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It was 48 degrees when I woke up this morning, but our rooms were fine, temperature wise. I could hear the Muslim call to prayer at 5 AM. There is a fairly larger Muslim population in Ethiopia but everyone gets along. I wish it were that way in the rest of the world.

Today was a driving day as our next stop is Axum, approximately 250km from Debark. Drive time is expected to be at least 5.5 hours. We left the hotel at 8:30. My name was selected to be in the lead car, which is nice as only one other person will join me, meaning there is no one in the middle seat. Steve Smith, a retired California parole officer, who has riden with me in the past was my travel companion for the journey. The other passenger is Chris, the tour director, so there will be ample opportunity to discuss the trip and his job as a tour director, one he has held for 10 years. He seems to be a highly energetic guy who thrives on seeing the world. He does not even have a permanent home; he simply lives out of a suitcase. His official home is in Ontario where he goes for the holidays to see his folks. Once this trip ends he has two days off before he flies to Manaus, Brazil for a trip in the Amazon. Amazing!

We will be quite close to Eritrea when we are in Axum. I asked Chris why is that not on itinerary. He said they have virtually no infrastructure to support tourism, so it is not visited.

The first part of the journey was unpaved roads and lots of switchbacks as we traveled through the Simien mountains and headed further north. We stopped along the way for some photo opportunities and to stretch our legs.

The countryside is lovely; brown grasses and scattered trees. Yes, we encountered the usual walkers on the road, even on this isolated road in the mountains. After some time we finally reached paved roads again and the ride became smoother, but still with many switchbacks, as we worked our way through the mountains, heading to a lower elevation.

Around 11 AM we stopped in a small town, at an even smaller primitive hotel for a comfort stop and beverages. They had a sidewalk seating area where we ordered cokes (served nice and cold) and/or coffee. We were pestered by people on the street to buy small bags of peanuts, which many people did including me as they were obviously fresh (grown in Southern Ethiopia) and lightly salted. They turned out to be excellent. One half hour later we were on the road again.

Observation: I see a lot, and I mean a lot of men and boys standing or sitting around wherever we go. Not sure why. Is it a manly thing to do here? Are they unemployed? It just caught my eye as we drove through the towns.

We soon crossed a river and learned we were now in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, having left the Amhara region. Chris said the hair styles of the women are significantly different here. I noticed a change in ladies attire; the dresses were more floral and looked “silky”. The homes looked different. There were now many made of stone, with stone fences; a dramatic change from what we have experienced so far.

Lunches tend to be late on this trip and today was no exception as it was 2 PM before we stopped at a fairly nice hotel in a larger town. The menu was fairly extensive and we were able to order what we wanted (we normally pay for our own lunch). I chose vegetable soup as I was not that hungry. Many people ordered pizza, but a few ordered Ethiopian dishes. Food was OK and the beer, which many people ordered, was good and cold. And at $1 a bottle who can resist?

It took another hour to reach Axum; we arrived around 5 PM. This will be our base of operations for the next two nights as we explore the ancient capital of Axum. The weather continues to be marvelous, quite cool in the morning and the 77 degrees this afternoon in Axum (we are at lower altitude here).

The hotel (Sabean) is certainly better than where we stayed last night but the internet is terrible!  We even have soap,shampoo and hot water.  Our group dinner will be here at the hotel at 7PM. It was the typical buffet we have come to expect. The best item tonight was spaghetti with tomato sauce. There was also a soup of some sort, steamed rice, potatoes wedges, steamed vegetables, breaded chicken nuggets, and lamb tidbits. The highlight to several of us, however, was a dish of fabulous tomatoes, and a green salad which is the first we have seen. The only dessert offered was a plate of bananas. Oh, well.

A bit of trivia:  My clock said it was 6:42 PM on January 16, 2020. However in the Ethiopian system the time is 12:42 PM on January 12, 2012. They tell time in 12-hour cycles. And the difference in years is due to the difference in calendars used by the two countries- Julian versus Coptic. I asked a local which one do you use on a day a by day basis. For business purposes it is 2020; otherwise they use the Coptic calendar; fascinating in this day and age! Life must be very confusing at times here.

Another bit of trivia:  I sent out some clothes to be washed in Gondar. Seven items including large items-a shirt and pair of pants. My bill was $4.80!! And at this hotel every item costs 30 cents or so to wash. I am sending more out tomorrow as we are here two nights.

We left Gondar at 8AM for our approximate two hour drive to Simien National Park. Although the distances are not long, the roads are such that normal drive time estimates we use in the USA are not relevant. There are people, animals and donkey carts to dodge; there are slow moving vehicles to pass and most roads are not very straight.

We arrived at Debark, Ethiopia around 10:30AM to drop off luggage at our hotel (Jeramba Hotel) before proceeding to the Simien National Park near here.

The Simien National Park was created in 1969 and is the home of the indigenous Walia Ibex, the rare Ethiopian wolf and the animal we will be looking for, the gelada monkey, also known as the “bleeding heart” monkey because of the red patch on their chest. This is the only place in the world where these grass-eating monkeys live.

The gelada monkey ( they are not baboons) are root eaters and number about 15,000 in this area. Trivia of the day: What is a group of monkeys called?   A “troop”.  A male will have 6-10 females in his family. Families live together. They spend the day working their way across the landscape, digging and eating grass and roots, then spend  the night in caves below cliffs to be protected from predators.

The road in the park is unpaved so it is fairly slow driving.

It was not long before we came across a troop of about 600 ( local guide estimate) gelada monkeys. There are about 15,000 monkeys in the park, living in troops like this one. It was quite a sight as they were everywhere we looked! We quietly stood and/or sat amongst them and let them simply eat their way past us as the pack would move slowly but regularly. We watched them eat. We watched them groom each other, taking regular turns just like a human might. We saw an occasional spat with some snarling and chasing. We watched the cute little babies scampering around, but never venturing too far from mom. We even saw a brief love making session between two consenting adults. They simply ignored us. After about 1/2 hour they had worked their way up the hill past us on their way to higher ground for mid-day naps. It was quite an experience. I found the older males  to be especially magnificent for as they age their mane grows quite long, giving them the appearance of a male lion.

After this encounter our local guide, Fanta, led us on a short 30 minute walk to several viewpoints where we were able to take photos and listen to some of his stories about the area and the animals that inhabit it. He even “entertained” us by vocalizing various sounds that the gelada monkeys make under different circumstances. He was darn good at it. The walk was paced nicely with many rest stops as we were walking above 10,000 feet elevation! All of us needed the rest breaks.

We found a shady spot under some trees where we ate our hilarious box lunches. I had ordered a ham and cheese sandwich. What I got was a cheese sandwich and a separate beef sandwich (which sure tasted and looked like a slab of thick bologna). Why they did not put the thick slice of cheese on the ham sandwich baffles us. Others who ordered either a ham sandwich or a cheese sandwich got one sandwich. In addition there was two cooked spuds (with skins), two hard boiled eggs and a banana. The food was way too much and we gave the leftovers to the two park guards who had accompanied us to take home to their families.

After lunch we got back into our vehicles to drive to another area of the park for another hike/walk and more picture opportunities. Fanta was great at pointing out the different flowers and plants that grew here. The ground cover in most areas was a type of thyme and it made for a pleasant smelling walk. Fanta also showed us many different plants the locals use for medicinal purposes of all sorts. It is rather amazing to see how many plants offer medicinal help. We reached the highest elevation of our “walk” here; we were at 10,687 feet!

The views in this area are similar to what we see at the Grand Canyon, only on a smaller scale. The park was created in 1969 and surprisingly about 11,000 people still live in the valleys where they farm. The government is gradually moving them out.

At one point Fanta did point out Ras Dashen, the 4,550 m (14,930 ft) peak, which is the 4th highest in Africa. I had expected to see snow on it but it was bare. Fanta said if it does snow it only lasts a few hours and is gone. I was surprised and a bit disappointed as I expected a Mt. Rainier sort of peak.

It was late afternoon when we started retracing our steps to the park entrance. It was hoped we would run into the gelada monkeys again as they worked their way back to their cave homes for the night. Sure enough, we ran into them again, and again we stood/sat among them, snapping hundreds of pictures and simply enjoying the presence of their company. Thirty minutes later they were gone and so were we.  Chris said we had been lucky to see them not once, but twice today. They are sometimes hard to find as they do wander throughout the park. It was time for another another dusty ride back to the park entrance and our hotel, but the modern vehicles with recirculating AC made the trip an easy one. We were back at the hotel by 5:30 PM.

Dinner was again a buffet at the hotel where the menu was nearly the same. The hotel buffets in these tourist hotels are skewed to western palates with occasional Ethiopian dishes thrown in, but they tend to always be the same. Ethiopia is not the place to come if you are a “foodie” and looking for a variety. Most people are already tired of eating injera. 

We were told the Jeramba Hotel was new , but overall it was a huge disappointment and probably  all of us would give it a 1- 2 Star rating. My room only had a one bulb ceiling light, a cafeteria chair for seating and a wobbly table,  no shower curtain in the bathroom so water went everywhere, poor water pressure, and no amenities of any type. Surprisingly the WiFi was decent.

Needless to say everyone was glad we were only spending one night. Tomorrow we move on.

I was up at 4:30 AM and decided to go to the lobby of the hotel as the internet should be stronger there. The night staff were asleep on the couch! Internet is not very good here and virtually non-existent in my room.

We are scheduled to visit the castle complex here in Gondar (also spelled Gonder)  today. Currently it is 51 degrees with an expected high of 80. I have not seen a cloud since I arrived in Ethiopia. Every day has been sunny with cool evenings and bright warm days. The humidity  is low and there is usually a breeze, making sightseeing very pleasant. There is always a supply of bottle water in our vehicles to keep us hydrated.

Gondar was the capital called the “City of Castles” or the “Camelot of Africa”. It was the capital of Ethiopia from 1632 to 1855, and it has the remains of 12 castles and palaces constructed by a series of emperors from Fasilides (reigned 1632–67) to Iyasu II (1730–55). The ruins of these structures stand within a walled imperial enclosure called Fasil Ghebbi.  By 1667 Gondar had a population of 65,000 people.

Our morning stop was at the Royal Enclosure, a complex of 6 important castles built in the 17-18th centuries. The most important and the one still mostly standing is the palace of Fasiladas, built sometime around 1637. We toured it, seeing the large reception hall and dining room. Next we visited the castle built by Iyasu I, the son of Yohanes I.it is not as complete but still impressive. There are other ruins on the site, like a library and large dining hall built by subsequent emperors.  The tour was made even more interesting because there were young people practicing for the upcoming Timkat Festival.  There was singing and dancing as well as a mock dinner where the Ethiopian way of eating is explained and demonstrated. I, and several others were coerced into dancing some Ethiopian folk dances. I maintain add that my portrayal of the male warrior dance was well received by the local dancers!

We next went to the Empress Mentewab’s Kuskuam Complex to specifically see Fasilades’s bath, in essence, a very large swimming pool. It was built during the time of Fasilades and Iyasu.  It is now only filled and used during the Timkat Festival for the baptism of the attendees. The walls around the pool have some of those fig trees with huge exposed roots , like you see at the temples of Cambodia. It reminded me of what we saw at Ankor Thom.

We took a quick stroll through the market in Gondar on our way to having lunch at a popular Gondar restaurant called the Three Sisters. It is a classical Ethiopian restaurant which serves a luncheon buffet offering a great variety of Ethiopian dishes. I tried a bit of many dishes; sorry to say it is not my most favorite food group. Interesting fact:  Several of our group have complained that ala carts dishes are not hot; they are barely lukewarm and they sometimes send them back to be heated more. Chris said it is because Ethiopians eat with their hands the served food cannot be too hot. Never thought about that.

The afternoon was reserved for a visit to the Debre Birhan Trinity Church, considered time be one of the more beautiful churches in Ethiopia. It was built in the 17th century and almost destroyed in 1888 when the Sudanese dervishes invaded the area. Somehow it survived.   It is not much to see on the outside, but on the inside the paintings and frescos are beautiful.

Not far away were the ruins of Mentewab’s castle. Mentewab was Empress of Ethiopia, wife of Emperor Bakaffa and a major political figure during the reigns of her son, Emperor Iyasu and her grandson Iyoas I. Empress Mentewab commissioned the construction of several magnificent buildings in Gondar, most notably, Mentewab’s Castle.

It was late afternoon when we returned to the Goha hotel to enjoy the sunset view from its outdoor patio and have dinner in the restaurant.

Tomorrow we move on to the Simien Mountains National Park.

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.

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Today is the first full day with our tour group. It will be spent seeing some of the more important sights in Addis Ababa. Included will be visits to the Ethiopian National Museum, the Ethnological Museum and the Holy Trinity Cathedral.

We had a group meeting at 8:30AM that included the people who had arrived late last night. Everyone introduced themselves and Chris went over some of details for the upcoming trip. After we leave Addis Ababa we will be traveling in a caravan of Range Rovers; four people to a vehicle. We will be rotating vehicles and seats so everyone gets an opportunity to ride shotgun. We left the hotel at 9:30 via bus to tour the city.

Our first stop was the Holy Trinity Cathedral. The Holy Trinity Cathedral is the highest ranking Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo (it’s formal name) church in Addis Ababa and the 2nd most important church in Ethiopia. It was built in 1942  to commemorate the liberation of Ethiopia from the Italian occupation (1935-1941). Emperor Haile Selassie and his concert, Empress Menen Asfaw, are buried in the cathedral. Surprisingly the tombs were not as ornate as I had expected. From the outside the church is rather plain, but inside it has some beautiful stained glass windows. Because its shape is so different (rectangular rather than round) from other Orthodox churches in the country it is often visited by locals on pilgrimage.  As we have heard in other countries around the world younger generation do not attend church as much as their parents do/did. As is the practice in many religions we were asked to remove our shoes before entering the church. Travel tip of the day:  As part of our pre-trip instructions Chris had suggested we bring “church socks” to wear over our regular socks to both keep our regular socks clean and avoid the chill of the church floors.  That was an excellent idea and I had brought a pair of socks received as part of the amenity kit one receives when flying business class.

We learned a little about the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewaheho religion. It has  between 45-50 million followers, mostly in the country of Ethiopia. To be a priest you must be married. If not married you can only be a deacon. Followers of the religion observe fasting a mandatory 180 days and the very religious fast up to 252 days a year. This involves eating only one meal a day and no animal products (meat, eggs, dairy). No wonder I have not seen any overweight Ethiopians.

As we were preparing to leave the church we had the good fortune to encounter a wedding party approach the church.  Chris asked if we wanted to watch the entrance festivities and we agreed. There was a lot of singing, dancing and drumming from a multitude of people dressed in their finery (white being the predominant color) as the bride and groom worked their way to the church. I got some good photos and video of the event. It was fun to watch. Our local guide said this was an important wedding as the wearing of the crowns signified that both parties were still virgins. We could not stay for the formal ceremony as there were places to go. By the way, it seems that we have managed to see a wedding party on each of our trips in recent years. The string continues!

Our next stop was at the Ethnological Museum which is housed in the former palace of Emperor Haile Selassie and is part of the campus of Addis Ababa University. It is considered to be one of the best museums in Africa. The museum, although not very large, gives a great introduction about the country’s culture, nature, history, and plant resources. It is self guided but has very good descriptions of the displays in English. There are artifacts and handicrafts from all the Ethiopian peoples, as well as descriptions of their life cycle, from birth to death. I particularly enjoyed the information about the various tribes living in the south, where we will be visiting at the end of our tour. Since this was once the palace of Emperor Haïlé Selassie some of the rooms he occupied are on display. Some furniture, pictures and clothing are displayed in what was his bedroom and that of his wife.

By now it was lunch time and we adjourned to a lovely outdoor restaurant located next door to the National Museum, named “Lucy”, which seemed so appropriate given its location. We had the option of selecting from two starters and at least a half dozen main dishes. I chose the grilled tilapia for a change of pace from all the meat I have been eating lately. As my starter I selected the vegetable soup over the green salad, partly because I was afraid of eating uncooked greens, given the warnings about water purity in the country. I later learned that Chris knew the salads in this restaurant were perfectly safe to consume. Even though we were in a landlocked country my fish was fresh and tasty.

After the leisurely lunch we simply walked next door to view the National Museum exhibits. Again the museum is not very large. The most important exhibit at the National Museum is the one of “Lucy”, the early (circa 3.4 million years ago) hominid discovered in 1974 in the Afar region of NE Ethiopia, that completely changed our thinking about human evolution. The formal Latin name for Lucy is  Australopithecus afarensis. In Ethiopia Lucy is known as Dinkinesh, which means “you are marvelous”. On display is only a replica casting as the original fossil is safely stored in the museum’s archives. The bone structure of the fossil infers that “she” was able to walk upright like a human. What is somewhat surprising is how small she was, barely 3 ft 7 in tall.

Near the Lucy exhibit was another important fossil I had never heard about. she was given the name “Selam(meaning peace)” and she was discovered in the year 2000, not far from where Lucy was found. She is estimated to have been about three years old when she died. Sometimes incorrectly called “Lucy’s baby” she actually was older than Lucy, having lived 120,000 years before Lucy (circa 3.3 million years ago). Everyone seems to know about Lucy; I am totally surprised Selam does not have the same recognition. Besides the display of the bones found there is an interesting video describing her discovery and the 20 years it took to characterize and stabilize the fossil remains. It is a fascinating display. Other displays in this part of the museum included explanations and artifacts of the evolution of prehistoric stone tools, also a fascinating display. Other floors of the museum are dedicated to Ethiopian art through the ages, pottery, jewelry and weaving. Again most of the displays were accompanied by good English descriptions, making the  museum visit enjoyable.

By now it was 3:30 and people began thinking of a nap. But as we headed back to the hotel Chris instructed the driver to do a drive through of the famous Addis Mercado, a market place that some say is the largest in Africa. It cover several square miles and there is supposedly nothing you cannot find in its rambling area. Each are has its specialties, like rugs, appliances, spices, coffee, produce, clothing, etc. It is not like open air markets I have experienced in other places.  It has evolved from booths/stalls to fixed small shops over the years. There are approximately 7100 business entities, employing and estimated 13,000 people in the Mercado.  Parts of it have the appearance of a slum area unfortunately and we were told pick pockets are rampant. It was fascinating to see but it did not seem like a place where I would want to wander around in.

A one hour nap restored my energy and since we had a big lunch I simply wandered across the street from the hotel and grabbed a small pizza at the local Pizza Hut. And yes, it looked and tasted exactly like those one gets in the USA.

As I had been up since about 4 AM (jet lag still a bit in place) I managed to stay awake until 9:30 when I called it a day. We need to be up and ready to leave by 6 AM as we are flying to our next stop, Bahr Dar, in the northern part of Ethiopia.

 

It is big and it is high in the sky!  The 2008 census shows that 3.4 million people live in Addis Ababa. It is the 12th largest city in Africa. What really surprised me was the city sits at an elevation of 2355 meters( 7726 feet)! No wonder I am seem a bit out of breath! Trivia for the day: Addis Ababa is the 5th highest capital city in the world; La Paz, Bolivia is #1.

Addis Ababa means “New Flower” and it is the capital of Ethiopia. It is commonly simply referred to as “Addis”. The headquarters of the African Union is here and Addis is often considered to be the diplomatic capital of Africa. Although the area was populated in medieval times the city is relatively new, founded in 1886 by Emperor Menelik II. An interesting story about Emperor Menelik. He was intrigued by technology and learned about the invention of the electric chair in America. He wanted one and got it, only to realize Ethiopia did not have electricity at the time!

Because of its elevation and location near the equator the climate of Addis Ababa is moderate. The dry season runs from November to March, followed by a rainy season from June to September. Daytime temperatures  now are in the mid 70s with nighttime temperatures in the upper 40s. We were warned to bring jackets or sweaters to protect against the evening chill. Today it was 50 degrees when I got up and it is expected to reach 78 degrees later in the day. These temperatures are expected the next week with no rain in sight- ideal sightseeing conditions.

I awoke refreshed and ready to tackle the day, starting with breakfast. The breakfast area and food selection are what one would expect from any major hotel in the world. It was good and the Ethiopian coffee is outstanding!

I found a note from our tour leader, Chris Tripodi, under my door, stating we would be meeting at 6:30 PM to go to a local restaurant for an introductory group dinner. I intend to spend the day exploring the local area around the hotel, working on my blog and probably taking a nap before meeting my travel group this evening.

I ventured out to buy more bottled water. We were advised to not drink the local water, although the hotel’s water is purified. I was shocked that a 2 liter bottle of mineral water only cost 13 birr (41 cents US). The area around the hotel has many really small shops clustered on multi levels in small shopping arcades/malls. There are security guards at the entrances to the shopping malls who frisk everyone entering.  The sidewalks are not in the best shape and you need to watch where you are walking to avoid potential falls. I was amused to see many “shoe shine” stands along the streets but they do not shine shoes, they wash the soles of your sneakers, the predominant footwear of men. They also sell new shoe laces to spiff up your look. There are banks and ATMs everywhere; there are 5 of them right outside the door of our hotel.

Crossing the street is not for the faint of heart as traffic only stops if you are in danger of being hit. I watched some locals do it before proceeding to venture from the curb. As is typical avoiding eye contact is an important aspect of crossing. Surprisingly there is no evidence of drivers sounding their horns at every chance they get.

At 6:30 our group convened and met with Chris Tripodi for a quick briefing before departing for dinner. There are 17 in our group, nine men and eight women. Not all had arrived yet; some are due in later in the evening. I am not sure how many couples there are versus singles. I will sort that out as we learn more about each other. Everyone seems to be well seasoned travelers and most (all?) have traveled with Adventures Abroad before, which is encouraging, as it implies they like what Adventures Abroad offers and delivers. Several people have traveled with Chris before and said he was a fabulous tour leader.

Chris said in the past the group dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant (with music and entertainment) occurred at the end of the trip. They learned by that time everyone was tired of Ethiopian food so he switched the event to the first night as an introduction to the food and culture of the country. Everyone thought that was a good idea.

The restaurant was not far from the hotel but we drove in a mini bus, which gave us another Ethiopian experience. The main roads are paved but as soon as you turn off onto a side street you are on unpaved dirt roads. Cars are parked every which way and gridlock is common as cars try to maneuver through the maze. Traffic on the main road was heavy and chaotic, with additional lanes made by drivers who felt two lanes were not enough. Welcome to Ethiopia!

Our destination was a restaurant on a darkened  side street called “2000 Habesha”. It is a big place and we were pleased to see that locals were also in attendance; it is not a tourist trap. Water, coffee and tea is included with all our meals; other drinks are on our own. Chris has worked out a slick system for paying for the extras. Rather than waiting for people to pay for individual drinks before leaving, he simply picks up the entire tab, keeps a list of who bought what and asks us to settle up with him on a weekly basis. Now that is a neat idea.

The meal was a buffet of traditional Ethiopian food. Chris tried to explain some of the dishes as we went through the line and warned us that anything that looked “red” was spicy, so beware. There were plenty of other meat and vegetarian dishes, accompanied by “injera” the sour dough spongy bread that is used as an eating utensil by all. There were forks available for those who felt they needed one. I took one but did manage to get through most of my meal using the preferred method of breaking off a piece of injera, using it to scoop up whatever you were trying to eat and popping it all into your mouth.  Napkins did prove to be a necessary accompaniment as the scooping method was not always a neat and tidy process. Oh, and yes, red colored dishes are spicy. I would say the hotness level ranged somewhere between medium and hot on a Mexican salsa scale.

We were entertained all evening by a band of Ethiopian musicians playing traditional instruments. In addition there were several singers and a troupe of 8 dancers (4 men and 4 women) who performed a series of folk dances with multiple costume changes.  They obviously enjoyed doing what they were doing and we were thoroughly entertained. We were at the restaurant for a good two hours before heading back through the maze to our hotel. It was an extremely enjoyable evening and a great introduction to the culture and food of the country.

Tomorrow we meet at 8:30 for a group briefing, then off for a full day of touring the major sights of Addis Ababa.

 

Geography lesson for the day:  Ethiopia (formerly known as Abyssinia)  lies in the Horn of Africa, which is the easternmost part of the African landmass. It is land-locked, surrounded by Eritrea to the north and then, moving in a clockwise direction, Djibouti, the de facto state of Somaliland, Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan and Sudan. The Great Sift Valley runs through the country from the southwest to the northeast. There is a great diversity of terrain in Ethiopia with wide variations in climate, soils, natural vegetation and settlement patterns. It is both mountainous, with the highest peak being Ras Dashen, with a height of 4550 meters (14.930 feet); and desert-like; its lowest elevation is -410 feet.  Ethiopia  is about the physical size of Bolivia. The population is about 109 million, making it the 12th largest country in the world.

Ethiopia is a country often called the “Cradle of Civilization’ as there have been many important discoveries of evidence of human evolution in the area, propelling Ethiopia and the surrounding region to the forefront of paleontology.  The most well known hominid discovery is Australopithecus afarensis (Lucy). Known locally as “Dinkinesh”, the specimen was found in 1974 by Donald Johanson, and is one of the most complete and best preserved adult Australopithecine fossils ever uncovered. Trivia:  Lucy got her name because the Beatle’s Song, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” was playing in their camp when the fossil was found. The hominid is estimated to have lived 3.2 million years ago. The oldest hominid discovered to date in Ethiopia is the 4.2 million year old Ardipithicus ramidus (Ardi) found in 1994. I hope to learn more about these discoveries as part of our exploration of the area.

My flight plans take me from Seattle to Frankfurt on a Lufthansa flight (10.5 hour flight time, a layover of about 3 hours, then another Lufthansa flight to the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. I was surprised  to learn that the flight time from Frankfurt to Addis Ababa is almost 7 hours; it is further than I imagined.

Yvonne drove me to the Bainbridge Island ferry terminal where I simply walked on for the pleasant 35 minute ferry ride to downtown Seattle where I grabbed a Lyft ride to the airport. The Lyft fare was ~$30, whereas cab fare runs at least $45. No wonder why they are so popular.

Now that the holiday season is over the airport was fairly quiet and I breezed through security and headed to the Lufthansa business class lounge to await my flight. Yes, I was 2 hours early but the light lunch/snacks in the lounge, newspapers and comfortable chairs makes the time go by quickly, and I did not have to worry about missing my flight!

My flight leaves Seattle at 2:10 PM. We boarded around 1:30PM. My on-board procedure is as follows. I put on my “flight slippers” and await the snack and cocktail service which begins right after take-off. Perhaps I start a movie if there are any good ones, which there often are as they do show recent movies, some of which might still be in the theaters. Dinner (usually three choices) follows accompanied by a couple glasses of wine. After dinner I finish the movie or read until the wine/food kicks in and I attempt to grab a few hours of sleep. Luckily I am able to sleep on flights, even if it is only 3-5 hours. I am flying in business class so the lie-flat seats make it quasi-comfortable. Normally during the peak season Lufthansa has been flying one of the remaining 747s in their fleet. At this time of the year we are on an Airbus 330, also a wide body, but not as large as that good old 747, which has just about disappeared from the skies. Not many airlines are flying the 747 any more as the newer planes are more fuel efficient.

We left Seattle five minutes early. The plane appeared to be at full capacity. As has been my previous experience the service and quality of the food on international carriers is superior to what is offered by US carriers.

I watched two movies on my flight to Germany- “Hustlers”, with Jennifer Lopez, a true story about some women who worked in a strip club and  began fleecing rich clients to make more money. They ultimately were busted. Needless to say any movie with J Lo is worth watching!  I also watched Ad Astra, a sci-fi movie that turned out to be terribly slow moving. I did sleep a bit but not as much as on previous flights.

My seat companion was a young man who was moving to Stockholm to pursue his PhD in Bio Statistics and we had an interesting conversation about what he was about to do. As I exited the plane a young lady seated near us heard I was headed to Ethiopia and told me she was going there also. Turns out she is a field service rep for Boeing and was headed to Addis Ababa for a 30 day stint supporting Ethiopian Airlines. We chatted about her job and my stint at Boeing as we found our way to the Lufthansa lounge at the Frankfurt airport, where we had a 2.5 hour layover.

Our flight to Addis Ababa left 30 minutes late but was expected to land on time. More wine( same selection) and a heavy lunch was served shortly after take-off. I chose Arctic Char but it was not as good as the salmon I had on the first flight. I tried watching another movie but fell asleep, managing to get a good 3-4 hours of sleep.

As expected we landed at 9:30 PM at a large modern airport. A nice touch was that there was a special line for business class people to go through immigration and a special belt delivering our luggage. There  was even Avery convenient ATM located before you exited the arrival area with your luggage. Even better was that it worked properly; however, it dispenses the local currency (birr) as 100 birr bills, each of which is worth $3.20 US. The result is you end up with a fist full of bills! Oh well it least it worked!

I was to have been met by a driver to take me to the hotel. There were plenty of people with signs awaiting arrivals but my name was not among them. Surprisingly several people asked who I was looking for and eagerly provided me with directions to where the hotels have agents to arrange transport. My first sign of how friendly the Ethiopian people are. Standing there was another young American who also was waiting for the shuttle and as a frequent traveler to Ethiopia he took me under his wing. It turns out he is a buyer of coffee beans and was here to visit some of his producers. Conversation ensued and I learned he was from Columbus, Ohio but was originally from Indiana and graduated from Purdue as I had. He even lived in the same dorm complex as I had, albeit many, many years later. He is a coffee “sommelier” and travels the world teaching his producers how to evaluate and optimize coffee beans. I asked which are the best coffees in the world. He said Ethiopia, followed by Columbia.

Our base hotel in Addis Ababa is the Best Western Plus, a modern downtown hotel favored by foreigners and business people. The room is modern, there is AC and the water (so far) is hot. The internet is the weak link, so far. I had to go to the lobby to get a decent signal. We will see how it goes.

It is 12:30AM local time (1:30 PM Seattle time) and I am calling it a night. I meet up with the rest of my travel group tomorrow. The adventure begins!

Lucy, the Queen of Sheba, the rock churches of Lalibela, the Ark of the Covenant-well known names that are associated with the country of Ethiopia. It is not a country that many people visit; only 881,000 people visited in 2016-17. Compare this to 60 million people who visited Italy in 2018!

Now add my name to the list of visitors as I am going (without Yvonne) there in January 2020. Why, you ask?  I am intrigued by ancient civilizations and Ethiopia is certainly one of those. Seeing those hand-carved rock churches that date back 1000 years is my main reason for visiting Ethiopia.  They are as intriguing a historical site as the pyramids of Giza and the temples at Petra. Not to be overlooked is that my visit will also add another check mark on my “countries visited” list.

I am going with a small(17) group of travelers on a trip offered by Adventures Abroad, a firm located here in the Pacific NW.   Here is the link to the itinerary for our specific trip.

https://www.adventures-abroad.com/tour/ethiopia/et2.

I leave Seattle on January 8 and hope to share my experiences on this blog. However, I am not sure how good the internet service will be so blog entries might be sporadic, depending on where we will be. Stay tuned.

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We both were ready to go home after this busy 3 weeks of travel. Our return flight itinerary was from Prague to Frankfurt to Seattle. The Prague airport is lovely, not overbearing like many of the other airports we fly through. Check-in and security clearance was quick and efficient. The flight to Frankfurt was only 45 minutes and Lufthansa even managed to serve a plated breakfast during the short time, something US based airlines seem unable to do. There was a bit of a hassle getting through the Frankfurt airport because you have to go through passport control there as you are leaving the European Union. We had enough time between flights so it did not pose a problem.

While we were on our trip the Condor Airline parent company (Thomas Cook) filed for bankruptcy and shut down operations virtually overnight. Luckily it did not affect their subsidiary, Condor Airlines, and our flight left as scheduled. Again we had another wonderful meal on board; I certainly hope they weather this storm so we can fly them again in the future.

We arrived in Seattle on a sunny afternoon and worked our way back to our home on Miller Bay where our beds welcomed us back once again.

Epilogue

This river cruise reaffirmed our love of river cruising. The smaller ships, fewer people and the close proximity to the towns and land around the river makes for a relaxing vacation. One feels so much closer to the land and it’s people.

The problems with our ship on this trip dampened the trip somewhat as did the cooler than expected weather, but, all in all we enjoyed ourselves. This area of Germany introduces you to many small, delightful villages that you would not see when traveling the larger rivers in Germany. The major issue/risk that you have to be concerned with is the possibility of low (and sometimes even high) water conditions that might impact the operation of boats on certain portions of the Danube River. I do have to give Vantage Travel credit for the excellent way they handled the disruption.

My personal disappointment was with the quality of the food and menu selection  on board our ship. It did not meet the standards we have come to expect when traveling with Vantage. The chef seemed to be new so I wonder if that was part of the problem, rather than an attempt by the company to lower their costs. Time will tell.

If you are contemplating a river trip in Germany I would recommend doing the Rhine River first. It offers a better introduction to Germany. This trip on the Main River then adds to the mosaic that is Germany.