Blogs from Bahir Dar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia, Africa
March 4th 2012
We were told to be at the ferry dock for 6.30 a.m. as it would be leaving at 7 a.m. Even though, we very much doubted this, we arrived just before 7 a.m. and sure enough it didn't leave until after 8 a.m. (not bad going really in hindsight). The MV Tananich is a weekly ferry between Bahir Dar and Gorgora, which makes several stops en route, including an overnight in a small village called Konzula. We decided to take this as Gorgora was quite close to Gonder where we were returning to organise a trek in the Simien Mountains. We thought it would be more interesting to see a bit of Northern Ethiopia right off the tourist trail and there was also a certain romance about sailing across Ethiopia's largest lake. Any illusions of romance ... read more
Bahir Dar & The Source of the Nile
Published: March 23rd 2012Africa » Ethiopia » Amhara Region » Bahir Dar
March 2nd 2012
We took a bus down to Bahir Dar after a couple of days in Gonder. This should have been a relatively straightforward 3 hour bus journey. But we quickly learned that straightforward and bus journeys don't belong in the same sentence in Ethiopia. Despite our bus having 'Lufthanza' emblazoned on the front, it was anything but reliable or efficeint and after about 45 minutes we were broken down. After about a half hour or so of maintenance work, there was still no restarting 'Lufthanza'. A second bus pulled up and more maintenance work continued. We were assured that the guy from the second bus was an expert mechanic and would get the bus started. After about an hour we decided to cut our losses and decided to get on a minibus going by, despite having to ... read more
Ethiopia, Its Children, and the Northern Circuit
Published: January 11th 2012Africa » Ethiopia » Amhara Region » Bahir Dar
January 11th 2012
"Hello, Money!": The children of Ethiopia are both a source of joy and of consternation in this place. We both enjoy their smiles and their constant waving, but also find their pestering wearing. Children come up to you, say "hello" and then reach their hands out, or ask first "give me pen?", to which you reply, "No, I don't have one". They don't miss a beat "give me money." In Lalibela where kids are least likely to hassle you owing to policies of the town, kids simply waved and said "hello, money." One young girl, who was maybe four cam running up to us with the most intense look on her face and yelled "give me money!" We had discovered Ethiopia's answer to Will Ferrell's Pearl (I tried putting a link in, but it screwed up ... read more
ETHIOPIA: The Fountain of Youth... Thirsty in Bahir Dar
Published: October 16th 2011Africa » Ethiopia » Amhara Region » Bahir Dar
October 16th 2011
ETHIOPIA...The Fountain of Youth. Travelling in exotic locations...I get thirsty. Thirsty for adventure...for raw experience of life...on paths less travelled...that captures my imagination...inspires my soul. But will I have enough years left in me to visit the many places on my "Wish List"..? You hear about crackpots extoling the quest for eternity...any attempt to beat the aging process...using scam tea remedies, special anti-wrinkling cream, herbal potions...even face lifts. But I...not being a crackpot...well...I try to be more scientific. Accordingly, now I am in Ethiopia heading for Enlightenment at the Timket Festival in Lalibela...I might as well take the opportunity to address my age limitations in the process..! I thus begin my search for "The Fountain of Youth"...and I reckon ...some of these Ethiopian Saints...might well help me..! ... read more
February 8th 2011
Od tygodnia jestesmy w Etiopii. Dotarlismy wczoraj do Bahir Dar, skad do Was pisze. Jest to pierwsze miejsce z internetem , nastepne za 600km w stolicy. Wrazenia poki co mieszane - od euforii i zachwytu nad wspanialymi widokami, rdzennymi mieszkancami zyjacymi w slomianych chatach , swietnym jedzeniam, po totalna nienawisc i zniechecenie do zyjacego tu narodu.... Niezwykle jest to, ze dorosli sa niezwykle mili i gdyby zyli tu sami dorosli, bylby to wspanialy kraj. Niestety nasza zmora sa wstretne dzieciaki!!!! Na podjazdach biegna za rowerem (a kondycje maja) i krzycza "money.money, give me money", "give me a pen", "give me t-shirt" probuja otwierac sakw, zeby cos ukrasc. Na zjazdach wrzeszcza "give me money" z jakas tylko sobie znana wizja ze rowerzysta pedzacy 60km na h zatrzyma sie i zacznie rozdawac pieniadze! Na prostych rzucaja w nas ... read more
January 15th 2011
Arriving in Bahir Dar, after a perhaps too eventful minibus ride from Gonder (complete with a little fender-bender), I felt like I had arrived in a tropical paradise. Although still the Ethiopian highlands, Bahir Dar is a bit lower (less than 2000m!) and there is a greater lushness to this lakeside town. There were even palm trees to complete the picture. So different from the brown landscapes of the dry season in the other parts of Ethiopia that I had visited! Bahir Dar is on the southern shore of Lake Tana, the largest lake in Ethiopia and generally considered to be the source of the Blue Nile (though there are those who would argue that there are springs that pour into the lake – so it is not really THE source). I took a certain smug ... read more
December 30th 2010
9am start for a boat ride across Lake Tana, there are numerous islands on the lake and 39 monasteries. We visit 3 of them and the names given by my guide are slightly different to the spellings in my book, so I'll go with his. It seems to be the norm over here, many road signs have incorrect spellings, even my boarding pass spells Bahir Dar as Bahar Dar! The first monastery is about 40mins by power boat, we see a few papyrus boats along the way, mainly transporting fire wood. This can take the rower 4-5hrs to transport across the lake in good weather! There are also 2 smaller versions of the papyrus boat, the smallest is for fishing and the medium sized for transporting people. They last about 3-4months before a new one needs ... read more
December 29th 2010
My tour leader says I need to arrive 2 hours before a domestic flight which seems crazy to me, but luckily he arranged my pick up for 5am as the airport is chaos. Before being allowed near the building, I need my ticket and passport checked. Before entrance to the check in area, all bags need scanning, shoes and belts off etc. That is a complete bundle and the usual routine is for Ethiopians to wheel their trolley up to the door, unload their bags inside and continue to scanning. When I get there, there are 4 trolleys blocking the door and no-one can get in, ridiculous!! After scanning, the queue system doesn't work any better for check in. I think I'm queuing as normal, but then I see many people ahead of me that were ... read more
December 16th 2010
I hitch-hiked to Bahir Dar today. The family I hitch-hiked with was going to Bahir Dar as well. My first stop was the Tana Restaurant for breakfast. At the Tana Restaurant I had a fabulous fish dish for a great price! Later I rented a bicycle to go to the Blue Nile Falls, which is called Tis Abay in Amharic (which is the local language). Much of the water today goes to a power dam, but it is still a beautiful sight. It is a very wonderful site to see. I biked back to Bahir Dar for lunch. I ate lunch from a street vendor. I bought some meat and a LARGE cup of coffee!! I got very hyper later. To wear off the caffeine I went to a music club and danced like there ... read more
December 15th 2010
Poor Susi didn't even talk to me for a day, well, - as I only woke up in the afternoon after a pretty drunk night out- for half a day, as I cancelled our trip to Debre Libanos at 6 in the morning in a text message. But, as always, not planning and going with the flow works out very well at the end :) We met Teddy and Teddy some weeks earlier at Bailamos. Typical Zsuzsi situation: I was bagging for one more last song from the DJ, and Teddy, his friend was just laughing at me...hope it was only because I asked for Beyoncé.... :D Anyways they drove us home, 13 people squeezed in a Land Cruiser... By coincidence we met again at the Goethe Institute at a very exciting photo exhibition. Young local ... read more
