ETHIOPIA: Bahir Dar

Bahir Dar was a pleasant respite from Addis Ababa. It was small and walkable. The main drag is wide and lined with palm trees. There was a nice little café that I seemed to be in a few times a day drinking tea, eating pastries or buying cookies. I found a bakery that had loaves of bread coming directly out of the oven and the bread steamed the plastic bag it was placed in and warmed my hand. The market, while large seemed more homey and welcoming than the Mercato in Addis. The young man who began walking with us through the market insisted he didn’t want money but only to practice speaking English. It was win-win. He showed us some real nice hand-woven goods and talked his head off in the bargain. (Interestingly, he was not the first person on our trip to say he enjoyed speaking English with Christian better than me. They claim it was that Christian was easier to understand because English isn’t his first language. Maybe they just didn’t like me.)

But then you turn down a side street and it is still Ethiopia. The street kids want to hassle you, “Mister!” “Mister!” “You!” “You!”, the beggars are everywhere, and the streets are muddy. Coming out of the bakery two kids walked next to me for three blocks saying “Hello, bread” over and over and over. I couldn’t stop laughing. “Hello, bread.” “Hello, bread.” “Hello, bread.” “Hello, bread.” “Hello, bread.” All while pointing at the bag of bread in my hand. “Hello, bread.” “Hello, bread.” “Hello, bread.” In its way, it was sad that these kids just wanted a piece of fresh bread to eat, bread which I wasted no time in eating once they grew tired of walking next to me. Sad, but them saying “Hello, bread” over and over was still funny.

Overall, Bahir Dar is a town with such great potential. It sits right on Lake Tana. The Blue Nile Falls are nearby. The Lake is full of old, historic monasteries. It could be a great town. I don’t mean a cheesy lake resort town. I just mean that some investment into the infrastructure and surrounds could make it a real jewel. We stayed the Ghion Hotel right on the lake. The hotel is placed within an old Italian officer’s compound. The grounds are great and there are rooms directly on the lake. But the hotel is government owned and run and I don’t think any cleaning or maintenance has take place since the Italians left. The place is rundown and dirty. You forget all that when you are sitting below a huge tree, looking out at the lake, enjoying a beer. You remember when you have to go to the bathroom in the morning and walk on the dirty floor to the worn-out toilet. Just so much potential.

Here’s a monkey that came onto our table as we were eating breakfast at the hotel.