The African Queen: Lake Tana, Ethiopia
The center of the ethiopian highlands, between the old empirial city of Gondar and the commercial center of Bahir Dar, is covered by a big lake, lake Tana. The lake in fact is the source of the blue nile, which leaves the lake to the east, curves around it in a spectacular gorge and exits the country to the north,
Lake Tana
It would be possible to take a bus or plane from Gondar to Bahir Dar but I thought it would be more interesting to take the boat, which leaves from the port of Gorgora a couple of hours from Gondar a couple of times a week.
I had to take the only bus from Gondar at sunrise to go to Gorgora, where the boat was supposed to leave the next morning at sunrise. On the bus I met an elderly couple from Brighton and a French couple who had the same idea.
The place to stay in Gorgora was the port hotel, a remainder of real socialism. We were the only guests
The huge dining room of the hotel. However, the kitchen was not working, nor was there any restaurant in the village. So we bought some provisions at the market stands along the dusty streets
Bedroom. But even the mosquitoes had forgotten the place....
The abandoned tennis courts
There are ancient churches everywhere in ethiopia. Here the one in Gorgora
The priest
Finally the ticket office opened and we got the confirmation that there actually was a boat leaving from the deserted port
Sunrise in the port. The boat, to the left, built by the italians during their brief occupation before 1940, is still empty
That changed quckly. I do not know how this looks like in times of pandemia. The few shady places were quickly occupied. In the morning it was so cold that we did not think of shade. Later the shade was so coveted, that the people sitting there did not leave their spots during the stops.
The fishermen and villagers on lake tana use beautiful but unstable looking boats from reeds..
After some hours of cruise, there was a stopover with lots of loading and unloading. We had time to explore the village
Children are always curious and want their photo being taken
This refreshment parlour obviously was not used for a while, so we looked for another one
.... in the middle of the village we found this tea house, which also had some snacks
While we were waiting, some of the villagers were busy with wheelbarrows to load boats with sand. Note the state of the pier.
One of the hard working girls posed for a picture
Late in the afternoon the African queen arrived at Korcula. There we had to look for a place to stay. The boat would continue the next morning at six (all public transport in ethiopia is supposed to leave at sunrise, and arrive before sunset. for safety reasons night travel was not allowed).
The streets of Korcula.
We found a room in a motel like establishment ...
.....
.... and a meal in this restaurant. With Hugh and Annie
Preparing the dough for the ethiopian bread, which is served as a plate for all meals
Baking of the pancake like bread
The next morning the journey continued. The boat people were already on the move
The biggest sight at the destination at Bahir Dar, the cascades of the blue nile after it leaves the lake. There is not such a lot of water because most is diverted into a power plant a bit downriver. But at least that means they have stable electricity in Bahir Dar.
Link to other posts about Ethiopia:
