Ethiopia: Cross the Nile to Addis Ababa

Lake Tana
Biggest lake in the country at 70KM wide in places. Bahir Dar sits at the southern end and has a more relaxed feel than most towns. The lake is famous for its many Orthodox Christian monasteries located on a cluster of nearby islands.

Aurelian and I swap bike for boat to visit the monasteries.

Paintings depict all manner of saintly martyrdoms. Spot the comfy chair..

Typical of the style the many rural Christian Orthodox churchs

On the road

Coffee bread green and yellow..

On seeing the tank…
Me:”What is it?”
Farmer: “It’s a cows bed”
Me: “I can see that, but why is it here?”
Farmer: “So cow can sleep”
.. so the conversation went on, but the mystery remained.

Volcanic crater

Charcoal is much more widely than gas and is commonly sold at the side of the road. This is how they make it.

Amateur leading a group of Professionals

Government sponsored bring a cow and get it inseminated road side event with lots of arm inside cow action. You could sell tickets for this sort of thing.

I have never seen so many cows. They are everywhere. Just in case you feel like purchasing, Here is a quick price guide:
1 egg=9p
Chicken=£2.80
Sheep=£25 pounds
HUGE Cow / Ox =£280 pounds (I hardly saw any ‘normal’ size cows)

Where does all this cow all go?

Manually breaking rocks it one of the toughest and lowest paid jobs, although the men here seem to have it easy..

Market day
Foot traffic in and out of town greatly increases and those who live miles away from the road venture out once a week to buy and sell.

What am I looking at on top of the petrol tanker? (clue.. It’s market day)

Off to a Wedding

The Nile Valley
At some point we need to cross the Nile. It’s worn down a valley over 1000m deep.

View from the top

Down we go…

Old and the new Bridge

FOOD

1/2 kilo of cow steak on a charcoal hot plate. I’ve eaten more meat in the 2 weeks in Ethiopia than in all the other countries combined. At £2.50 for a meal like this with unlimited bread, it’s hard not to! Just see me piling on the weight!?

Debre Libano
Important religious centre constructed on the orders of Haile Selassie.

Addis Ababa
A great place and not too big. Loved the vibe and the fact you don’t have to look hard for a shop sells something you need or want.

First view of the city

Stationary traffic is not dangerous

A friend, Anne, kindly let us camp in her compound while she was away. It is an oasis compared to what’s outside. We are happy for a new member of the cycle gang: Amelie, Aurelien’s girlfriend and also a keen cyclist. She actually owns has more bike that him – and he has a lot..

I think this acreage of tarmac is the city centre.

Worth a trip to see this alone. University grounds have giant tortoises in action.

Meet the famous ‘Lucy’ in the museum.

Super restaurant that had a menu!.. and more that half the things on it can be prepared for you! You don’t find many places like this outside Addis.