Saturday, January 28, 2006
Lake Tana
Lake Tana was the first real experience of Ethiopia that I had. It was the first place we travelled to after leaving Addis Ababa, and once there we felt safe. It was, however in the only malarial zone that we were to encounter on the trip (altitude was only about 1800m), so insect repellent was a must! Our hotel was on a lovely site on the shores of Lake Tana with simple (but clean) rooms and a lovely view over the lake.
Once we’d arrived, almost straight away we went on a boat trip of the lake. The aim of the journey was to see one of the Monasteries on the peninsula partway across the lake (see comments on “The birthplace of Christianity at Axum”), but along the way we saw a few other things of interest. Once we were well away from the shore (Lake Tana is about 65km long and 45 km wide), having realised that we had no life jackets, we noticed something moving on the horizon. As we approached, we realised they were two papyrus reed rafts being paddled by a couple of fit looking Ethiopian men. The rafts apparently take about 4 hours to make and last for about 4 months before they have to make a new one. Further along we saw some bigger rafts carrying cargo (or several rafts strapped together to be precise). Also along the way we saw many birds including white Pelicans and Fish Eagles. The shores of the lake are lined with Papyrus reeds and we saw several groups of people along the way harvesting the reeds, probably to build boats.
Once back at the hotel Alex, Pam & I went for a walk into town – mainly to stretch the legs, but also to see what interesting goods the market had to offer. Unfortunately most of the shops were closed (owing to the disturbances in the previous week) though Alex did manage to change some money (it took about half an hour for $10) and we did make a friend who persisted in showing us the sights of Bahir Dar… I think he was rather impressed with Alex!
Back at the hotel it was time for a beer and to read my book in the gardens just before sunset. A couple of kingfishers were diving for fish in the lake. It was picture postcard stuff!
// posted by rachelle @ 4:21 PM 
