Langano

When I switched a few of my News Watch shifts around and found myself with 10 days off I thought 'why do the usual thing and go to Lake Langano?' Since I was a child, Langano has always been my personal haven, but because I've never been to the Danakil Depression, I was keen on heading that way. From my title I guess you can imagine where I ended up going...

Loaded up my old Land Cruiser and set off. On the road to Lake Langano

I was initially super eager to set off into the Danakil for various reasons: This depression is a desert basin in northeastern Ethiopia, lying 100m below sea level and is the lowest point on Earth. It's also the hottest place on Earth. The salt wastelands and volcanic heat create geological formations and landscapes which National Geographic refers to as "a painted desert." It's also generally referred to as "the cruelest place on earth." But nevermind that. It's beautiful. See: jackandjilltravel danakil depression photography. As it happens, September brings staggering heat with it to the Danakil - not a smart idea to go at this time, and alas my reason for not going there in the end. But if anyone has the chance to go during a milder season, I think it's definitely worth the harsh trip...

Back to Langano: I packed my swimsuit, my dogs and food supplies, and set off alone. My Dad and a friend dropped in for a couple of days at a time, but I was alone for most of it. Which was nice. It felt like a slow relaxation of... everything. Mind, body and soul. If anyone in Ethiopia is looking for a break from the hustle and bustle of Addis, Langano is just a few hours away. If you manage to rent a little house on a private beach, it really is heaven. Back to basics, sun, swim, nature. Little or no cell reception, you get the picture...

It's not just a brown lake :) I've been coming to Langano ever since I was a baby, and to best describe it, I'd just say it's *my* place. It's always suited me perfectly at every stage of my life, if that makes better sense.

Childhoods were spent with hours on the beach, in and out of the water. Water sports, cheeky games with friends throughout the summer months. Nights were spent playing hide and seek in the shrubs and bushes, getting lost in the nature which encircled us, each of us puppies heading home to our mums at the common set curfew, dirty, usually with a few scratches and shrubbery in our hair. Precious, no?

Then came the teenage years - tanning, bikinis, boat trips across the lake to go hippo-watching. Nighttime brought with it tight jeans, horror stories, camp fires and skinny dipping.

Nowadays I usually go to Langano with my big happy family or a group of friends, spending our days on the beach tanning, swimming, water-skiing, fishing - and taking breaks with meals which are way yummy; too big and filling to be healthy. Afternoons are spent with blissful siestas, card-games - or drinking games depending on the company ;) - and sometimes walks, jogs or hikes to burn the lunch calories. Then comes dinner time, a hot shower, a camp fire under a canopy of stars, and good book curled up in bed.

I can imagine one day taking my own kids and grandkids there, seeing them crawl into the compound at their curfew, myself having spent the evening laughing with friends and family, grilling meat on the BBQ. As my mum did with me, and her mum before her.