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| The source of the Blue Nile |
"Want to take a bus to Bahir Dar? Not til next Thursday."
"How about Harar?"
"Sorry, booked til Friday."
"Do you have buses that go anywhere in the country for tomorrow?"
"No." [smile]
Travel infrastructure in Ethiopia is... limited. In a country of 80 million people, there are literally only TWO private bus companies. In spite of the high demand for private transportation, these companies refuse to buy more buses, hence our problems finding a way out of the city.
Anyway, we opted to take a cheap domestic flight on Ethiopian Airlines (the only domestic airline in the nation) to ensure we actually got to our destination. We were on a mission to explore the northern highlands.
We started out in Bahir Dar, perched on the banks of Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile. Bahir Dar was a laid back beach town and we really enjoyed the one night we stayed there. We took a boat out onto the lake and into the mouth of the Blue Nile, wondering at the prolific number of wetland bird species and water buffalo. We visited one of the ancient Coptic Christian churches that sit on the many islands scattered around the lake and we even had a dance battle, which we obviously lost, at a local wedding.
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| Blue Nile Falls |
It turns out that the couple was actually staying in our very same guest house! They took us out to a local Ethiopian night club, beating back the tuk-tuk drivers who are always on the lookout to cheat foreigners on fares. The night club was a huge open space the size of a small warehouse. We arrived around seven and were a bit worried because it was nearly empty. We ordered food and waited. Before long, hundreds of people started to trickle in until the entire building was standing room only. As the food arrived, a troupe of music performers came up on stage and started belting out some traditional Ethiopian folk music. They were soon joined by a team of professional dancers. Ethiopian dancing is as unique as it is impressive. They move their shoulders in the way that salsa dancers move their hips. It's a sight to be seen and you can check it out here on Youtube.
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| The Simien Mountains |
The next day we explored the Blue Nile Falls outside of Bahir Dar. It's a beautiful place and the water was impressive even in dry season. Then we piled onto a local minibus (a police officer was transporting a shackled prisoner on it too!) and made our way to Gondar, site of an ancient Ethiopian castle and jumping off point for our four-day trek in the Simien Mountains.
The mountains were absolutely fantastic. They were 110% different than the Himalayas. The Simiens are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and they look like a raised plateau that towers thousands of meters above the surrounding foothills. The sides of the plateau are sheer cliffs but the top is undulating hills. Our trek took us along the edge of the cliffs, circumnavigating the plateau. It felt like another world. We were always on the edge of a multi-thousand-meter drop and the views were mind-blowing. We spotted rare endemic species like Ethiopian wolves, ibexes, cliffspringers and tons of baboons.
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| Ibex vs. Baboon |
Lalibela is one of the most touristy places in Ethiopia. It's famous for its surfeit of ancient churches carved from solid rock. These feats of engineering rival Petra and are a big draw in a country with little tourism. The only problem is that the local priesthood who manages the churches charges criminally high entrance fees and pockets the cash, none of it goes to the community and there's a lot of local tension because of it (what would Jesus do, right?).
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| Shepherd kids hard at work |
We stayed in local-style cliff top huts, munched injera and sipped fresh roasted coffee at the end of every day of trekking. There was no running water and no electricity -- we were definitely in the middle of nowhere. The mountains are gorgeous, alternating between village farmland, rocky wilderness and wide open views of the entire Lalibela valley.
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| The Lalibela range |
We had plans to visit the south and explore the Bale Mountains as well but we realized we needed to switch it up before we burnt out. Beware of the over-crowded itinerary in any long-term travel plans you may have. This was our mistake and we were determined to fix it. So we made a game-time decision to escape to Zanzibar for ten days...
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| Time to go exploring |
and 
and 
.
.
and 
.
for the cold.
. Eliot bought woolen ones in Nepal and they weren't as useful.
.
have worked really well so far. In addition to their more traditional applications, these are great to hide behind on crowded public buses.
since our trip is so active... 
. We preferred this over an iPad since we knew we'd be writing quite a bit and I have to say, having a laptop has been great!
for each computer. Note, make sure you get a 
, Drea's computer literally got crushed in the backpack during the Nepal trek...
is really cheap and ultra light. 
, the risk of having something nicer stolen (happened 3 times to Drea in Philippines, Spain and Colombia) scared us away from something nicer like an SLR.
. Paperwhite is really nice and the batteries last for weeks! This is significantly--no-- ridiculously better to packing bulky, heavy books. We have a library of over 11,000 books that weighs nothing. 
for each kindle. You can read while you float!
.
for the camera- one will do, 32 gigs is a ridiculous amount of space.
LED headlamps. 
for him).
. It's tiny and it works! It's like 4 ounces of goodness and lasts for ever.
. The liquid stuff spills way too easy and will ruin everything.
. Whatever toiletries you can get in a solid form, do it! It's easier for carry-ons. 
from Sea to Summit. 
(great little pods for your toothbrush!). Drea lost hers on a plane and misses it terribly. 
. These are little strips of soap that have come in very handy.
. We love this and have used it extensively!
wide mouth so you can 
. 
plus extra moleskin for blisters. They took away our medical scissors at Kathmandu airport :(.
with a small carabiner. 
from Sea to Summit and one non-waterproof 
each (different sizes to match your needs). Although the ultralight model is very light, it's not as sturdy as the light ones and some of our sunscreens poked holes through. These are great for packing: we use one for electronics, a small one for toiletries and another for other stuff. We use the non-waterproof packing cube for clothes and that's it! It makes packing SO easy.
. This backpack has been crucial and is super light and fits in a lot of stuff including both of our laptops and fleeces all at once.