BLACK SEA, SUDANS, ETHIOPIA 2013: 12 Juba, South Sudan to Gondor, Ethiopia

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Dennis arrived for the airport pickup about 10:15, and as there was time we went to the river port. The land beside the river looked like a dump with hard packed dirt trails winding between garbage filled mud holes. It is a busy, bustling place with dozens of river boats of all sizes, some broken down and just left, others loading or unloading. A couple of boats were unloading smoked fish woven into long ropes. A lot of locals come here to hang out, or join some of the gambling games in progress throughout the area.

On the way to the airport we made a stop at a place which had a small shop with workshops behind for women to make bracelets, necklaces and other things from beads. There was also an English class being taught.

In the car I settled my account with Dennis, which was hundreds of dollars more than I had expected. Services were done one by one, and I'd not negotiated for each. He is reliable, but anyone using his services should make sure you establish the exact price, and exactly what services will be provided for that price. Fortunately, I paid the 5% premium to put my hotel bill on Visa, but even so after paying him I was left with $17 US plus the useless pre 2006 $100 bills.

The airport was straight forward, with a quick manual check because the scanning machine was not working. Fortunately there was no departure tax! The inside waiting room for the few flights had air conditioning and English language TV. When issued the boarding pass for the connecting flight from Addis Ababa to Bahar Dar it said the flight had been advanced 2 hours, giving me a much shorter wait between planes, however when the plane finally showed up we were over an hour late leaving, making my new connection time very chancy.

When taxiing out I counted 13 large UN helicopters and a fleet of aircraft. In town there were were several bulldozers, cranes & loads of other equipment in addition to many four wheel drive vehicles for the various divisions represented. They even have their own four wheel drive UN police vehicles. With this vast investment in equipment I wonder is who keeps track of it and who watches for improper personal use.

Once in flight I showed the stewardess my boarding pass, explaining that I didn't think it was possible to make the connection. They must have radioed ahead, as when we landed a special bus was there to take me to Terminal 1 from where my flight was to leave. I walked straight from the busto the gate, bypassing both immigration and customs. The plane had not boarded, however I had no Visa, no local money and no suitcase.

As time passed I kept asking the agents when it would board, and the answer was always "In 4 to 5 minutes".

When an announcement said it would be another hour late I took a chance and left for immigration, however the officer said only Terminal 2 had a visa office. She went out on the tarmac and asked a passing bus driver to take me to the correct entrance in Terminal 2..

I tried to pay for the $20 visa with one of the outdated US $100, but they didn't have change, so off to the bank counter, picking my cleanest old bill. By the time the clerk got 5 $20 bills she was on a phone call and had someone calling her from a window on the opposite side of the counter, so being flustered she didn't even look at the $100 I gave her. I then paid for the visa, and went to immigration where I was sent back as I needed a receipt to say I'd paid, and time was passing. Fortunately there were no other passengers around, so I got the payment receipt, entry stamp, raced through customs and headed outside for the long walk back to Terminal 1 in pouring rain. Finally it was the entire triple security check, shoes on - shoes off routine, before getting back to the boarding gate just as boarding was announced. The bonus was a double seat, so my legs fit. So far of my 4 Ethiopian Airlines flight 3 have been significantly late, although with the last one it was lucky.

In Bahar Dar it was nice to see my bag show up before being met for the ride to the Summerland Hotel. It was a 4 floor climb to my room (no elevator) of almost 100 stairs. The bell boy noticed I was slowing down due to shot knees, so called the desk and had me reassigned to a ground floor room. After a quick dinner I crawled into the comfy bed and slept solidly!

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Bahar Dar is a pretty city with palm trees in the boulevards on wide central streets. Downtown streets are well paved, and the city is cleaner than any I've seen since arriving in Africa. The 300,000 people enjoy an ideal climate due to the altitude of 1,830 meters. 85% of the population is Christian, 15% Muslim, and apparently everyone gets along. I thought there were more Muslims because of women's head coverings, however it is a tribal custom plus the protection from the tropical sun is useful to the many men who cover heads as well.

The morning tour was to the Blue Nile falls, which apparently doesn't a have a lot of water because it is dry season, and because water is being diverted from the falls to a power plant. The road to the falls was 37 km of rough gravel, which I'm told can be impassable in rainy season. The guide paid the entrance fee, and we walked from a small village to the Nile River to catch a boat to the other side. Another hike brought us to the falls, which even with less water were spectacular. It is apparently the second largest falls in Africa, after Victoria falls. The falls are 45 meters high, are up to 400 meters wide in rainy season.

On the way back to the hotel I had the driver stop at a bank where I changed $200 of the old bills into Ethiopian Birr, which they accepted. It seems I have funds again!

The guide, Abebe, walked me to nearby Lake Tana, a huge lake that is the source of the Blue Nile. It would have been worth taking another day for a boat trip on the lake to visit some of the 20 monasteries situated on various of the 39 islands. One monastery, Tana Chirkos, predates the birth of Christ and has Judaic sacrifice materials. Others have the mummified remains of Ethiopian kings from 1268 to 1665. Locals use papyrus boats for fishing There are also hippos in the lake. I said goodbye to Abebe after we had a drink together.

In the afternoon I was driven for three hours to the City of Gondor, population 350,000, located near the other end of Lake Tana, but at 2,600 meters altitude the city is higher than the lake. After checking into the Taye hotel, the guide walked me through the nearby imperial compound which covers 70,000 square meters and houses the remains of 6 castles and other buildings built by Ethiopian kings from from 1636 to 1855. Some are still in remarkably good shape, but a great deal of damage was done when the British bombed the site when it was occupied by the Italian army. It is surrounded by a fortified wall 900 meters long.

We then walked to the main square of town, called the piazza from Italian colonial times. The buildings are Italian Colonial. As the castles hike was over 3 km I voted for a tuk tuk ride back up hill to the hotel, where it was necessary to climb over 100 steps to my room - it is 69 steps just from the dining room. My room has a large balcony overlooking the city, but not much sleep was had due to a brutally hard bed with a metal device down the centre, a window above the door so the hall light shines directly onto the bed and a massive party with loud music being held in the piazza below the hotel until about 3 AM.