THE LAST FRONTIER
Journey to the boundary between Ethiopia and Sudan

I had always retained impossible see Itang, distant more than 500 kilometers from Addis Ababa. For arrive is necessary rent and pay an airplane up to Gambela only place in the vicinity of Itang furnished of airport
R. Kapuscinski from book – Ebano - (Feltrinelli editions - Italy 2002)

Is a big journey until Gambella in the distant land of west Ethiopian, a long fatigue until to the border with the Sudan, until to the basin of the White Nilo that run between tropical forests and savannas, between swamps and marshes. From the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, we take a bad road not tarred asfaltata, long 860 kilometers. For four days the bus, an old Cacciamalli full of people, jump between the big holes of the road and clouds of grey dust.
It looks like impossible arrive to destination. But the bus darts descending the Ethiopian highland, toward the luxuriant Western lowlands.
The majestic landscape changes in continuation. We cross woods of bamboo and giant ferns, forests of eucalyptuses and sicomori, plantations of coffee and thè in the fog.
we cross big rivers on bridges that seem on the point of break. Only when he is dark the bus stops in unknown villages along the road we sleep in dirts hotels with the small rooms in, fleas in the beds and the stinking common baths. In the morning the old bus Cacciamalli leaves again, like in a miracle, and runs under the sun already hot. The driver is wet of sweat, he brake, turn, advance, he is busy to avoid children, asses, horses, cows groups of people that get out of the forest and walk along the footstep. The bus fall to the low land  very fast. the vegetation changes minute after minute. the rain forests lets spaces to cultivations of coffee and of thè, then the savanna with yellow tall grass and sparse acacia tree. we are entering in the heart of wild and isolated Africa, I think about the pages of Conrad: we arrived in the heart of darkness. Is December but still now the swamps of rotten water flood the lowlands invaded by the tributaries of the White Nilo. we arrived in the province of Gambella where for nine months at the year is kingdom of rain, heat, intolerable sultriness, where malaria and tzè-tzè fly rages in the lowlands. I the bush hide minuscules villages, only any huts of straw in the desert of grass here is very important the water of the Baro and of the other rivers that flood the lowlands, this allows the presence of varied kind of animals like big antelopes, that comes taken for eat. the grass grows abundant and this is well for the Nuer breeders that come here for make to pasture their herds of zebu