on the road…

i am currently on the road, heading south on the final stretch of our northern tour, roughly 100 km from addis ababa. we have been out for nine days, connecting the dots between addis, lalibela, gondar, and bahir dar, with layovers in dessie and debre marcos, and now closing the circle by returning to addis.
something i didn’t expect on this journey was discovering the importance of the road – a well paved strip of asphalt snaking through the country: crisscrossing the mountainsides, winding through valleys, traversing the plains and plateaus. the surface of the road is unexpectedly superior to what i imagined. at times, we have hit rough patches or stretches riddled with potholes and in need of repair, and of course there have been times when the road was nothing more than smooth, hard-packed mud, some sections of which that were less than superior, filled with jagged rocks or cut up into deep, soupy trenches. nevertheless, for the most part, it has been smooth sailing at 60 – 80 kph (and despite the varying quality of the road, tsouri, our driver, clips along on the muddy, less maintained sections nearly as fast as when we’re on the newer, freshly paved highway).
no stop signs or stop lights direct traffic; no mile markers, billboards, or road signs alert you to your location; no intersecting roads veer off in different directions. rather, traffic is managed by the careful maneuvering between the driver and the numerous users of the roadway – endless streams of pedestrians, men and women carrying heavy loads to and from the market or the fields, children or adults herding their animals, and young men holding up fruit and other items in hope that you will stop to make a purchase; goats, cattle, sheep, dogs, donkeys, and camels; bikes, motorcycles, horse-drawn carts, tuk-tuks, blue donkeys (aka taxis), cargo trucks, and other buses. somehow, tsouri deftly manages this relationship, weaving in and out, adeptly communicating with the horn and adjusting our speed as needed. we've come to a complete stop only a handful of times throughout our entire journey, usually due to a herd of cattle blocking the road or the need to divert around road repairs. now and again, we come to a junction in the road, and only then do we learn the direction and distance to the next biggest city.
we continuously pass through towns and villages, though these are separated by great distances. here it is apparent that the road plays an important role to the people, as they have built themselves up directly along its path. entire villages have relocated due to the construction of the road, often erecting buildings that sit close and hug the edges of the road itself: a vital artery of their daily lives, providing a means of connection to others, whether allowing villagers access to one another and the city for supplies and medical attention or bringing commerce and travelers to them.
i am left wondering about all of the people and places that exist beyond the reach of the road. those who live a six hour walk or perhaps days away; those who do not know it exists. how is it that they get by?
from what i can see, tradition and culture are juxtaposed with modernization, creating strange ironies that cause me to question their delicate interplay. it has been common to see gigantic steel towers connecting electric lines across vast expanses of open farmland and then to spot a man plowing his field with a single wooden hoe pulled by two cattle or a collection of round huts made of wood and straw just a few hundred meters from a tower, knowing that electricity is unknown to its occupants while the power lines direct energy to the city. or to have kids who live in one or two room houses without enough money for a pair of shoes to ask for my email address or request that i send the photo i snapped of them, while i doubt they have any way to access a computer let alone the internet.
i wonder how the lives of the people have changed with the development and renovations of the road – one such project was completed just last month, and i am reaping the benefits of much easier travel than those who have passed this way before. obviously, improving the roads and increasing infrastructure will increase tourism. most likely this will also increase access to the things every ethiopian needs – water, schooling, medical treatment… one can only hope. i wonder what other advancements will come due to tar and asphalt. i wonder what new struggles will surface and what conflicts over resources will erupt. my wish is that the people reap economic benefits and positive outcomes from the road, though i also hope that they are able to hold onto those things that make their culture uniquely its own. only time will tell.