We loaded our vehicles with our luggage as after we do some local sightseeing we will leave after lunch for a 3-4 hour drive further north to Gondar which is our next stop. Chris said no one liked to ride in the last vehicle because of dust issues, but two other men traveling alone and myself felt it was not an issue so we volunteered to bring up the rear. We drove a short distance where we boarded a boat I labeled “The Ethiopian Queen” as it was old, but hopefully seaworthy for a one hour ride to visit some 14th century monasteries in the area. They were established on islands on Lake Tana then when fleeing religious persecution. It was a pleasant, although noisy ride, on a nice sunny day.  The monasteries we would visit happened to be on a peninsula rather than an island but we passed several islands along the way where we saw their churches. These are still active and are cloistered, i.e. the monks have no contact with the outside world.

Lake Tana is the largest lake in Ethiopia. It is really big: 52 miles long by 41 miles wide. Surprisingly the maximum depth is 49 feet. We are at an elevation of 5866 feet. The lake, with a surface area of 1200-1400 square miles, is the source of the Blue Nile River. The lake is a big source of tilapia for the local fishermen industry.

Once back on land it was about a 15 minute walk through the wooded area to the first monastery which now is used as a church for the local people. We passed many wild coffee bean plants growing on the side of the trail. Not to miss a bet, the locals (about 8000 live in the area) have set up souvenir booths selling local handicraft along the trail. We were asked by Chris and our local guide, Haile, to hold our shopping until we returned to the boat after the church visit. The vendors tried to entice us but were accepting of our wish to move on. I am sure they will approach us more vigorously on our way back to the boat. As I walked I did keep my eyes open for something that might be worthy of being added  to my travel treasures. And Yvonne is not here to try to dissuade me!

The monastery we visited first in a quiet wooded glen is in the traditional round style used then. Its name is Ura Kidane Mehret and is considered to be the most beautiful monastery in the area. It is circular to signify that there is no beginning or end. The outer circle is made of bamboo and is where the congregation assembled. The closed off inner part of the church is a square, made of the traditional mixture of straw and mud, then covered with paintings. Locked in this area is their Ark of the Covenant; again off limits to everyone but the chief priest. The beauty of these monasteries are the vivid paintings that completely cover the walls of the inner church. As is common in many religions they are paintings of religious persons and significant religious events, used because people could not read. The paintings here are in great shape and have been made using natural pigments painted on animal skins, then mounted on the walls. The walls appear as one huge painting, but are  made up of multiple smaller prints to form a brilliant collage of religious history. Surprisingly the location of the paintings seem to be random. I had expected some order to them like stories of the Old Testament in one area and those of the New Testament in a different area, but that is not what they did. Haile, and another local guide who accompanied us, briefed us on the history of these monasteries, the rationale of their construction and their contents. Everything in the design has religious significance. We again donned our “church socks” as we toured the church itself. Besides our group there were only a few other tourists visiting the church.  The outside of the church is modest and plain; the inside is a stunning visual display of religious art.

We slowly retraced our steps to our boat as many of our group did feel the need (as did I) to “support the local economy” by buying handicrafts made by the people who live here, not imported from China. Many of the vendors were actually practicing their art/craft ( weaving, basket making, painting, metal work) at their booths. There were even a couple of locations set up where one could participate in their traditional coffee ceremony. Back to supporting the local economy, I decided to buy a unique, small religious painting that had been painted on pigskin rather than parchment or canvas using natural pigments made from flowers and berries. The back of the painting still had animal hair on it. The young painter was practicing his art there and I asked if he went to art school. No, he said, he learned from his grandfather, a famous local painter.

The second monastery  (Azusa Maryam) we visited was almost a duplicate of the first, so we did not spend much time there. We suggested to Chris that future trips might not bother seeing both.

Back to the boat as it was now almost 1 PM and it was an hour ride back to lunch! We had pre-ordered so we were served at a lake side restaurant fairly quickly. Several of us ordered hamburgers and fries-big mistake. The bun was cold and burned, the meat was dry and the fries were not hot. At least the beer costs only 78 cents for the bottle. I should report that meals and drinks are cheap here. I think my burger/fries was around $5.

It was not until after 3 PM that our caravan of vehicles began its journey north to Gondar. Gondar is 175 km away with an estimated drive time of three hours. The highway was a paved two lane road, with no obvious speed limits. Our biggest challenge was passing trucks, slow moving tuk-tuks, donkey carts and occasional animals and/or people walking on or  along the side of the roadway. Surprisingly I did not see any evidence of road kill; obviously the goats, donkeys and cows know their place. The scenery was pretty. We saw evidence of small farming plots, mostly growing rice of all things. I saw literally a hundred or more small groups (3-5) of cows or goats, being tended to by young boys. Obviously it is the responsibility of children to oversee the animals when they are in the fields. Housing was minimalistic, mostly made of wood (tree trunks) with tin roofs, rather than the mud huts we saw in other areas. There was no evidence of electric power and certainly no satellite dishes on these rural homes. We passed through small hamlets that offered some services to the locals. We eventually started seeing mountains in the distance and starting a climb through them. We stopped to stretch our legs and take pictures of a unique stone monolith.

There was also a brief roadside stop to replace a flat tire on one of our vehicles. Even though we were in a relatively rural area it was amazing how quickly local children gathered around asking for pens or money. We were friendly toward them but offered neither as requested by our tour leader.

The other stop we made was at a small hamlet where we were given the opportunity to visit a local home and see how people lived. We met a young (35year old) man and his family of wife and four children. We were invited into their home, which was one made of straw and mud, not the common construction in this area. It turns out his occupation is building homes, rather than farming.  We learned that most of the nearby homes were all owned by relatives; that is common here. As expected,  the interior of the home is primitive: dirt floors, minimal household trappings other than the highly coveted woven baskets that were hanging on the walls, which are a sign of wealth of a family. Someone was grinding hops using hand a held stone when we arrived. They will be used to make beer. There is a well in the hamlet for people to gather water. No sooner than we arrived literally dozens of children gathered to see the strangers. Haile acted as our interpreter and explained life here. Hospitality is an important aspect of Ethiopian life and we were gladly welcomed into their home. I later learned it was not a prearranged visit. Our local host simply chose a home and asked if we could visit. Amazing! Try to do that in the USA.

We did not arrive at Gondar until after 7 PM and it was dark so I was not sure what the surrounding area looks like. It will have to wait until tomorrow. Dinner was at the hotel and unfortunately was another buffet, which I think will likely be the meal of choice most of the time. Surprisingly it did not contain any spicy Ethiopian food, in fact I only saw one Ethiopian dish on the buffet.

The rooms at the Goya hotel are OK, but there was no shampoo, no washcloth and no tissue provided. Instead of slippers there were a pair of flip flops on the shelf. There was no evidence of any heating or cooling system. Given we are at 7000 feet elevation I was somewhat concerned, but there was an extra blanket in the room if I needed it. I would rate it as a 2-3 star hotel. The internet connection in the room was spotty at best.

I finally gave up and was in bed by 10 PM, thus ending another day of our adventure.