Arriving in Bahir Dar in the afternoon we had just enough time make plans for the following day and the upcoming evening.
Already on our way to Blue Nile Camping we had met Addis, a friend of Thomas. He organizes all kinds of tours in Ethiopia. Having interacted with him a few times he seemed trustworthy and well organized. We booked our half day trip on the lake with him for the next day. He also offered a tour into the Danakil depression, which seemed good but we wanted to research him and the company he represents further.
We started our New Year‘s Eve with a drink at the lake. Later we went to a traditional Club, where tourists and locals had a good time. You can also check Chris‘ post!
The new year started early as we were picked up at 9 for the boat tour. But it was worth it because we got to see a hippo swimming close to the Nile outlet. By the way, we have not seen any sign of a crocodile, not even sure if there are any.
The monasteries we went to next lie on a wooded peninsula. We were dropped off by the boat and walked along a path lined with one souvenir stand after another. We had decided to visit only one of the monasteries, since each charges its individual entrance fee. The monastery we visited stands out because of the colorful paintings that cover the whole of the outside wall. But having seen the Tibetan Buddhist monasteries we have to admit we were not too impressed.
We were approached by souvenir sellers every few meters but usually they left us alone after a first ,No, thanks‘. One man though tried to sell us 20 US$. At first we thought maybe he was an American tourist who needed to exchange money. But when he asked for 800 Birr, we knew he wasn’t. The official rate came to 640 Birr. He tried it a few more times with slightly better offers, which first amused us, then annoyed us. So, we did not give him money for a bad rate and potentially counterfeit US$.
In the afternoon we walked around the market, which was like the market in Harar. Here it’s just all together and not distributed over the whole city. We also went to see our friend Addis again. We had decided that the overall offer was good, including both the tour and the transport. The transport from Lalibela to Mekele is not too straightforward. There is no bus company running on this route. The only possibilities are using a private vehicle, which costs 150 – 200 US$, or taking the minibus, which requires at least one change of busses, and may not be doable in one day. Since we did not want to sit in an overcrowded minibus for 9+ hours we were desperately looking for another, yet affordable option. Even though at this time we were considering the minibus… Therefore we decided to accept the offer, especially since the reviews on TripAdvisor are quite good.
The next day we left directly after an early breakfast to catch our plane to Lalibela. While it’s only a 30 min flight, it substitutes a day long, uncomfortable ride.
