Today I should have been making my way back from the UNESCO world heritage site of Konso, in the south west of Ethiopia, to the captial Addis Ababa. But the on-going protests there (and strong government response) flared up again a couple of weeks ago. These events bypassed the international media. So my plans were duly changed and I would stay in Addis Ababa.

Lucy at the National Museum in Addis Ababa

Arriving in Addis Ababa last weekend, and having seen Lucy(!) I was determined to see some of the beautiful mountainous countryside that rings the city this weekend. I started planning a weekend trip out to the lake region around Bishoftu in Oromia. On Sunday protests at the Ireecha celebrations, the resulting tragic deaths of over 50 people from the government response to the protests, not to mention the general anger felt against the government ,meant that this…