Out and About in Ethiopia

I realise I haven't written much about my stay in Ethiopia, despite having moved to Addis Ababa a while back. Perhaps it's the absence of oceans, but I've found it hard to call this place home. Then again, is there ever a place that's really "home" for diplomats? We never really settle.

As with most big capital cities, Addis Ababa isn't representative of the rest of Ethiopia. Having found settling in here very challenging, it's with a serious amount of anxiety that I forced myself on a trip to Bahir Dar, in the North of Ethiopia.

(When on earth did I develop such travel anxiety?)

What I found, however, blew my mind away. Too anxious to stay a long weekend there, I simply booked myself in for a night. But the moment I landed, I felt this was a completely different place from Addis.

Cheerful, welcoming people ushered me to the hotel and brought fresh popcorn and coffee for me, helping me organise my trip the next day. A nice breeze rolled in, free from the choking dust of Addis.

The next morning, I had an early start (by weekend standards) as I ambitiously wanted to cover two of Bahir Dar's biggest offerings: Lake Tana, and the Blue Nile falls.

This being Orthodox Christmas weekend, most tourists were out to see the rock churches of Lalibela, which means I had the lake almost all for myself. As an aquaholic, being out in the water (even if this wasn't sea water) was a treat: I felt lulled by the motion of the boat, the swooping pelicans, the fishermen casting their nets, children paddling furiously on their reed kayaks.

We hit a snag: the largest monastery on one of the islets of Lake Tana was meant to be a beautiful, spiritually uplifting place. But... it was forbidden to women. I felt rage - a deep sense of unfairness - as I do in such situations. That women should be less eligible for an encounter with God.

We could, nevertheless, land on the islet, so I sat there (feeling the scrutiny of the men), taking in the fresh wind, sparkling water and general peacefulness of the place. Monks moved slowly, serenely, through the tree groves. It's a good place to meditate.

We moved to the next islet, which was a women's monastery (of course, this islet was open to both men and women). A bit more wild - tangled trees and ruins, and century-old leather books on display.

I took a moment to wander through the trees, enjoying the isolation of the islet.

We decided to skip the third islet, and go instead to the source of the Blue Nile... where the hippos were chilling. It could be the fact that my go-to zone-out activity is to build ancient Egyptian cities (who doesn't remember those good ol' city building games?) but I was in awe of the Nile and the timeless history it had seen unfold on its banks. It was lush with life.

Prime parking spot for bird and hippo watching:

My adventures weren't over, though. I decided to cut it fine and try to go to the Blue Nile waterfall before my flight. The hotel found me a driver and an SUV and we thundered down the dusty "road" cutting through mud-brick houses, lush green fields. Apparently the bumps are a 'free African massage'.

Being around water makes me happy!

I didn't enjoy the fact that I had to take a tour guide for the waterfall, it's almost imposed on you. I thought oh well, at least he'd take some nice pictures. The Blue Nile Fall itself had shrunk to maybe a quarter of its erstwhile glory, but waterfalls do remain a force of nature.

With the pictures in mind, I ventured into the mud and over the rocks, enjoying the energy of the spray from the fall.

I was soaking wet but energised. And the tour guide was clicking away.

After quickly washing the mud off my legs and wringing the water out of my dress, it was time to race to the airport. Bahir Dar had stripped away the stress, grime and suffocation of Addis Ababa with its open spaces and greenery. Landing in Addis, I slept soundly.

It's only later that I remembered to look at the pictures.

The expectation was one of those insta-worthy waterfall chasing pics. The reality... was like a reproduction of a zombie movie.

It takes special skill to take pictures this bad.

I can't believe I paid 200 birr for a tour guide. He seemed so pleased with himself when he was taking the pictures that I thought I would have Natgeo level shots... but in the end, the pictures were so atrocious I can't help but laugh every time I look at them. I mean, just look at them: