the
second
day
(being
Sankaber
the
destination
for
the
first
day!).
The
guard
agreed
and
we
kept
moving.
After
a
while
the
sky
cleared
and
the
guard
started
to
tell
me:
"today
Geech,
tomorrow
Imet
Gogo,
third
day
Debark"
which
meant
reducing
the
whole
trip
by
one
day.
We
were
making
good
progress
and
i
said
"OK".
Then
the
guard
took
me
in
front
of
a
river
and
told
me
we
had
to
cross
it,
but
the
river
was
impassable
due
to
heavy
rain.
I
insisted
we
tried
to
cross
it,three
but
we
failed
on
three
different
points.
I
asked
the
guard
if
there
was
an
alternative
way,
he
said
"NO".
He
said
"back
to
Sankaber".
I
asked
him
if
the
next
day
we
could
have
walked
to
Chenek,
an
alternative
camping
site
to
Geech,
given
that
Geech
was
apparently
unreachable.
He
said
"with
car".
I
didn't
want
to
hire
a
car
and
said
no.
He
then
said
"
too
far".
I
asked
him
what
would
have
been
his
plan
for
the
next
day,
he
said
"Debark".
I
said
no,
I
paid
4
days.
There
was
a
mild
argument.
Given
the
fact
i
was
alone
with
an
armed
guy
I
gave
up.
The
guard
never
threatened
me,
but
I
was
unwilling
to
push
the
argument
too
far.
We
walked
back
to
Sankaber.
I
had
a
tent
with
me
and
I
set
it
up.
The
guard
had
nothing,
literally
nothing
with
him
except
the
rifle
and
some
bread.
He
tried
to
convince
me
to
go
to
the
lodge.
I
said
no.
The
guard
showed
me
a
place
to
set
up
the
tent
completly
unsuited
for
camping,
on
a
slope
and
on
rocks.
I
asked
for
another
place.
He
said
"here
clean,
no
place".
Then
he
sat
next
to
the
tent.
I
invited
him
to
get
inside.
He
said
no.
After
30
minutes
in
the
tent
pondering
the
craziness
of
a
guy
staying
outside
for
the
whole
freezy
and
rainy
night
I
decided
to
rent
the
room
at
the
lodge.
The
camping
place
sucked
anyway.
If
you
rent
a
room
in
the
lodge,
the
guard
is
allowed
to
sleep
in
the
same
room,
which
is
basically
a
big
dorm
with
about
10
beds.
In
the
lodge
I
found
people
who
booked
an
organized
trip
from
Addis,
paying
between
3
to
4
times
what
i
payed
(however
they
had
guide
and
cook
and
4wd
transportation)
and
they
were
having
a
wonderful
time.
The
next
day
the
guard
took
me
back
to
Debark
effectively
ending
the
whole
thing
at
10
a.m
on
the
second
day.
I
went
to
the
park
office
where
i
organized
the
trip
just
2
days
before
and
they
told
me
"no
refund".
I
asked
again
and
they
told
me
to
speak
to
the
manager.
The
manager
said
"
no
refund"
If
you
are
an
independent
traveler
trying
to
organize
things
by
yourself,
who
only
wants
to
hike,
thinks
he
doesn't
need
guides,
cooks
and
porters,
this
place
feels
like
a
massive,
massive
scam.
They
will
make
your
life
as
hard
as
possible.
The
fact
I
was
alone
didn't
help
either.
On
a
side
note,
the
park
is
beautiful.
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