Bahir Dar is a city in north western Ethiopia situated on the south shore of Lake Tana. The Blue Nile flows south out of the lake and then west and north through Ethiopia and Sudan to join the White Nile to form the Nile River.
We got up early Sunday morning and hired a small boat to explore the lake.
Our guide took us to two monasteries, one of which was located on a small island in the middle of the lake.
Our guide then took us to the beginning of the Blue Nile. We were fortunate to see a few hippos feeding close to shore.
Later in the morning we hooked up with three US Army officers who were spending the year getting immersed in culture of several African nations. There assignment is to advise the US ambassador on local issues. Following this they will return to the US to get masters degrees in international studies. Ultimately they will return to Africa as military attaches in one of the embassies.
We got up early Sunday morning and hired a small boat to explore the lake.
Our guide took us to two monasteries, one of which was located on a small island in the middle of the lake.
This monk who spoke only Amharic was able to let us know that he was showing us a painting of St. Stephens. When I told him my name was Stephen, we had a good laugh.
At the second monastery we looked in on a Sunday mass. The priest then moved the service outside and continued to chant the liturgy.
Our guide then took us to the beginning of the Blue Nile. We were fortunate to see a few hippos feeding close to shore.
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| Photo courtesy of Korash Khalili |
Later in the morning we hooked up with three US Army officers who were spending the year getting immersed in culture of several African nations. There assignment is to advise the US ambassador on local issues. Following this they will return to the US to get masters degrees in international studies. Ultimately they will return to Africa as military attaches in one of the embassies.
They shared the Toyota Land Cruiser and driver and we drove out of Bahir Dar where we hiked to the Blue Nile Falls.
The water over the falls is much diminished at this time of year because the river is low and 90% of its flow is diverted thru two nearby hydroelectric sites. We continued our hike and first crossed the Blue Nile gorge on the 600 year old Portuguese Bridge and later crossed back across the gorge on a modern pedestrian suspension bridge.
Finally we took a small boat across the diversion channel then hiked back to our vehicle for a ride to the airport and back to Addis.
