Paradise Found
I only have a few minutes to make this post (I’m leaving to teach in a few minutes) so it will be mostly photos from the weekend in Bahir Dar. It’s by Lake Tana which is the source of the Nile River. It’s sort of like the garden of Eden with lush vegetation, monkeys in the trees, hippos and crocs in the water (but not where the locals swim), and giant pelicans swooping from above to catch fish.
But first, we went to the airport in Addis Ababa. Security could maybe be a little bit better since I was greeted once inside, by a one-eyed cat.
Lucrezia and myself decided to live it up a little and so for the price one would spend at a Best Western or Somerset’s Quality Inn for example, we found ourselves at the Kiriftu Resort and Spa.
Buildings were made of bamboo and stone. Rose petals were scattered liberally everywhere. A complimentary massage came with the room and really, it was a huge contrast from our daily work lives teaching in Addis Ababa. I have a tendency to feel guilty about such things, but the surroundings comforted me soon enough.
We were saying it was actually the perfect place for a couple to take their honeymoon. Oh well. We girl pals had fun anyway without romance, even in such a romantic place.
After a delicious lunch we met a wonderful local guide named Dessalegn, a young man (25) who is veryserious about his future. He is an aspiring tour operator and comes from a local family of farmers. He has that serious, yet self-motivated quality that I find in the students when I just KNOW they will be successful whatever they decide to do, simply because they have the right attitude and work ethic.
This is another guide below, Abel, also from the local area. He brought us to the Blue Nile Falls.
After driving down a 35K bumpy dirt road towards a spot where it is possible to walk to the Blue Nile Falls, we got out for a short hike.
And now I have to leave for the school, so I’ll post one more photo and will continue later…
Have a wonderful day and hugs from a part of the world that is bursting with potential.
Read the next blog post in this series.
