Dinsho

Dinsho is situated near Bale National Park, southeast of Addis Ababa (Ethiopia’s Capitol). Dinsho is home of beautiful landscapes, the night cold, endemic animals, one of my favorite trees in Ethiopia, the kosso tree, and k’olo (a roasted barley snack). During my brief stay in Dinsho, I celebrated the dawn of 2012 with other Peace Corps Volunteers from around the country and got outdoors, into some elevation that pulled at my PNW love’n heart strings. Here are a few pictures from that trip:


Drew, Dressed for Dinsho Cold
Before we made it out there, we were advised to bring our warmest clothes and sleeping bags. But, living in the heat of southwest Ethiopia, I forgot what cold felt like. Down jacket, sweater, and windbreaker tightly bound with a wool scarf meant survival, not comfort. Drew, a PCV just a half days journey north of Dinsho, came prepared.



Entering a Kosso Grove
Sometimes nature shakes me and usually it’s from a mountain top but on occasion I’m amidst trees of unusual forms. The kosso tree (hagenia abyssinica) can be and often is gnarly and huge. Flowers grow in clusters from its limbs that seem like grapes from a distance.



Bale from Dinsho
The landscape is amazing and easily appreciated with a little elevation. The sunsets more than paid for the cold.