DAY 115. TUES. 29/05. Shehedi to Gonder. 163 kms. Total 24360. Belegez Pension. N12 36.633 E37 28.316

Continued along the gravel road only reaching tar just before Gonder. Arrived quite early around lunchtime at the neat and clean Belegez Pension. Went for a walk around town - 1stly changed some money at the bank/Moneygram office. Then went to find a place to eat to try the unique Ethiopian cuisine & beer, which Rob had been dying for during the heat of the previous 2 weeks in alchohol free Sudan. Along the way we picked up a tag along street kid who seemed OK and we let him show us a place to eat while chatting. Next thing he has invited himself for lunch and ordered himself a coke. We had njera (a large grey sponge-like pancake, slightly sour tasting, made from tef, a widely planted grain) which is the staple basis for most meals, topped with kitfo, raw minced meat and spice. Our first mistake though was ordering 2 as we didn't realize yet how big they were - one dish more than comfortably feeds 2 - and we had to give most of the 2nd one away. Loved the njera though and from then on had it as often as we could, mostly with a tasty bean and onion sauce or kai wat- a spicy meat sauce. You eat with your hands just tearing off pieces of the njera and mopping up or scooping up the sauce. Lovely. 2nd mistake was letting the young kid dictate how much the drinks were as they weren't on the menu. Must have been in co-hoots with the waitress as he more than doubled the prices of the drinks so our meal ended up costing us a couple of dollars extra than it should have. Didn't realize it at the time but he must have gone back and collected the proceeds once we left. (You can usually have a njera and a drink or 2 each for just over 2 dollars, around 20 birr, or less depending on where you are!) We were then going to do a bit of sightseeing. Had decided to give the by all accounts impressive Fasilidas castles (Gonder is known as Africa's Camelot because of them) a skip due to the high entrance price (100 birr pp) and the fact we have both been into enough old castles in the UK but we did go for a walk around them which gives you a good overall impression. Were going to visit the famous Debre Birhan Selassie church though but decided to rather do it in the morning on the way out as it was quite far and we were feeling a bit too tired. Spent some time on the internet instead - a very slow bad connection that kept cutting out and then back to our camp in the courtyard of the pension for a fairly early night.

DAY 116. WED. 30/05. Gonder to Dabat. 98 kms. Total 24458 kms. Bushcamp

Our little friend from yesterday was waiting for us in the morning wanting us to buy him school exercise books. (6: 1 for each subject at 5 birr each!) But by now we had him figured out as he probably wasn't even at school. Yesterday he said school was in the morning and this morning he says it is in the afternoon. But this is a scam anyway as they take you to the shop and you buy the books but as soon as you leave they return the books with the shop keepers blessing and pocket the cash. So we gave him the swerve and had him running down the street after us through town. Tried to put in diesel but there was a long queue as there was a bit of a diesel shortage in Gonder and Ethiopia so we decided to visit the church 1st. Eventually found it at N12 36.765 E37 28.789 after asking a few people (25 birr pp entrance). It is apparently known as the Sistine Chapel of Africa due to beautifully painted walls and ceiling of African angels smiling down on you. Also some graphic and brutal scenes from the bible along with a little horned devil with spear. After that it was back to join the diesel queue which hadn't moved but we were getting badly pestered by kids who just wouldn't leave us alone so we decided to head out of town the way we had come in yesterday to find another garage with less kids about and hopefully a shorter queue. Well we found one with less kids but unfortunately the queue was longer although it was right across the road from the depot so the diesel trucks didn't have far to come when the pumps ran out as everyone was panic buying. Apparently the main refinery was down for maintenance (cleaning the tanks?) so there was a widespread fuel shortage in the country lasting a few days which wasn't helped by everyone stockpiling. We just waited it out - 3 and a half hours - and did much the same by filling up both tanks just in case so we wouldn't have to wait again. After that we decided to just head north and get as close to the Simien Mountains National Park as we could before dark. Lovely drive along a pretty rough gravel road up into the mountains between 2000 m to just over 3000 m with some lovely views along the way. Just after leaving Gonder there was a heavy downpour lasting about half an hour and within minutes the road was a deluge of water with cascades streaming down the mountains all around us. Stopped to camp about 5 km north of Dabat but apparently it was near some military barracks and they didn't want us camping there so just moved on a few hundred metres down the road and stopped on a clearing next to the road. Rob made a bit of an unsuccessful fire with wet firewood from the roof rack to cook potatoes but didn't manage to get enough coals so we had rather hard potatoes with tuna and mayo for dinner. Other than that it was fairly cold up in the mountains so didn't venture outside much - just sat in the front and then slept in the back for the 1st time since a rather warmer Egypt. Surprisingly we were left alone and not bothered by anyone probably because we had camped quite late just at nightfall when everyone is back in the villages.

DAY 117. THURS 31/05. Debat to Debark then back to Gonder and on to Bahir Dar. 298 kms. Total 24756 kms. Ghion Hotel. N11 35.823 E37 23.146

In the morning we had a few curious children hanging about watching us and Rob started showing then pictures in the guide book. This must have sparked some interest as before long we were completely surrounded by onlookers, standing 4 or 5 deep. This was the sign to get going. Arrived shortly afterward at Debark the HQ of the Simien Mountains National Park and enquired about going into the park for 2 days. Worked out to 340 birr for 48 hrs and we had to take an armed scout with us in the vehicle which we not keen on due to space and would be quite uncomfortable given the rough roads. So we decided to give it a miss and turn around and head for Bahir Dar instead. Bit of a pity as it meant missing out on an opportunity to see the rare Ethiopian Wolf, Garada Baboons and Woldiya Ibex species but we were regretting our decision and were happy to move on as there was still lots more to see and do in Ethiopia. (Other travelers we have since met and spoken too who went into the park all had great sightings of all 3 species so probably was worth doing?) Once back through Gonder we got onto a beautiful piece of new tar road all the way to Bahir Dar on Lake Tana. About the only good new complete stretch of tar road in the whole of Ethiopia. Camped at Ghion Hotel with a view of the Lake. Didn't do too much in the afternoon but sat at the hotel restaurant and had a few drinks (Rob tasting a few of Ethiopia's great beers: St Georges, Castel and Harar beers all good) Later we met another overlanding Swiss couple, Reto and Victoria, heading south in a new Toyota Landcruiser (Bushtaxi) and chatted to them for some time before going back to the vehicles for tea before bed.

DAY 118. FRI 01/06. Bahir Dar to Tis Abay (Blue Nile Fall) and back. 86 kms. Total 24843 kms. Ghion Hotel. N11 35.823 E37 23.146

Said goodbye to Reto and Victoria after breakfast as they were heading down to Addis Abeba. Agreed to stay in contact with them and possibly hook up and do the Omo Valley/Lake Turkana route with them if we were to be on a similar schedule. They also gave us their entrance ticket to the Blue Nile Falls from the day before as that's where we were heading today. Headed south at junction in town (N11 35.265 E37 23.185) for about 30 kms to reach the Blue Nile Falls parking lot atN11 29.185 E37 35.701. (Shortly before the right turn off to the falls is the ticket office where you would normally pay 30 Birr) After a short walk starting off by crossing the Portuguese Bridge at N11 29.247 E37 35.658 you reach the top view point for the falls. Falls pretty impressive still even though now only 30% of the water goes over the falls with the rest being diverted through the hydroelectric plant. By this stage even though we had refused the offer we had been adopted by a guide who walked along with us telling us interesting facts about the falls obviously expecting the subsequent tip. Probably would have gotten away without paying but we decided to walk down right to the bottom of the falls and used his services to show us the way as its quite a bit further along and you have to cross over to the other side of the river. (N11 29.468 E37 35.278) Got a bit wet too from the spray from the falls and a bit of rain that started to fall. Back at the car park it was time to tip the car guard and the guide who as usual was not happy with our contribution as we only had a few birr in small money - but then we had not exactly asked for his help, he had just pestered us into submission! Drove back to Bahir Dar and out to a high view point at N11 34.520 E37 24.768 overlooking Lake Tana and the source of the Blue Nile where we took some photos. Then back to the hotel/campsite. Took a wander along the shore of the lake and ended up at Mango Park, a terraced garden with bar/restaurant where you sit on chairs in the garden and watch the pelicans along the shore (although being Ethiopia you have to pay 15 Birr to take photos). Every now and then they throw a few fish out for them to catch. Had a quick beer and coke before strolling back to the hotel.