Author: bskovsted

Last stop before Addis Ababa; the town of Bahir Dar which means around the lake, which makes sense as it is situated on the shores of Lake Tana.

First off we didn’t get to the lake, though. Instead we went on a trip to the Blue Nile waterfall. A short walk across the Portuguese Bridge took us there (our guide was very keen on taking a photo of me on the bridge as I would never see it again, he said – so I duely obliged!). The falls were impressive – lots of water, nice ‘thunder’ and plenty of spray but it was brown water which is not super pretty but the soil from the mountains had been loosened in the rain season, so…

After the falls we crossed another bridge where I met my friend, the baby goat! So cute and he was not scared of me at all…!

Bahir Dar is a nice town – it’s our driver’s (Lauga) favourite town, but I think mainly because he met his wife there – haha. Oh and he didn’t throw a lemon at her, just asked for her number and six months later they were married!! Fast! Anyway, a town with good restaurants, cafes and juice bars! Juice was more like a smoothie though, as you can probably see…

On our second day we took a boat trip on the lake to reach the peninsula to see more churches – well they were actually monasteries… On the way we saw a couple of hippos and some flamingos, but otherwise quite uneventful. Always love a boat trip, though, I find it super peaceful!

Ended the day with some souvenir shopping and a walk around town before another good dinner!

Both Jamie and I were sad that the trip was almost at an end… so we did quite a bit of reflecting. But more on that in my last (for now) Ethiopia post… coming soon!

27th September 2018

We arrived at Gonder on a very special day;  the festival of Meskel. It is the second most important celebration in Ethiopia and celebrates the story of the people finding the true cross – the cross which Jesus was crucified on…

There were huge crowds of people and so much police/security presence. We were privileged to get a front row view – mainly because we were white tourists it seemed – but for once I was happy to be ‘prioritised’ in that way cause we had an amazing view of the festivities.

There were tons of priests, a long speech of some sort and then the big bonfire topped with a cross was lit. And the crowd went wild!!

We snuck out before the fire had finished to avoid the many people who would shortly be heading back to their own parts of town or villages to have their own smaller celebrations and bonfires. Also we saw later in the day that people would come back to pick up the ashes from the bonfire for blessings…

In the afternoon we went on a quick tour of another church (I had started to be ‘churched out’ at this point, but it did have some cool paintings) and an interesting look at the Royal enclosure… looked very European build actually!

Our local guide for the day was great – so enthusiastic and he was telling us how important the Meskel festival is for dating as well. All the women are out and about, all dressed up, hair done, looking beautiful so it’s the best time to meet someone apparently. He told us that before the time of mobile phones, a guy would bring lemons and throw a lemon at the girl he fancied… if she picked it up she was interested or she could cruelly just let it lie on the floor, if not! Most hilarious story so far! Why lemons…why?!? Haha

 

More mountains… and this time the Simien Mountains – home to the highest mountain peak in Ethiopia, 10th highest in Africa at well over 4,000m. 

We checked into the highest lodge in Africa (their claim, don’t know it it’s true) and therefore also the highest bar in Africa and looked forward to a couple of days of hiking. These mountains have been made by volcano eruption after eruption which created the dramatic plateaus and gorges. 

We walked and walked and walked – in and out of the clouds at times which was pretty cool! We saw waterfalls, lots of beautiful flowers and spectacular views. Met a few other hikers at times but otherwise all we heard were crickets, birds, trickling of water and occasional chatter from locals. Soooo nice! 

 

But my absolute highlight was to see the gelada baboons – they are not actually baboons, they are their own species, so should be called monkeys, but guess that is a minor detail.

They are called the bleeding heart baboons – and it’s easy to see why, when spotting their bright red chest which is brighter when they are sexually ‘ready’. They are endemic to Ethiopia and I could hardly contain my excitement when we walked straight into the middle of a group of over 200 baboons. There was eating, fighting, more eating, chattering, mating, playing, even more eating and farting – it was mesmerising! We were lucky enough to bump into another two groups the following day. What a treat!! 😊

Much of for his trip has already been an intense history lesson for me – so many things I didn’t know – and Aksum was most enlightening indeed! 

Huge parts of this town still hasn’t been excavated, therefore still many answers to find. But it is said that this is where the Queen of Sheba lived, it is where the original ten commandments are kept (in a chapel where nobody apart from one person can see it… a chapel which incidentally lights up in very tacky Christmas lights at night time – whaaaat?!) and it is where one of the wise men are buried. Who knows if that’s all true, but it was fun to explore the different sites!  The stelae, the Queen of Sheba’s palace, the churches etc. Although there was one church I was not allowed in – men only! 🙄 I am still a little confused about the stelae though (the big obelisk things), but apparently they served as a gravestone for VIPs. One of them was looted by the Italians during their occupation of Ethiopia in the 1930s/40s but was recently returned to its rightful place!

Actually thought Aksum was a nice town. Lots of new construction going on and there was a recently built university which apparently has a great archeological department… makes sense! 

We also had some great local food in Aksum. I managed to find a few options which were not too spicy! 

One evening we went to the best place for sunset drink – Hotel Yeha – where I enjoyed some local gin. Of course it was not really gin, tasted a little like the local spirit in Tanzania actually… quite nice but no Hendricks! 

That hotel had the best possible location in Aksum, but it was so run down and get horrible reviews on TripAdvisor. I allowed my mind to imagine for a moment or two how amazing it would be to take over the hotel and turn it into the best hotel in Aksum… aaaahhhh, so many dreams!! 

Then it was time for another road trip. Many more impressions of the country, of how people live and of the culture. The many smells along the way added to the experience; roasted coffee, dead animal (yuk), burning rubbish, cut trees and grass as well as the sounds of small waterfalls coming down the mountain. 

There is a stark contrast between town and rural life – the immense poverty is clear to see in rural areas and it broke my heart each time I saw so many dirty, half-dressed little children running around at the side of the road! Just wondering what future they have to look forward to… 

At some point we passed a refugee camp for approx 10,000 Eritreans. They have been there for almost 20 years following the border conflict which started in the late nineties. 

The new prime minister of Ethiopia – just in power four months now – has however just last month negotiated peace and an opening of that border, so I imagine that many of these refugees now get to go home. It was quite touching to hear our guide in Aksum talk about how he had seen his aunt for the first time in 19 years when the border opened and how he met many cousins for the first time. 

This peace deal with Eritrea was brokered very quickly and will be beneficial for both countries in terms of trade and for Ethiopia in particular because they can get access to the Eritrean ports. And the new prime minister seems to be making big strides already for a better Ethiopia and the local people we have spoken to are optimistic and thinks he’s a great guy! He is very young and was chosen my parliament when the previous guy resigned his post which is unheard of in Africa, most of the people in power seems to want to stay in power forever! Anyway, I hope that they are right to be optimistic!  

The Gheralta mountains are quite unbelievable! Looking back at the photos it’s hard to understand that I was there!

We arrived around lunchtime at an Italian owned lodge – Gheralta Lodge – what a wonderful place. Headed out almost immediately for the first hike into the mountains. We were going to a church called Abuna Abraham at the top of one of the mountain peaks which was a steep climb for about an hour. I was struggling a bit – maybe because of the altitude but most certainly mainly because of being incredibly unfit, so got some help from one of the local young guys. 

The wonderful views meant that the church was sort of a secondary attraction, though.

Getting down was easier but still tricky at times with the rocks – just made the dinner at the lodge even better and it was accompanied by Ethiopian wine, too – not bad at all!! 

Next day another steep climb, another church (Maryann Korkor) and more views to die for! Even though I moaned about the climb up, it was so worth it, absolutely loved it really! The pictures won’t do it justice but it’ll give you an idea at least. 

Didn’t get to the most famous church here (Abuna Yemata Guh), the one where you need to be pulled up with rope the last bit of the climb, so will save that for next time! 

Lalibela is a town of around 40,000 people, pretty well set up for tourism and quite charming. Almost immediately we saw that the big entertainment around town (and around most of Ethiopia) seems to be table football – not sure how all those tables got here?!?

We spent a day and a half visiting quite a few churches, my favourite was Bete Giyorgis (St George Church), the ‘poster child’ for Lalibela and you can see why! 

There is not a particular beauty about the churches here but it is incredibly impressive how they have been ‘cut’ out of the rock! Some are partly cut out and some fully. And even though there are a few carvings and paintings in some of them, that for me, is not the attraction. 

I found the atmosphere around the churches very intriguing, though. People here are so religious – orthodox Christians for the most part. They do not pass or enter a church – new or old – without kissing touching their forehead on the wall and/or floor. And sitting in and around the churches just filled me with a sense of peace – even as a non-believer.

Many of the churches have been built high up in the mountains – mainly to be closer to God apparently. And it means that the views are stunning when trying to reach them. Made ‘friends’ with this donkey which was carrying sand to the top for some construction work on that particular church!

On our last night in Lalibela we had a nice sunset dinner at a Scottish owned restaurant – Ben Abeba – which was in a crazy looking building, a little Picasso-like! When I asked the lady how come she decided to come to Ethiopia, she said ‘I had a few too many glasses of red wine and woke up here’ – am thinking there’s a lot more to that story! 

The next day it was time for a road trip. Our assigned driver for the tour, Lauga,  is pretty amazing, his English is not great but we still manage to have some good and fun conversations – and he is a very safe driver, most importantly. 

I must admit that I slept a lot of the trip – mosquitos had made sleep almost impossible, but did manage to experience daily life as we whizzed through towns and villages. 

There are people walking everywhere, at the side or in the road – same with loads of sheep, goats, cows and donkeys – even a few camels here and there. Lauga has to be careful not hitting any of them as he would have to pay the owner for the animal.

We also saw lots of abandoned vehicles following accidents – every time that happened Lauga expressed his disapproval with a quiet ‘cccraaaazy drivers’ comment! Makes me chuckle each time! Haha! 

23rd September 2018

As I’m am sitting here in the north of Ethiopia, enjoying the rising sun over the Ghiralta mountains, with the sounds of  Sunday prayers and plenty of bird song in the background, I know that I will be back in Ethiopia before long. Have just been here for 5 days and I have enjoyed (almost) every minute! 

But let me start from the beginning… 

19th September 2018

Landed in Addis Ababa early morning – immigration and visa sorted in a less chaotic manner than many African countries so had plenty of time to get to the domestic terminal (yes, two terminals!!) before the flight north to Lalibela.

Wait?! You might be thinking; what happened to Tanzania? Well, just taking a little holiday de-tour before TZ, will get there in the 3rd Oct. So my friend, Jamie, and I are enjoying a two week tour around parts of Ethiopia

Aaanyway, we successfully managed to get on the small plane after a snooze on the airport floor – and a quick 40 mins later we landed in Lalibela.

First impressions:

• Amazing landscapes
• Friendly and very beautiful/handsome people
• Hair! Both the women and men have some wonderful hair styles. Won’t be a paparazzi and take photos of random people’s hair, so you’ll just have to take my word for it – or use google!
• Too much begging from the children – will reflect more on that later
• Spicy food – am not being super brave with the local food in fear of the heat, but Jamie is loving it!
• Decent beer, research in progress

And then to something a little weird… here it is not 2018! 😳

Jamie and I had a little giggle at a sign at the airport saying happy new year 2011 but the guide in Lalibela then explained more!

Here they are not on the Gregorian calendar but instead the Julian calendar – didn’t even know that was a thing!

So when we landed it was the 29th September 2011 (as opposed to 19th Sep 2018) – and they had just been celebrating New Years the previous week – blew my mind a bit. But at least I can feel 7 years younger for a few weeks – RESULT!

 

 

It’s been almost two years since my last African adventure began… it was 6 months of the most wonderful experiences (which you can read more about by scrolling, scrolling and more scrolling), and it was the beginning of something really special for me. It gave me real energy and belief that I can make a difference and that living my dream is possible.

So this is it! On 18th September 2018, I will leave London for a new life – I am moving to Tanzania. It has not been an easy decision to leave everything and everyone behind in Europe and moving further away from my family has probably been what has given me the most sleepless nights. But I am so thankful for all the support and encouragement I’ve received and I know this will make me a happier person!

I took my parents to Tanzania earlier this year to show them where I would live, and we had such a great trip – their first outside Europe. I was so proud of how they took everything in their strides and embraced the local culture. We went on amazing safaris, we hiked to a waterfall, made coffee the local way and relaxed on Zanzibar… it was truly wonderful!

I just loved showing them why I am so passionate about the country and about helping people. And being able to introduce them to some of my friends was really special, too.

I cannot wait to welcome many more of you to visit me in Tanzania.
Karibuni sana! [You are all very welcome!]