Queen's Jubilee

A topper with a crown on a purple cushion and guards to celebrate the Queen's jubilee.

Plus a few other toppers to celebrate summer.

Outside the Blck Jug pub,

A replacement summer topper outside my local row of shops on Hills Farm Lane.

 

Dallol hot springs

Dallol Hot springs

 

North of Erte Ale are some coourful hot springs at Dallol where the groundwater has been heated by the proximity of hot magma and picks up various minerals and rises to the surface. Here the water evaporates and leaves interesting formations and in various colours. 

All photos are copyright Thomas Spinner, abenteuer-vulkan.de 
 

Erta Ale volcano, Ethiopia

 Erta Ale volcano, Ethiopia

Then it was time for the 80 kilometres journey from Afrera to the Erta Ale volcano.

Staring into teh abyss of the throat of the volcano.

A closer view of the lava lake.

And the view is constantly changing as the lave swells up, creates a crust and then pulls some the crust down as it descends back down the throat to be remelted.

Some of the lava fountains.

A close up of the lave lake.

All photos are copyright Thomas Spinner  https://abenteuer-vulkan.de

Allolabad, Ethiopia, The Waters of Allah

Allolabad

I changed hotels to the more upmarket Kuriftu Resort and Spa in Semera and they cater for all tastes. In the restaurant were several charcaol burmers around traditional small tables.

The floral display is not a carpet but actual petals and leaves.

The chacoal burner to warm water and keep the tespot warm within the restaurant. It was smokey at times but obviously the smoke detectors weren't operational.

We were off to  see Allolabad, The Waters of Allah, a hot spring about 40 kilometres outside Semera but it would take a while to reach it as it was over gravel roads, not smooth tarmac.

The Awash River has had levees built along its banks and the farers use gravity to get the water from the river to the fields. T|here were plenty of foobridges across the river and irrigation channels but vehicles had to make some long detours to cross the channels.

And despite the remoteness of the area, there was a lot of traffic such as herds of camels...

..and herds of goats.

After we left the last village along out route, we came across some wildlife...

...such as this mountain goat.

And we arrived at the hot springs, a large lake with steam rising into the hot desert air.

Just a short walk away was a small cinder cone created after an earlier eruption.

But looking out to the other side shows how desolate the area can be with just sand for as far as the eye can see. And that black smudge roght of centre is an ostrich running away from us.

But here was a little oasis with steam rising above the surface of the lake.

The water was crystal clear but too acidic to swim in.

The cinder cone overlooking the hot springs.

A bird making good use of one of the little islands on the lake for its nest..

A closer view of the bird as it skipped around the edges of the hot springs.

One part of the lake was quite deep but this area offered an opportunity for animals to have a wash.

One area of the hot springs had gushing fountains with steam drifting into the desert air.

One of the bubbling fountains.

And a reminder of how harsh and barren the desert can be away from the oasis.

And then it was back through the desert, past the irrigated farnland passing some local domesticated animals.

And a statue of Lucy at a crossroads in the city of Semera found in 1974, a collection of several hundred pieces of fossilised bone representing 40 percent of a female of the hominin species Australopithecus afarensis.

Semera in Ethiopia

A general view of the countryside around Semera showing a dry dusty desert.

A rare eample of an ordinary car, unusual as most vehicles are either tuk-tuks or 4x4s.

Some long wooden poles used for scaffolding, walls for houses and to support shuttering to pour concrete walls and floors.

A view of the desert being mostly sand.

Another view of the desert, this time comprised of rocks with sand in between.

A wooden frame for one of the houses.

A covered frame.

Our vehilces parked in whatever shade there was to keep them cool in temperatures passing 50C degrees.

Our pasta lunch at the Awash Hotel en route to Erta Ale.

It is so hot that people sleep in open sided barns but these goats were taking the opportunity for a soft bed.

A view of the desert and the two vehicles of our convoy in front.

A view of the evaporation ponds at Afrera used to produce salt to satisfy 95% of local requirements and the surplus is exported..

The huts at our beach side hot spring camp site...I slept in the open.

One of the pump intakes from the lake to supply the evaportion ponds.

The lowest island in the world at 102 metres below sea level.

Our evening meal.

Breakfast.