Blogs from Amhara Region, Ethiopia, Africa - page 9

Gonder, the so-called African Camelot, is where I got into my Ethiopian rhythm. I had enjoyed Aksum, but somehow it was Gonder that made me realize just how much I was going to like this fascinating – and occasionally infuriating! - country. This might have had something to do with the fact that I stayed at what turned out to be the most congenial hotel/guesthouse I encountered in all my Ethiopian travels, the Lodge du Chateau. After my scruffy 100 birr-a-night room in Aksum (you get what you pay for!), walking into the Lodge’s little garden and being welcomed with a fresh mango juice was like walking into a little bit of heaven. Seyoum, the manager, immediately made be feel welcome and bid me to rest my feet in the thatch-covered terrace, with its commanding views ... read more

I woke up at 3 to catch the early morning bus -that leaves only once a day- at 5am from Meskel Square to start my trip to the North. I was a bit worried because I haven't been travelling alone for a while, but as nobody had the time, I had to take the risk and the chance. I don't know if they did it on purpose at the ticket office, but an other ferengie was sitting next to me (only two white people in the whole big bus), an adventurous 50ish French lady who travels around the world. Big respect for her. As she told me, she was a very shy youngster, but after being divorced she realized that she enjoys exploring the World, so since her 40s she visited almost every country in Asia, ... read more

A lay in for once! And I've now read that the iphone alarm should be working for today, temporary glitch... Not reassuring! Today my guide is collecting his sister from the airport having not seen her for 3 years as she's been working in the Arab States, so I have a back up guide. He seems ok, but it eventually turns into lost in translation. First we drive to the Yeha Temple, which is about an hour from Aksum and past the town of Adwa. Up until Adwa there is only dirt track road so another dusty slow journey. We make one stop to view the Adwa mountains where the battle with the Italians took place . This was the biggest colonial defeat and took place in 1896. Strange place for a battle, but terrain like ... read more

Planned an early start, breakfast at 6, leave at 6:30, it's a 3/4 hour drive to the Simien Mountains, so it needs to be early to fit it in a day. I did not realise it was St George's Day though, as it's in April in England, so the church started blaring music and sermons around 5am. Even with ear plugs in, it woke me with a start! My 4WD driver arrives and off we go, the town is heaving with people in white robes heading to the church for the saints day, amazing at such an early time of the morning. As we reach the edge of town I realise why 97km will take so long, the tarmac disappears and gravel and dirt track mark the rest of the way :( We pass many hills ... read more

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