It was a very early morning for us as we needed to leave the hotel by 6 AM as our flight to Bahr Dar was slated to leave at 7:30. Chris did ask the hotel to open their buffet at 5 AM instead of the normal 6AM so we could have some breakfast before leaving.

The airport was fairly chaotic even though it was 6:30 AM on a Sunday morning. Chris warned us that there would be multiple security checks and flights were commonly delayed. As it turned out there were two separate, redundant  security screenings before we were able to reach our departure gate. Luckily our flight did leave on time. It was only a 45 minute flight but they managed to serve us a muffin snack and beverage during the flight.

The airport in Bahr Dar is tiny even though the population of the area is 500,000. We were met at the airport by our drivers who had driven up from Addis Ababa. We will be traveling as a caravan of 5 relatively new, air conditioned Land Cruisers with 4 people per vehicle. Seat and vehicle rotation will occur as the trip progresses.

We had been told that our rooms would be available when we arrived but we found that was incorrect so it was decided to do a brief city tour in the morning and return for lunch before leaving on our afternoon program which involves a hike to see the Blue Nile Falls, a major sight in the area. Our caravan of five Land Cruisers first went to an overlook of the blue Nile River and city of Bahr Dar. We learned that the city now has a population of about 500,000 people. The largest inland lake in Ethiopia, Lake Tana, is located here, so Bahr Dar is somewhat of a resort city because of it.

From here we went to the local market where we left the vehicles and walked through it. The market is not nearly the size of the one in Addis but has the same vibe and goods offered. We saw a lot more produce here, especially purple onions potatoes and tomatoes. There were the small apparel shops, hardware areas, etc. the market here is held only three days a week and today, Sunday, is a big day for them. There were a lot of people in the streets this morning, obviously shopping. What I did not see were small restaurants or coffee shops. Given the level of income here people obviously do not eat out alot.

Bahr Dar is inundated with the little motor cycle “tuck-tucks” you see in the Far East. Those blue mini van taxis were also everywhere . These low cost approaches provide the basic transportation needs of the people. Driving here  is a game of “chicken”. Having our large Land Cruisers gave us an advantage when maneuvering our way through city streets. I was in the last vehicle of our 5 car caravan. We always stayed in visual contact with each other as we traveled.

We returned to the hotel about 11:30 to find that our rooms were still not available. We were scheduled to leave at 1:30 for our hike to the Blue Nile Falls  and it was suggested we grab a bite to eat if hungry. Unfortunately the luncheon menu at the hotel was a buffet and I was not that hungry so I simply snacked on some of the M & M peanuts I had brought with me while sitting in the lobby trying to use the poor internet service. It was frustrating as we were all being commonly dropped from the service. Luckily about 1 PM Chris told me my room was available so I hurriedly took my luggage there and gathered up what I thought I would need for our hike. The Blue Nile Resort where we are staying is rated as 4 stars. From the outside it looks like  4 star hotel on the shores of Lake Tana. However that is where the rating ends. My room was so-so. There was no safe, no wash cloth, the shower head keeps falling out of its holder and seating is minimal. However, there was working AC, the water was hot and the room was clean so I am not complaining. Inside the hotel it is a decent 2-3 star hotel.

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The drive to the trail head was an experience. The road, mostly bumpy, dusty and rocky passed through small hamlets of people. It was slow going. The homes were not much, mostly made of trees, mud and straw. This was an area of extreme poverty. Most did not show any evidence of having electricity. I only saw a few satellite dishes the entire time. Cooking was done outside of the home on wood burning fires.

There were many, many small children everywhere. Obviously the families are large. They seemed well dressed and clean. They waved and if we stopped they came running up to the car looking for money, candy or a pen. We were advised not to encourage them. In the larger villages there were obviously ma and pa shops selling goods to the locals. I had to laugh as there were more than one foos ball table sand even several pool tables scattered around as a source of amusement. I saw only a few older people as we drove.

Although we were mostly out in the middle of nowhere, there were many younger people walking along the road, going where we had no idea. There were small groups of cows and goats, both on the road and in the fields, sometimes accompanied by a herder. The fields around us were planted with sugar cane and we saw trucks, donkey carts and even people carrying bundles of cane and going somewhere with them.

Thank goodness our vehicle was air conditioned as the dust would have been a major issue! It took nearly an hour to get to the trailhead and when we got there one of the drivers desk covered a nail in his tire which required changing, while we were on the hike. Chris said vehicle issues were common in this part of the world needed to be expected.

The hike to the Blue Nile Falls was more demanding then we all had expected. Although it was only about 1 km to the falls the trail was rocky and included elevation gain in both directions. It took about 30 minutes to slowly work our way to the falls. Chris “hired” several locals to assist people who might need their help. He did warn us that others will offer to help but they expected to be paid for their services. Tell them “ no thank you, I can manage”  to dissuade them. He told tales of these helpers demanding $20-100 for their services, after the fact!

I am proud to say I managed nicely and did not fall either going or returning!

We are in the dry season so the falls are not at their finest. One of our group “helpers” showed us a video of what the falls look like during the rainy season when they, indeed, are pretty dramatic.

While on the trail we were often approached by younger kids trying to sell us scarves, small drums and flutes. A “ no thank you “ usually sent them looking for other customers. There were also local people on the trail and we were told they were going to a nearby spring that supposedly had holy water that would cure your illnesses.

Arrived back at the hotel about 6 PM took a quick shower and went for dinner which turned out to be pretty mediocre the food was cold, the desserts were not good at all (for me to say that is really something).

The wedding music was going full tilt and it was right outside my room.

I ignored it but by 9:30 I turned out the lights and never heard the music again!  I think it stopped at a reasonable hour.