Sipping Strong Coffee in Addis Ababa

Ethiopians take their coffee seriously. It is one of the few African coffee growing countries that appreciates a good cup of coffee as much as the international marketplace. Coffee shops line the streets. The mercado sells bulk coffee. Restaurants offer coffee in the traditional way, brewed in clay pots with spices. You wake to the aroma of many households roasting their own coffee beans for breakfast coffee. It's an exotic place. Coffee sold in bulk at the Mercado Brewing coffee... Adding spices Grinding coffee the old-fashioned way

My Trip to Arusha

For those of you that know my itinerary, you're saying to yourself, "I didn't know he was going to Arusha." Neither did I. On approach to Nairobi from Dar es Salaam, airport lights went out so they diverted the plane to Killamonjaro. After hours in the airport, they decided to put us up in a hotel for the night. So at midnight they load us into buses for the hour drive to Arusha for the "nearest" hotel. I think someone must have a deal going with the airline. Then it was back up at 3am for the drive back to catch the 6am flight. I'm a little cranky, and tired. On the plus side, it was a beautiful view of Mount Killamonjaro from the airplane. p.s. The gardens around Dar es Salaam are filled with a profusion of tropical flowers. I didn't get out to see too much more with the 95+ degrees and equal humidity.

Return to Africa

I barely made it back to the States from my October trip, when a call came asking me whether I could return in December. Word got out about some coaching training we did in Rwanda. Now, other teams were interested. Let's see, December in the tropics or rainy Puget Sound. Yes, I believe I can make that happen. This will be a whirlwind trip of two trans-continental flights, four countries, four workshops and 30+ coaching sessions in two weeks. Watch my blog. I will try to keep it updated with a few postings.