First day of our great Ethiopian road trip we stopped in Bahir Dar to check out some of the oldest Monasteries in Ethiopia, see the source of the Blue Nile and the Blue Nile Falls.

We boarded a boat on Lake Tana and cruised to the peninsula on the west side of the lake that has the two old and historically significant Monasteries. There we also enjoyed a Papyrus Boat ride and saw lots of Coffee growing wild.

On the way back we were shown the source of the Blue Nile. Somehow I thought it would be more impressive. Hmm... Later we took a bumpy ride to the nearby Blue Nile Falls, a waterfall that's really impressive in the wet season, but unfortunately we were there in the dry season. Had to use our imaginations a little.


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Azewa Mariam Monastery


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Ura Kidanemihret Monastery


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Blue Nile

On the way back to Bahir Dar we took a quick look at the source of the Blue Nile. It wasn't that interesting, just a slow moving river draining out of the large lake.

We then got into the car and took a very bumpy ride to a small town near the Blue Nile Falls. We bought our tickets and walked a narrow passageway between two non-descript buildings and across a field to the shore of the river where we boarding a small boat which took us a short distance down the river and dropped us off on the other bank. From there we walked along some farmland for a little bit to the waterfall itself.

Once there it was a nice enough waterfall but not impressive due to it being the dry season plus a drought year. We were told that in the wet season the fall is the entire width of the area, which would definitely make it more impressive.

On the way back we chatted with some of the kids selling stuff.


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