Our first African "Road Trip" to Bahir Dar

Waking up at 5 AM on a Sunday is never pleasant, but knowing that we had a 7 am flight to catch made it at least bearable.  Of course waking that early to no power was totally unacceptable.  At first I told Paul not to worry about putting on the generator because it’s noisy and I didn’t want everyone else to wake up.  That thought was short-lived as it was pitch dark and it would have been difficult to shower, make up, dress, etc. in the dark.  It seems my concerns were unwarranted: everyone was up regardless.  Aynalem came in to get Lexxie as she would be dog sitting for us.  At 5:45 Robel (our driver) arrived to drive us to the airport.  Temesgen was up to carry our luggage to the car.  We only had 1 suitcase, but we were also transporting two large, bulky bags of dog food for Geri’s bouvier.  Dog food is not always available so when you find some, you buy it.  Geri was very appreciative that we were able to bring it. Once on board we settled in for our first “road trip” since arriving in Addis Ababa.  One of the advantages of not working is that I am able to accompany Paul on business trips.  I only had to rearrange my tutoring and we were set to go.  The decision to fly early on Sunday to Bahir Dar gave us the opportunity to enjoy the sites together before Paul would be called away to work on Monday.   Bahir Dar is a short 1 hour flight north of Addis Ababa.  Upon arrival it didn’t take long to notice some striking differences.  The airport is small, not crazy busy and is still under construction.  We were the only plane at the airport so baggage claim was quick and easy.   Ethiopia is hoping that Bahir Dar will eventually become a vacation/tourist destination.  This is the reasoning behind the airport construction.  The first thing I noticed as we drove from the airport is it’s rural, peaceful setting is a sharp contrast from the hustle and bustle of Addis Airport.  Addis Ababa is a hectic, heavily congested city whereas Bahir Dar is like a breath of fresh air.  In Addis you are over run with volumes of cars, trucks,  blue taxis and buses.  The roads at times have trouble keeping up with the volume.  In Bahir Dar the roads appeared smooth (less potholes and road wear) and of course were less crowded.  Really not that unusual given that Addis has a population of around 4 million to Bahir Dar’s population of around 225,000. The Bajaj replaces the blue car and bus taxis in Addis.  They are basically a covered 2-3 seater, 3 wheeled vehicle, with a driver.  You see the odd one in Addis, but in Bahir Dar they are everywhere.  Geri refers to them as the “Blue Virus”.  They are certainly less intrusive then the taxis in Addis because they are so small and they appear to be the easiest and cheapest means of getting around town.  

There are obvious perks of travelling with the Director of SNSF (Safety Net Support Facility). We are fortunate to have access to project vehicles, so we had Habtu (our driver) in a comfortable Toyota Land Cruiser waiting at the airport to pick us up.   We drove first to our hotel, Kuriftu Resort and Spa , but given that it was 8:30 am it was too early to check in.  We then drove to Geri’s house (Paul’s Capacity Development Advisor at the Bahir Dar office.)  We delivered the dog food to a very exuberant Udolpho.  Not sure about the significance of its name, but this black bouvier is a dead ringer for Dexter with his lanky (all legs) frame (he’s actually on the small side for a bouvier) and the way he prances and runs and so like Portia with the way he stares at his ball until you throw it. We enjoyed his antics and a cup of coffee before heading out to view the Blue Nile. 

The Blue Nile originates at Lake Tana in Bahir Dar.  It follows its southerly course and meets up with the White Nile at Khartoum.  The Blue and White Nile are the two major tributaries of the Nile.  The name "Blue" Nile is a bit of a misnomer as the water, due to the effects of a long rainy season is rather brown in color.  The Amharic translation of the Blue Nile Falls is Tis Abay or "smoking water".  We travelled around 45 minutes on an unpaved, back wrenching road to arrive at the power of the Blue Nile: the Blue Nile Falls. The vehicle only goes so far and then it's quite a trek by foot before you can view the magnificence of these 45 metre high falls. Entreprenneurship is alive and well as kids try to sell you woven scarves, flutes, decorative pots of some sort, lunch boxes covered in animal skins and beaded jewellery.  My problem was not in buying, but in trying not to offend as they all shout their names out and tell you to buy from them personally when you do decide to buy.  Good Grief, I wasn't planning on buying anything on the way up (didn't want to carry anything) and on the way down I had forgotten all their names.  Oh well, I did come away with a lunch pail, a decorative pot, 2 scarves and a bracelet and a lot of guilt from those that I missed!  But again, shopping is distracting me from the real purpose of our trek: Tis Abay.  The falls were beautiful and I hope the pics to follow do them justice.  They are the second largest falls toVictoria Falls in Zambia in all of Africa.  

The trek to Tis Abay

Come on Paul, the Falls, the Falls.

The water way leading from Lake Tana.  All the black volcanic rock is covered during rainy season.

Another view of the approach to the Falls.

The foot path follows a steep incline.

Nice background noise, eh Paul?

Blue Nile Falls

Now that's a pretty panoramic view.

Yup, let's see it from another angle.

............and now with people scenery.

But this pic says it all.  Tis Abay.

Hard to choose just one picture!

Smoking Water.

Who said goats don't climb trees?

There, there Don-Kay!

Our Guide and Habtu explain, "No it's not Niagara Falls , but pretty impressive, no?" 

No, seriously Paul, ask the driver if he can give me another moment or two.

Once we were finished with the all the beautiful "scenery" we headed back to Kuriftu Resort and Spa to check in.  What a wonderful resort. It is situated on the shores of Lake Tana and all rooms with their spacious balconies offer a wonderful lake view.  The whole resort is an original blend of native Ethiopian architecture and decor. Our room had a canopy bed with netting and a large balcony complete with comfortable chairs, an outdoor bed and fireplace.  The weather in Bahir Dar is much warmer than Addis.  It was so nice to enjoy the warmth and presence of the sun in such an idyllic setting.  After enjoying a delicious pita wrap at their restaurant we decided to take a little cruise on Lake Tana.  The cruises vary in length, but in order to see the 4 monastaries and given the size of Lake Tana this would have amounted to 4 hours.  I am really not a boat person so I was pleased when Paul negotiated a trip that would be under 2 hours.  We were both more interested in seeing the hippos, but unfortunately they are not usually around in the afternoon.  We were a bit disappointed, however, it was still nice being on the water, seeing the mouth of the Blue Nile, seeing amazing colored birds fly by and visiting a monastary that dates back to the 4th century.  After the cruise we sat at the pool and read.  Boring?  Oh no, after being up since 5 am it was so nice to just kick back and relax.  Reading is something we both love to do though I must admit I'm pretty sure Paul was reading his eyelids part of the time!  Later that evening we enjoyed dinner in their restaurant which has a superb regional and international cusine and a decent wine selection.  It was nice dressing up and having a nice venue to enjoy it in.  

    Monday Paul had to go to work which left me to have to "endure" the benefits of the Spa facilities.  The massage was part of our package, but I also had a manicure.  It's crazy how inexpensive it is.  A maicure is under $5.00!! I knew this before coming to Ethiopia so needless to say I didn't bring any nail polish, etc with me.  This will be a treat I will continue to use throughout my stay in Ethiopia.  I will miss it when I go home (sigh).   Paul and Geri came by the hotel around noon to pick me up and we went to a different  restaurant not far from the hotel.  Actually nothing is too far in  Bahir Dar. The Dusset resturant has a nice lakeview and we ate outside.  This is the nicest weather I have experienced since coming to Addis in July (the middle of rainy season). After Paul and Geri went back to work, I had another few hours on my own which I whiled away sitting by the pool.  All in all, not a bad way to spend a Monday afternoon.  

     Our flight back to Addis was at 7.  As we approached the airport we noticed the car in front of us had been stopped at the entrance gate by the police.  I assumed this was a just a "spot" check, but no, everyone is stopped.  We had to get out of the Land Cruiser, while it was searched. They even opened the hood to the engine to check for guns or contraband.  Then we had to show our ID and eTicket.  It all seemed a bit excessive, but I was just glad I wasn't on the full bus behind us.  Then we get to the front door of the airport and again we are stopped by a policeman and again we have to show our ID and eTicket.  I personally think, they don't have enough work to do given that we were the only flight.  Once in the airport, it's a lot smaller than Addis, but it's still the same routine, just not on the same busy scale.  You can not enter an airport in Ethiopia without going through a scanner and having your luggage scanned.  So we go through and then we are asked to open our suitcase. This is a domestic flight so it's not like there is any alcohol restriction, especially since the airport doesn't even have the facility to buy anything as construction has not be completed. And besides, we don't even have alcolhol.  Oh well, I can't imagine what caught his attention and by the way he pulls things out from my careful packing, I doubt he knew either.  We then checked in and yes, had to go through another scanner (shoes and belts, jacket off) as well as our hand luggage.  As I said, small airport, servicing our 1 flight, but the same level of scrunity and security protocol as a larger airport. The distance from the first scan to the second scan was maybe  50 feet, so no clue what mischief you could have got into from Check Point A to Check Point B.   Oh well we sat at the only gate with the rest of the passengers and now waited for our plane to come in.  We had been in Bahir Dar for 48 hours with bright sunshine, but sure enough we began to hear the familiar rolls of thunder.  It came down hard, but fortunately it stopped before we took off.  Of course it didn't stop while we boarding, which is all done outside, but some Ethiopian Air personel were going around holding up umbrellas as we walked to the plane.  

   Flight home was uneventful and Robel was there to greet us at the other end.  Bahir Dar is on my list for a repeat visit!  This was an excellent choice for our first "road trip".  Looking forward to more!

Pool view.

No chance of mosquitoe bites.

Rustic walls frame bathroom ensuite.

Other end of balcony has an outdoor siesta bed.

Seating on balcony with fireplace.

Our balcony is an l-shape.

View from our balcony

Lake Tana

View of the Mouth of the Blue Nile.

Hey remember  our DR cruise?  This boat is just fine!!

Vegetation along Lake Tana

Random guy cutting the papyrus which his boat is made from.

Papyrus grass

Papyrus boat.

Meskel daisies are everywhere.

Sure a pelican is neat, but I wanted to see hippos!

Dressed for dinner.

Lunch at Dusset in Bahir Dar

Paul and Geri enjoy the view from our outside seating.