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Leo Cecchini, Russ Misheloff,
and Steve Cristofar are working on a trip to Ethiopia for RPCV's this
September. The following is information that we have received from
them.
Announcement #1
Ethiopia & Eritrea RPCVs is offering a "Return to Ethiopia"
trip this September 2012 to commemorate the arrival of the
Peace Corps in Ethiopia 50 years ago, and to celebrate 50
years of Peace Corps service to the country. In many
respects the Peace Corps in Ethiopia has been the epitome of
all the Peace Corps has been and is. That first group of 286
out of 325 candidates actually doubled the number of
secondary school teachers in a country of maybe 24 million
people. Stunning, dramatic only begin to describe the
audacity of the undertaking.
The trip is open to all E&E RPCVs and a guest — spouse,
companion, friend, child, sibling — one guest per E&E RPCV.
"Return to Ethiopia" will begin with a meeting with the
Ethiopian Ambassador in Washington DC. We will then as a
group board our direct flight from DC to Addis Ababa where
we will be received by Ethiopians from all walks of life who
knew and lived, worked and played with Peace Corps
Volunteers. We will spend our first few days in Addis with
events and activities for the whole group. Following the
group activities, travelers will be free to travel to the
communities where they actually served and to do other
travel. We are working to allow travelers to book their own
return date so as to offer maximum flexibility to participants.
Travel logistics are straightforward. We will book a block
of tickets on Ethiopian Airlines and each traveler will make
his own booking under the group block. Round trip air fare
will be $1300. We are blocking a group of rooms at a hotel
in Addis for the first four nights. Again, each traveler
will book his own room under the group block. Room rates
will be $100 – $150 per night. Individual in-country travel
will be at each traveler's expense.
We have asked the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington for
assistance in making these arrangements — most importantly,
to inform the communities of service that our members will
be visiting them so that they may prepare receptions and events.
We have selected September to visit since that is the month
when we first arrived 50 years ago. It is also the main
season for celebrations with Ethiopian New Year on Sept 12
of our calendar and Meskel on Sept 28.
Please let me know if you plan to go. We will keep travelers
informed of details, especially when and how to book plane
tickets and hotel accomodations.
Please send ALL questions, and reservations to Leo at:
leo@cecchini.org
*************************************************************
Announcement
#2
The response to "Return to Ethiopia" has been truly
impressive. We have received over 100 expressions of interest and
the trip is definitely on. Rather than try to reach all responders
by individual message we are sending this update to all.
Please note that you must respond directly to Russ Misheloff at
rmisheloff@comcast.net
TRIP
Ethiopia & Eritrea RPCVs is arranging a trip to
Ethiopia titled "Return to Ethiopia" to commemorate the arrival of
the first group of Peace Corps Volunteers in Ethiopia 50 years ago
and to celebrate 50 years of Peace Corps service to the country. The
trip is open to all RPCVs who served in Ethiopia and Eritrea as well
as staff. In order to keep the group to a manageable size we will
allow each participant to bring only one companion on the trip.
DATE
The group will
assemble in Washington DC on Sept 22 for a reception and send-off at
the Ethiopian Embassy that afternoon or evening.
The group will then depart by an Ethiopian Airlines' direct flight
from DC to Addis Ababa on Sunday, Sept 23.
We will arrive on Monday, Sept 24 where we expect to have media
coverage of our arrival. Later that day we will assemble for a
function hosted by the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry.
Tuesday there will be some meetings and a tour of Addis.
Wednesday is the eve of the Meskel Celebration which continues
through to Thursday.
Friday will mark the end of our group activities. The rest of the
stay will be for travel to your communities of service and other
travel. We have a nominal return date of Oct 7, but each participant
will be able to book his or her return date earlier or later (see
airline info below.)
AIR TRAVEL
We have
negotiated a group rate from EAL for departure from DC on Sept 23
and return Oct 7. However, each traveler will be able to book his
return earlier or later than that date within reason, i.e. a week
before or after those dates.
For each individual the round trip fate is $1310.00. The group rate
is a limited economy class ticket that allows changes and
cancellation with a penalty.
For in-country travel EAL is offering coupons that can be
purchased at the same time as the international ticket. Each coupon
can be used to book a single flight within the country, e.g. a trip
from Addis to Jimma and return to Addis will require two coupons.
The price for coupons will be 2 for $160, 3 for $175, 4 for $200 and
5 for $240, plus tax.
For those who cannot join the group in Washington but want to be
with the group, you may travel however you like, just be in Addis on
Sept 24. I myself will be coming from Spain. Several airlines offer
round trip tickets from the East Coast USA to Addis at similar
prices, but all involve stopovers en route.
ACCOMMODATIONS
We will be sending out a list of hotels in Addis Ababa which
participants will use in making room bookings for Sept 24 to 28.
Prices will range from $70 to $200 a night. Among others, we are
looking into getting a group rate at the old Ras Hotel, but this is
a somewhat iffy proposition since word has it that the Ras is not
run well. However, it could be a real "blast from the past."
IN-COUNTRY TRAVEL
Please include your community of service in your reply to this
message. We will pass this on to the Ethiopian Government that will
alert your community of service to your visit, The government will
also assist in making travel arrangements to your community of
service.
ERITREA
For those who served in Eritrea, please note that travel between the
two countries is not allowed. However, we are working on getting
special permission for a group to travel to Eritrea. We will keep
you informed of progress but most likely we will not be able to do
this.
Just today Tom Gallagher, who is working on trying to make this
happen received the following message from the U.S. State Department
regarding travel to and in Eritrea:
Good afternoon—
Sincerely,
Matt Petit, Eritrea and Djibouti Desk Officer
Office of East African Affairs, U.S. Department of State
Eritrea RPCVs, I urge you to read carefully the newly posted "Travel
Warning" re. Eritrea that is referenced in this message.
WHAT NOW?
If you want to go
on this historic trip please send the following information to Russ
Misheloff at
rmisheloff@comcast.net:
If you will
travel to Ethiopia with the group, provide the following information
FOR EACH TRAVELER —
- Full name as it appears
on your passport
Gender
Date of
birth
Community
of service (if not an RPCV, but will be travelling with an RPCV
to his/her community, include that name)
Desired
in-country travel by air
Desired date for your
return flight
Send the
information to Russ Misheloff at
rmisheloff@comcast.net:
We will give this information to
EAL for them to prepare individual ticket prices, i.e. round trip
ticket and in-country air travel which we will send back to you with
how to pay.
Note: you
will pay EAL's office in Alexandria, Virginia and not via its web
site.
If you will be traveling independently to Ethiopia, provide the
following information FOR EACH TRAVELLER:
- Full name as it appears
on your passport
Community of service (if
not an RPCV, but will be travelling with an RPCV to his/her
community, include that name)
Send this
information to Russ for inclusion in the official roster and for
the Ethiopian Government to use in alerting those communities of
your visit.
QUESTIONS
Please send any
questions to me directly at
leo@cecchini.org
MORE INFORMATION . . .
. . . will be sent out to the entire mailing list as details are
finalized.
THANK YOU
Steve Cristofar (Asmara, Adi Quala,Debarwa 62-64), Tom Gallagher (Agordat
62-64) and Russ Mischeloff (Debre Berhan 62-64) for their assistance
in the planning and arrangements.
Here's to next
September in Addis!
Leo
**************************************************************
Announcement #3
TRIP
Ethiopia & Eritrea RPCVs is arranging a trip to
Ethiopia titled "Return to Ethiopia" to commemorate the arrival of
the first group of Peace Corps Volunteers in Ethiopia 50 years ago
and to celebrate 50 years of Peace Corps service to the country. The
trip is open to all RPCVs who served in Ethiopia and Eritrea as well
as staff. In order to keep the group to a manageable size we will
allow each participant to bring only one companion on the trip.
DATE
The group will assemble in Washington DC on
Sept 22 for a reception and send-off at the Ethiopian Embassy that
afternoon or evening.
The group will then depart by an Ethiopian
Airlines' direct flight from DC to Addis Ababa on Sunday, Sept 23.
We will arrive on Monday, Sept 24 where we
expect to have media coverage of our arrival. Later that day we will
assemble for a function hosted by the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry.
Wednesday is the eve of the Meskel
Celebration which continues through to Thursday.
Friday will mark the end of our group
activities. The rest of the stay will be for travel to your
communities of service and other travel. We have a nominal return
date of Oct 7, but each participant will be able to book his or her
return date earlier or later (see airline info below.)
AIR TRAVEL
We have negotiated a group rate from EAL for
departure from DC on Sept 23 and return Oct 7. However, each
traveler will be able to book his return earlier or later than that
date within reason, i.e. a week before or after those dates.
For each individual the round trip fate is
$1310.00. The group rate is a limited economy class ticket that
allows changes and cancellation with a penalty.
For in-country travel EAL is offering coupons
that can be purchased at the same time as the international ticket.
Each coupon can be used to book a single flight within the country,
e.g. a trip from Addis to Jimma and return to Addis will require two
coupons. The price for coupons will be 2 for $160, 3 for $175, 4 for
$200 and 5 for $240, plus tax.
For those who cannot join the group in
Washington but want to be with the group, you may travel however you
like, just be in Addis on Sept 24. I myself will be coming from
Spain. Several airlines offer round trip tickets from the East Coast
USA to Addis at similar prices, but all involve stopovers en route.
ACCOMMODATIONS
We will be sending out a list of hotels in
Addis Ababa which participants will use in making room bookings for
Sept 24 to 28. Prices will range from $70 to $200 a night. Among
others, we are looking into getting a group rate at the old Ras
Hotel, but this is a somewhat iffy proposition since word has it
that the Ras is not run well. However, it could be a real "blast
from the past."
IN-COUNTRY TRAVEL
Please include your community of service in
your reply to this message. We will pass this on to the Ethiopian
Government that will alert your community of service to your visit,
The government will also assist in making travel arrangements to
your community of service.
ERITREA
For those who served in Eritrea, please note
that travel between the two countries is not allowed. However, we
are working on getting special permission for a group to travel to
Eritrea. We will keep you informed of progress but most likely we
will not be able to do this.
Just today Tom Gallagher, who is working on
trying to make this happen received the following message from the
U.S. State Department regarding travel to and in Eritrea:
Good afternoon—
We updated our travel information for
Eritrea today and I thought I’d pass it your way. More information
is available at http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_5698.html.
Sincerely,
Matt Petit, Eritrea and Djibouti Desk
Officer
Office of East African Affairs, U.S.
Department of State
Eritrea RPCVs, I urge you to read carefully the
newly posted "Travel Warning" re. Eritrea that is referenced in this
message.
WHAT NOW?
If you want to go on this historic trip
please send the following information to:
Russ Misheloff at
rmisheloff@comcast.net
If you will travel to
Ethiopia with the group, provide the following information FOR EACH
TRAVELLER —
• Full name of each traveler
EXACTLY as it appears on their passport
• Gender
• Date of birth
• Community (or communities)
of service (if not an RPCV, but will be travelling with an RPCV to
his/her community, include that name)
• Desired in-country travel
by air
• Desired date for your
return flight
• Send the information to
Russ Misheloff at rmisheloff@comcast.net:
We will give this information to EAL for them
to prepare individual ticket prices, i.e. round trip ticket and
in-country air travel which we will send back to you with how to
pay.
Note: you will pay EAL's office in Alexandria,
Virginia and not via its web site.
If you will be traveling independently to
Ethiopia, provide the following information FOR EACH TRAVELLER:
• Full name of each traveler EXACTLY as it
appears on their passport
• Community (or communities) of service (if
not an RPCV, but will be travelling with an RPCV to his/her
community, include that name)
• Send this information to Russ for
inclusion in the official roster and for the Ethiopian Government to
use in alerting those communities of your visit.
QUESTIONS
Please send any questions to me directly at:
leo@cecchini.org
********************************************
Announcement #4
Dear All,
Below we provide an update and advice on a
variety of topics, many of which we have been hearing from you
about, and so know are on your minds.
1. Information for Ethiopian Airlines: EAL has
asked that we submit a single list of travelers (rather than in
groups of 20 as we were planning to do earlier). We will do that at
the end of May. So, for those who want to take the September 23
flight to Addis, but who have not already provided us with complete
information, we need name (exactly as it appears on the traveler’s
passport), gender, and date of birth of each returned Peace Corps
Volunteer and staff plus companions (no more than one per
volunteer). We also need the community or communities where you
served, places within Ethiopia you plan to travel to by air,
including the dates of travel, and your proposed date of return to
Washington. Note that you can, but don’t have to return on October
7. In fact, the only restriction is that you return within 90 days
of the beginning of your trip, i.e. by December 22. EAL will take
the information we provide, calculate how much you owe, advise on
how and where to make payment, and will issue coupons for the
in-country trips you plan to make.
2. Information for those traveling to Ethiopia
on another airline: Please send us your full name (again as it
appears on your passport) and that of your traveling companion (if
any) and your community or communities of service. This will get you
access to events in Addis, and will be communicated to your
community(ies) of service.
3. Travel Insurance: Things happen; including,
but not limited to, illness before the trip begins, or during the
trip itself (including the need for medical evacuation). Insurance
is available to cover these contingencies, and to assure that you
get back at least part of any monies you have paid in advance.
Actually, some credit cards, when used to purchase air tickets,
provide trip protection insurance as part of their benefits. So,
participants are advised to check their card's benefits brochures to
see whether and what coverage is included, if any, and consider
whether it is enough. If not, buying additional insurance is not
inordinately expensive. We strongly recommend that you protect
yourselves in this way. And frankly, if you don’t and something
unfortunate happens, we can provide sympathy, but nothing more.
Where to go for help on this? A good resource is Travel Guard
(http://buy.travelguard.com). You can also contact AAA or AARP, both
of which have links to insurance companies.
4. Help with planning tours: There are lots of
resources available, including but not limited to:
a. Trip Advisor (http://www.tripadvisor.com) --
provides all kinds of information and reviews of places and
facilities by previous travelers; Lonely Planet (www.lonelyplanet.com)
is similar.
b. Grant Express Travel and Tours Services, or
GETTS, (http://www.getts.com.et/), an Ethiopian tour company.
c. Ethiopian Tourism Agency: info@tourismethiopia.org
Think this is an official government agency.
d. Odyssey Ethiopia Tours, Ato Legese Begashaw,
manager www.odysseyethiopia.com, info@odysseyethiopia.com.
e. Darrel Hagberg: by email at hagber01@aol.com.
Darrel is the husband of an Ethiopia RPCV and will be coming on the
trip. He has experience in setting up tours and would like to work
with a local tour operator to put together a group tour of the
Northern Historic sites for the week following our stay in Addis.
f. Dr Samuel Taddesse www.mogilee.com, or by
email: samtad@yahoo.com
"Sam" was on the PC/Addis staff in the past,
and was a language trainer for PC both in Addis and the Virgin
Islands; he now runs a tour company in Addis.
g. Ethiopian Airlines offers various in-country
tours, as well as information on hotels; see its website:
www.flyethiopian.com.
Just a word of caution: We believe these are
all reputable and competent sources. But we have not vetted them
carefully. Please do not interpret our listing them as an
endorsement. Similarly, others who are not listed may be good.
5. Immunizations and medical advice: Please see
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/ethiopia.htm for important
information specific to Ethiopia from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC). For individual concerns, of course,
consult your doctor. Also, recall that Addis is at high altitude. It
may take some time to get acclimated. Don’t overschedule yourself
for the first few days.
6. Passports: If you need a new one, please do
it now. It takes some time.
7. Visas: We are still waiting to find out
whether visa fees will be waived for the group, although we don’t
think you should count on it. Visa are available (for a fee) at the
airport in Addis. Or you can contact the Embassy, an Ethiopian
consulate, or a tour operator for assistance.
It turns out that, coincidentally, all three of
the undersigned will be out of the country for part or most of May.
We will each have intermittent internet access. But we’d suggest you
send communications to all of us. Thanks, and all the best,
Leo Cecchini (leo@cecchini.org)
Steve Cristofar (scristofar@comcast.net)
Russ Misheloff (rmisheloff@comcast.net)
**********************************************
Greetings All:
This is an update on a few aspects of our September "Return
to Ethiopia.”
1. *Ethiopian Embassy in Washington, DC*:
RECPTION
The reception for us will be held at the Embassy during theevening
of Saturday, 22 September, which should allow
sufficient time for anyone flying to DC that day to attend.Exact
time & other details will be set & announced as we get nearer to the
trip date.
Those in the DC area who are not participating in the Return To
Ethiopia trip itself, but wish to attend the reception,
will be welcome.
VISAS
We have asked the Embassy about the possibility of waivingthe visa
fee ($70) for trip participants, but have not yet
received a response. However, as we are 4 months away fromour
departure date, there is still the possibility that our
request will be granted. Visas can be issued by the Embassyin
Washington (ethiopianembassy.org), or at the airport uponarrival in
Addis (we do not have information about the possibility of long
lines for visas at the airport).
WELCOME
Embassy staff has indicated that both they and the Ethiopian
Government in Addis are very pleased and enthusiastic about our
trip. They will have more information about official
events at the Addis end closer to our trip date.
2. *Ethiopian Airlines (EAL)*
RESERVATIONS
By the end of this month (5-30-2012) all prospective participants
who plan to fly with EAL for the trip (both for
the international legs as well as any flights in-country that will
NOT be part of a tour package) must have sent in
the required information to Russ Misheloff, who has been preparing a
master roster. (See the list of travellers at
http://eandeherald.com/return-to-ethiopia/travellers/ to verify
whether we have received this information from you.)
I will then deliver the roster to EAL. EAL, in turn, will price out
each passenger’s itinerary, and make the
reservations for him/her,EAL will return the roster to me that will,
at this point, include the price and reservation information for
each passenger.
Russ &/or I will then notify each passenger of his/her flight costs.
We will also provide details on how and where
to pay, including the specific reference code to ensure you receive
the group discount fare.
PAYMENT
NOTE: You will not be able to make payment through EAL' s website,
but only directly with EAL's office in Washington.
You will need to pay for your tickets IN FULL prior to June 30. Your
reservation will not be confirmed until payment has been made,
whereupon EAL will issue e-tickets directly to you for your
international flights, and in-country flights if requested.
"COUPONS" & INDEPENDENT IN-COUNTRY FLIGHTS
“Coupons” are only for those travelling in-country independently
(i.e. not with a professional tour group.)
“Coupons” are only for flight segments within Ethiopia.
There are, in fact, no paper "coupons" issued; instead, you will
receive your itinerary that will include any in-country
flights you reserved and paid for.
The prices for these "coupons" are, according to EAL, about 30%
below the "rack" rates quoted on their website, and are equivalent
to the in-country fares offered to residents of Ethiopia and to
local tour companies within Ethiopia.
According to EAL, the dates & places for which the "coupons" can be
used can be changed, subject to a penalty of $10 or $15 each.
For those of you who have already provided Russ withinformation
about your planned in-country travel (specific dates and places of
travel), please indicate in an emailmessage to Russ at
rmisheloff@comcast.net
Before the end of May - if you wish Ethiopian Airlines (EAL) to
issue“coupons” to you for that purpose. And for others who stillneed
to send him your information, please indicate specifically the
flights for which you need coupons (if
any). The purpose of this request is to be sure that EAL is clear
about your desires, and does not mistakenly bill you
for travel that you plan to do by surface transportation, or for air
travel in Ethiopia that you are paying a tour
company to arrange for you.
IN-COUNTRY TRAVEL WITH TOUR GROUP
Those who are making arrangements to travel in-country
withprofessionally arranged tours will pay the tour company for
their in-country flights. You will NOT pay EAL directly for those
flights.
DEPARTURE FROM DC
As of now, the Dulles to Addis flight for Sunday, 23 September is
scheduled to depart at 11:15am, arriving in
Ethiopia at 7:45 am the next day, Monday, 24 September.
DEPARTURE FROM ADDIS TO DC
The group return flight departs Addis at 10:15pm on Sunday, 7
October, stops in Rome for a 40-minute refueling (no
deplaning allowed), arrives at Dulles Monday, 8 October, at 8:40am.
As with any flight schedule, these flights are subject to change;
you can check periodically at EAL's website,
flyethiopian.com You can check the EAL website for the scheduling of
in-country flights, too. At present, the
airline flies daily between all the major airports in Ethiopia.
UPGRADES
A few people have asked about the possibility of upgrading their
seats using frequent flyer miles-- this is not
permitted with our group rate. If you wish to fly Business Class
(there is no 1st class offered on this route), the
roundtrip upgrade supplement would be about $3,000 (dollars, not
Birr!).
Should you have questions about any of the above, please contact
either me - scristofar2@verizon.net
Russ Misheloff - rmisheloff@comcast.net
or Leo Cecchini - leo@cecchini.org
and we'll do our best to answer them.
Best wishes,
Steve Cristofar
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