Our biggest adventure this weekend was visiting Wenchi Crater.  Wenchi is a volcanic caldera with a lake in it, much like Crater Lake in Oregon.

People live in the Wenchi crater.  They raise animals and grow potatoes and “false banana” (cassava), a staple root crop.  In the past few years, various NGOs have helped the locals to develop tourism in the crater.  There is a little building where visitors pay an entrance fee of 10 birr (50 cents); there you can hire a guide and arrange for horses and boatmen to assist you with your trek.  We sprung for the one-day grand tour: horses down to the lake, a boat to an island monastery, hike across the island, boat to the opposite shore, then new horses through the meadows and back up to the rim.  We had a guide who traveled the distance with us.  Children attached themselves to our party while we were on horseback, acting as porters in hopes of a reward. My little guy earned a tip by carrying my backpack.

The scenery was spectacular. This is a place with no signs, no engines, no cement, no plastic. It gives the impression of being a pristine paradise. While on her horse Alekka said that the meadow path felt like the road to Shangri-la. We felt like plastic people, faranji with dorky backpacks and water bottles and cameras and silly hats.  But we sure had a good time.

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