Briefly, Somaliland

I've gotten back to Addis Ababa early this morning, around 8am, after a six-day-long roundtrip to Somaliland. Visa run mission: accomplished.

52,000 Somaliland shillings = 10 US dollars

It took me 24 harrowing hours to get back from Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, a journey that involved an array of means of transport: 1 Coaster, 1 (highly) shared taxi, 2 minibuses and 2 buses ... I'm knackered but it was worth it.

Street scene. night. Berbera.

Shipwrecks in Berbera's port 

Shared taxi. prayer break. 

Somaliland coast. deserted beach.  

Early one morning. 

More images on my Flickr here.  

Also, I wasn't on my own this time, having found an awesome travelling companion in a young Polish/German free spirit named Magdalena. Check her own blog and pictures here. 

Stay Tuned. 

ps: in other, breaking, news, Muammar Gaddafi is reported to be dead. 

http://english.aljazeera.net/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/oct/20/syria-libya-middle-east-unrest-live

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8838611/Libya-Gaddafi-dies-from-wounds-suffered-in-Sirte-capture.html

Dani hits the road again

By the time you'll read this post I'll be on my way to Harar in eastern Ethiopia, and from there I'll cross into Somaliland.

Somaliland visa (15 mins to get one) and last available page on my passport

In the end I could not get hold of an Ethiopian work permit as per planned, so now I have to leave the country, get a tourist visa in Hargeisa, the Somaliland capital, and then come back to Addis Abeba as a "tourist".

Plans may have changed, but my time in Ethiopia is not over yet. I have a couple of projects I want to follow, both personal work and other bits and pieces for different clients. And the first engagement after my re-entry will be a trip to the Omo Valley in southern Ethiopia. Finally.

More updates soon. Stay Tuned. 

Food photography - new in portfolio

My new fad. Images commissioned by the Itegue Taitu Hotel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Penne with tomato sauce 

Risotto carbonara

Green tagliatelle

Vegetable pizza

Veggie shish kebab

Club sandwich

More images on my Flickr here. 

Stay Tuned. 

Permaculture display @ Taitu

Featuring images of the Taitu Hotel's very own, organic, permaculture, veggie garden.

Sustainable food production in the heart of a big African capital city. A unique project as far as I know.

Part of Slow Food's A Thousand Gardens for Africa initiative.