Bethel Pension

The Bethel Pension, motel that we stayed at was across the street from a famous hotel in Awassa called “Mountain Snug.” We would go across the street for breakfast, dinner, or an evening beer, but we spent a lot of time hanging out chatting, working, and resting at our home away from home. A practice that a lot of Ethiopian hotels use is having security guards who sleep just outside of the gates in a small hut. Bethel Pension has two young men who act as guards and gate keepers. In addition to opening the gates for us to go in and out all day and into the evenings, the guards at our hotel also served as bellhops getting us bottled water, toilet paper, and SIM cards.

Binyam, one of our security guards/bellhops and me. Seriously, the sweetest kid.

We all adored them and at the end of our stay we gave them each a headlamp since the electricity, including street lamps, goes out just about every night in Awassa.