I’m not working yet…. Do you notice? =)

This has been written a while ago but the internet hasn't been willing to post it.

So I have the time to tell you yesterday’s adventure… We decided to go to ‘mercato’ which is supposed to be the biggest shopping area in Addis and the biggest market on the continent…
Much as in Ghana we had to enter every ‘shop’ because otherwise they feel offended, and soon we had something my travel guide has baptised plonkers, meaning men that follow you/ guide you ( often want money for it afterwards) and whom you can’t get rid of. We had 2. We managed to lose one and the other proved to be more difficult. Personally I prefer to be left alone when I shop so when it started to poor again we wanted to take a bus home. Besides I had already been robbed blind on some nutmeg so I was ready to go. On the way to the minibus some guy comes up to our guide and informs them they have David’s passport which he had carried around in his back pocket ( I know DUMB).
The plonker translates and explains they want money for it, They are talking, then it turns out they want a 1000 birr. We go ‘no’ and say we’ll go to the embassy and that we don’t have that kinda money let alone on us… So they’re talking and in the meantime I tell David I’ll slip away to find a cop. The guy talking tour guide obviously knows the whereabouts of the passport so if he’s entertained may be I’ll be in time… The first cop I see in uniform sends me off to the police station and gets 2 guys to show me. I get in the police station and explain what is happening, they call some people in and a group of cops in UNDERCOVER is to walk me to the place. They don’t walk next to me like a bit behind because as a Whity I kinda stand out. I get them to where I meet David and both guys have disappeared after an argument. He tried to follow them but couldn’t go far seeing as I was to meet him there. We show the cops where he lost them and describe our guide and the other guy. He had told us his family owned the shop where I bought the necklace so we take them there whilst some of the other cops take off. Before we even reach the shop the other catch up to us with ‘our guide’ saying I wanted to come back whereupon he gets hit hard ( he was already bleeding) right in the face….
I obviously totally freak, it had in the meantime dawned upon us that the plonker might not have been as innocent as he seemed but obviously we aren’t sure which is what I tell one of the cops who tells me they know this guy and its not his first time pulling this trick. In a matter of minutes we are surrounded by people looking at us and the guy crying on the floor. ( my stress level was going through the roof and I didn’t know what to do with myself) finally we move to a parking garage, more cops come ( all undercover)a women starts to chat with us and then the first cop who wore a silver shining jacket come up holding David’s passport. We don’t know how he left the guy that got it and honestly I don’t want to know. Our ‘guide’ apologises gets some sort of ticket and we get chaperoned to the minibus. You should have seen these guys, they walk as if they own the streets, people stop them to greet them all the time, I felt as if we were the victims in a TVseries with the heroes being the cops. They also introduced David to a guy who had helped them , gave them information who immediately asked for money… Bad luck for him he didn’t want birr but dollars which he didn’t have on him so he walked away with nothing…

Today we went back to mercato and everything was a ok. Can you believe our 'guide' came up and asked us if we remembered him.... Duhhhhh