The Simiens pt 2

So the second day on the Simiens we got up early to go see some of the more amazing viewpoints. I woke up to the raspy cry of the thick-billed raven, which are the biggest crow relative I've ever seen. We didn't have a lot of hiking to do today which meant we would have a lot of time to kick around and admire the views. Heading towards Mount Gogol (sp?) we saw a Lammergayer which is the biggest bird available to find in Ethiopia and it really is quite huge. It was trying to break open a bone it had found for its marrow by dropping it onto the rocks near the path we were walking on. We watched for awhile and then moved on to the narrow ledges that led to the viewpoint which stands at a 3990m which is higher than I'd ever been before.

At this point I started to feel the altitude in the form of dizziness and a slight headache. It wasn't enough to stop me, but it was destined to get worse. The viewpoint is hard to put into words so I'll put pictures up later, but let me tell you that 4000m is really high. We headed back to camp and on the way it started to drizzle, then pour and finally hail as we ran into the shelter of camp. It didn't last long, but we were all freezing by the time we got there. This is about the time that the altitude sickness decided to kick in. Altitude sickness is what hits you when your body decides it isn't used to the amount of oxygen it's getting. It's not fun and involves, dizziness, nausea, fatiguem, a splitting headache and a loss of appetite on top of your lungs constantly complaining. I vomited and then went to sleep for 14 hours skipping out on dinner. It was the best sleep I got while in the Simiens, but it wasn't exactly something I wanted. I still had 2 days left in the mountains.

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