There are so many things about Ethiopian Tourism that are strange for foreigners. There is so much natural and historical beauty to see but so little in
the way of accommodating people to easily see it. At the Sof Omar Caves no one really knows how much it should costs to enter the caves and for a guide. We were at first charged 250 Ethiopian Birr by a man who looked like con artist with no official credentials. But after much arguing the price was reduced to 90 Birr per person.
Then we were presented with our tour guides who were simply teenage boys who brought along their nagging teenage girl friends on a three hour trek through a massive cave system. Passing through a deep water crossing proved to be a microcosm of life in Ethiopia; it was a clustered mess of shouting in different languages brought on by ill preparation. In the end we left two of our cavers behind who were not prepared to go swimming.
But the caves are an amazing natural treasure, the kind of place that in the USA would be well protected and managed. Here there are Ethiopian school kids swimming naked, doing there laundry, and throwing trash at the cave mouth. There is not even one sign or marking of any kind we saw that designated this spot as special. And there are thousands of meters of electric wires criss-crossing every part of the caves; meant to power flood lights inside that were not functioning.
End the end, though, it was an amazing experience of natural beauty and worth the hassles.
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