Langan-go on then

Life in Addis Ababa can get a bit heavy at times (most of the time). Endless meetings. Constant work pressure. Daily frustrations. Dust. Safety concerns.

But, once in a while, you are able to carve out a moment of luxurious peace. Like this weekend, when I was whisked away to a lakeside cottage in Langano by the Scottish giant, Fraser, and the self-styled English pixies, Joe and Tabs. (Langano is a lake in the Oromia region of Ethiopia, and it surprisingly reminded me of the Lake District in the UK).

You drive for about four hours out of Addis Ababa, through Oromia, past villages where people sit in the shade of bougainvillea to sip on bunna coffee, past roadside veggie and fruit stalls, past a market where huge stork-like birds (but uglier) try to steal food, past the Castel winery. With a quick pit stop at a strawberry farm-café which sells a stunning strawberry juice.

Eventually you turn into a dusty road, through cacti and acacia trees and bright orange flowers, where you can start to spot more and more colourful birds. It's like entering a different world.

The moment we arrived at the lake... we felt a complete sense of calm. The sun was setting on Lake Langano, which was the exact colour of milky tea. Birds were chirping their twilight songs in the lush trees that dotted the garden. Yellow, pink, white flowers dotted the lawn. The frustrations of our daily life in Addis Ababa were a million miles away.

We unpacked and within minutes, Fraser had jumped into the tea lake. Joe and Tabs followed suit but the islander in me wasn't immediately sold by the black sand and (cold!) murky water and the fact that this wasn't a turquoise coloured salt-water body.

But hey. When in Rome...

The trip unfolded in an idyllic, sun-kissed weekend of drinking, laughing, watching out for hippos, eating, talking, lounging by the lake, more drinking... and an unexpected rescue.

We drank and laughed. And laughed some more.

Sunrise was especially beautiful. We went for a sunrise kayak, which easily goes down as one of the best memories of the trip. It was serene and Fraser spotted kingfishers and various other birds with his keen eye.

We drank some more. Ate loads. (Way too much, really).

The Brits baked in the sun. I prefered sketching in the shade.

We made friends with Parachichi (thus named by Tabs), the cutest stray doggo ever.

And with some stranded Americans who were paddling for over an hour in the same spot against the current, until Fraser and Joe, ever the gentlemen, decided to go rescue them.

Ate some more.

Lit a bonfire by the beach (my pyromaniac skills came in handy) and drank from Fraser's whiskey stash.

We got lost looking at the stars, an exceptionally beautiful sight with the sound of the waves making it all seem like a dream.

Had more kayak adventures: I laughed my head off when we went on a kayak threesome and capsized. Best. Experience. Ever. On our last trip out we paddled close to a hippo (thank God that Fraser kept his cool and steered us out of harm's way!)

All too soon, it was time to go. But I was grateful for this chance to breathe, escape Addis, and spend time with some of the best people I've come to know and love.