Saturday, 19. April 2003
It seemed like imagine oneself being in the times of colonial empire when we had breakfast in the nice restaurant. That is if Ethiopia had been colonized. The decoration had a grandeur, which the food hasn’t. We decided to try their “egg sandwich” and got scrambled eggs wrapped in to two sheets of toast.
Shortly after we were picked up by our driver to go for the Blue Nile Falls. In the reception we saw impressive pictures of the falls and looked forward to see one of the largest waterfalls in Africa. According to the guidebook the falls were some 400 meters wide and 45 meters high. Even if the falls were reduced some because of drought and for generating electrical power, we were still expectant.
We passed by an open market seeing countless numbers of goats, cows and hens all tied up or shut in small cages. Here in the outskirts of town the approach road was full of people on their way to the market and during our next 10-20 kilometers drive on the stony gravel road, we met shepherds with their cows and goats, women and children with their mules packed with goods to be sold on the market. When looking at the burdens of these folks in the drought one felt really happy about the work we got back home in Denmark.
The 32-kilometer drive took us approx. one hour. Every time we passed by an oncoming truck we were surrounded in a cloud of dust for almost a minute. That was a striking sight, but it was also annoying to get sand in our eyes and nose. Actually we shouldn’t complain as we sat inside a car; the folks along the road really got dusty.
We arrived to the small city “Tis Isat” that means “Smoking Fire”, which is the Ethiopian name for the waterfall. Once again we were greeted with smiles and “Hello” from the kids. We bought some scarves and had a chat with a couple of young lads who was convinced that Jørgen ought to learn the Amharic language in just three months. Jesper and I looked skeptical at each other. During his 14 months stay he barely could order a meal and an cup of coffee, so this plan didn’t sound realistic.
Our driver suggested crossing the “Blue Nile” by boat instead of walking the extra 45 minutes to the Old Portuguese Bridge down the river. When we approached the bank and the small boat, their price for bringing us over was hilarious. We really felt like a cow being milked. The three-minute sail was 60 Birr ($7) to that a guide offered his invaluable service for additional 50 birr ($6).
As we didn’t know much of the surroundings and no signs or maps was present, we choose the guide, which turned out to be absolutely unnecessary. From the opposite bank one had to go strait forward in 15 minutes to reach the fall. Along the walk half a dozen of kids followed us selling souvenirs, so it wasn’t hard to tell the way. Our guide didn’t tell us anything except that he study medicine and encouraged us persistently to send him Euros or Dollars when we’re back home.
The “Blue Nile Falls” turned out to be the disappointment of the year. Due to the drought and the fact that the Nile is dam to support the hydroelectric power station, only a two-meter wide fall was sluggish falling down. Once a month when the power station was closed for maintenance, the water falls with full power and during the rainy months it can be spectacular.
At the falls Ethiopian tourists were busy taking photos of themselves and on the walk back to the boat we were followed persistently by kid selling souvenirs. We bought a few pieces and gave them the leftovers of our soft drinks when waiting for the boat. Next to us we saw a young girl drag a vast sack of dried cow pat that was to be used as solid fuel. Not the most desirable job in the world.
The drive back to “Bahir Dar” was not unproblematic as we suddenly discovered smoke in the car that also cut out. When opening the hood our driver realized that the lead to the gas pedal was fused. As we thought about how to repair the damage we realized that the three of us really wasn’t that well equipped to be waiting here for longer time. We had only half a liter of water left and had to come up with a solution very soon.
It turned out that our driver was a man of action. He found a piece of string, tied it to the valve and was able to get a move on by dragging the string. After a few tries he managed to drive us back to “Bahir Dar” only half an hour delayed. The incident with the car gave us only one and a half hour to relax, pack and eat lunch before the next trip to the monasteries on “Lake Tana” began. The monasteries are built in the 1600-hundreds and located on small islands on the lake.
The sail was by a small steel boat with outboard motor, which we had for ourselves and which the skipper charged a good price for. We called at the first island after one hour sail in a moderate breeze that made us wet. Actually it was a peninsula known as “Tana Cherkos” according to the guidebook, but the inhabitants called it “Azaem” and the church was then named “Azaem Mariam”. A young man, whom we accepted as our guide to keep the others persistent young self-appointed guides away, accompanied us on our way to the church.
The peninsula was full of begging children and young men who sold souvenirs at outrageous high prices compared to what the same articles were sold for in Addis Ababa. It didn’t help that they appealed directly to our conscience with arguments like our money was the cause of them getting food or going to school or not. Usually we really want to help people who need, but this was a too calculating way to approach us.
The church turned out to be rebuilt several times, the latest in 1800-hundreds. It was a circular church built by clay, straw and bamboo. Inside two circular walls divided the space in three rooms. It’s said that the middle room contains the Ark of the Covenant, but we were not able to check as the room is reserved for priests and monks only. In the nearby small museum we saw the cloth that is used to cover the Ark when they carry it in a procession at feasts.
Our walk back to the boat was characterized by our discussing with the extremely persistent and tactless souvenir salesmen. The tone that was used among us was not pleasant. We really would like to by stuff in order to help them, which we told but the prices was so outrage even compared to European standards. At a moment where they refused to change a large note and offered more souvenirs we almost had a confrontation when I suggested reversing the trade.
The next island was the “Kebran Gabriel”, a church reserved for monks only. Women are refused access to this island and the walk upwards to the monastery was remarkably calm. Here didn’t meet any kids begging or souvenirs salesmen at all. At the monastery we saw monks in ceremony and continued to the little museum where an old priest told us thoroughly about their old works, bells, crosses and crowns. He demanded a fair price that was non-negotiable, but he delivered a very good service and exciting lecture indeed.
We were spellbound which he probably noticed as he brought some old wooden paintings to light that he usually didn’t show to tourists. In the corner of my eye I saw two monks sitting calm with an AK47 semiautomatic riffle. Lately theft from the churches has been a serious problem. The church was almost twice as big as the previous one, but in the same circular style. This was built in solid stone. Our boatman lifted the long cotton cloths that covered the pictures of Jesus, Maria and of course St George and the dragon that is the most important saint here. We had a nice sail back to Bahir Dar and enjoyed the many pelicans and other strange birds that undisturbed passed the boat.
Later that evening we had dinner at courtyard of “Hotel Ghion” which was recommended to us by some other Danes. The courtyard was just next to the lake and later that evening a nice bonfire made a cheerful atmosphere. If they replaced the fluorescent tubes that were mounted on the surrounding trees with somewhat more cozy lighting, that could do. Being close to the water we decided that a course with fish was an obvious choice. The fish turned out to be just as exciting as convenience food plaices, but still a much better dish than Jesper’s “Mixed Grill” that consist kidney, heart and liver only. Not our cup of tea!
When going back to the hotel Jesper and I visited an Internet café while Jørgen confirmed our tickets for tomorrow’s flight. That was a wise move as Ethiopian Airlines shined once again with their short-term planning. Tomorrow’s flight schedule was advanced 45 minutes, which meant that we had to get up a bit earlier. Back in the Internet café Jesper and I struggled with a slow connection at a high price of 0,75 Birr pr. minute. I cost me almost $3 to write and send a single email.