February 20th, 2015 - Lake Kola - 103 km

We had a 26 km convoy out of Addis Ababa and convoys are never fun... one minute they are too fast and the next minute too slow and always stressful because traffic is constantly trying to butt in and the last thing you want is to be responsible for the whole thing breaking apart. These convoys are lead by one of our trucks (or in some cases by the local police) and the riders follow two by two behind with the slower riders at the front and the faster riders at the back - sounds simple, right? Not so.

                                                                                           

The road was long, rough and dusty with wicked traffic but at our evening camp beside Lake Kola I finally felt like I reached Africa!  There were hundreds of large storks about a meter high walking around and roosting in large shady trees with trunks easily a meter in diameter.  A flat green pasture sloped down to Lake Kola provided the feeding grounds for about fifty cows and huge intimidating bulls with large moon-shaped horns and a few donkeys and goats. A steeply peaked mountain with a rippled erosional pattern making it look like it was overlain with a wrinkled carpet stood on the horizon.  The lake was large and calm, a couple of small fishing boats were pulled up on the shore where men worked, fished and bathed.  The sunset was incredible with an even more spectacular sunrise the next morning.  

Lake Kola - people, bulls, boats and cows.

Weary riders hanging out in the shade while onlookers gather at the rope that cordons off oru camping space.  A local with an AK-47 usually patrols the perimeter for us... it seems to work.

Ahh, sunrise!

A minute later, fishermen begin to gather and storks are looking for leftover fish.

February 16th-19th, 2015 - Blue Nile Gorge to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

We rode into Addis Ababa on the 16th.  The day was nice with some climbing but generally great roads.  Unfortunately one of our riders was hit by a car (totally the car's fault) and is now in Nairobi in the hospital.  He has some broken bones and a head injury but it's not life-threatening.  This is the 3rd person that had to return home before the end of the tour; one fell and broke his leg and another got a lung infection that wouldn't go away.

We had two rest days in Addis Ababa.  They were quite uneventful as most riders were feeling a bit down after the accident and spent a quiet time at the hotel, doing laundry, updating family and friends and buying supplies.

Addis Ababa is quite a large centre with some large modern skyscrapers.  There are well-to-do neighbourhoods mixed in with the shantytowns.

I've added some general pictures.

We make frequent stops for cold cokes and a few minutes in the shade. The purple bike is mine, a Surly Troll which has performed beautifully for me (so far)... but weighs a ton!

February 15th, 2015 - Blue Nile Gorge - More Pictures

Three girls ran to meet me on the climb out of the gorge. They were very cute.

Boy at the top of the gorge has a baby baboon as a pet. He will very likely have some trouble soon, as already he makes known what he wants.

Large flowers (6") on the thistle plant

Looking over the valley

February 15th, 2015 - Blue Nile Gorge - 88 km, 1820 m climb

Today we cycled down to the Blue Nile and up the other side.  

This will be a memorable day - at one point when I stopped to take a photo of some baboons, I realized that I was surrounded by them, big males, mothers with babies clinging to them and young racing around.

Baboon watching us from the cliff 

Baboons were everywhere

The ride was long and challenging but totally satisfying.  We camped at resort at the top of the gorge.  The climb was over 20 km, a lot of hairpin turns but generally not so steep (but often I could only manage 5-6 km/hour).

February 13th and 14th, 2015 - Bahir Dar to Forest Camp, Ethiopia - 278 km

Sick again but only for a day...I know it was the Ethiopian food. Back on the bike the following day after a truck ride to the lunch stop.

The landscape is beautiful and the roads perfect and wide.  The Chinese know how to make roads, they were banked in such a way that you could cruise down a hill without braking for the turn at the bottom.

It was obviously 'market' day and looked quite festive.   There was a mass exodus of people carrying bundles on their heads and backs, donkeys were loaded up with bags of grain and cart loads of goods, people were herding goats, cows and sheep, carrying live hens and roosters (usually upside down with their feet bound and tied to a stick) all heading in the same direction.  

Kids and adults follow us to camp and watch us like we are a TV screen.  They bring drinks and cookies for us to buy, I think they do quite well.  A rope surrounds our camp and they are not to step inside.  This is necessary because they will follow and crowd you and want to handle your bike and equipment.  At least one armed (AK47) guy is hired to keep the locals away.

Beautiful and fun day.  The roads were torn up in quite a few places. 

Women on the sick truck, having a blast and representing 5 decades (20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s)

Changing landscape: more trees, open water, small farms

Mass of people, animals and goods on their way to the market

At the forest camp

Onlookers at our camp

Armed guy hired to keep our bikes, etc. safe. Last year a couple of bikes disappeared overnight.

Teenager poses with his hen. The hen's legs are tied and a couple of minutes earlier it was being carried upside-down.

February 10th - 12th, 2015 - Gondor to Bahir Dar, Ethiopia - 177 km

Left Gondor for a two day cycle to Bahir Dar for a 'rest day'.  The Ethiopian scenery is rugged and beautiful.  We are seeing more and more greenery and big beautiful trees and some rivers and lakes.

Kids line the street to greet you, yelling 'you, you, you' 'money, money, money' and 'where you go?' Then they pelt you with stones and occasionally they try to poke sticks in your wheels or hit you with sticks, pinch you or slap you...some times they push you up a hill while robbing you or grab the back of your bike.  So far it is stressful but no serious injuries.

We arrived in Bahir Dar early in the afternoon, so had enough time to go to the Blue Nile Waterfalls. The trip there was so ridiculous that we couldn't help but laugh.  They stuffed a dozen people in a rickety old van and drove us for over an hour down a really bad dirt road.  The van was falling apart as we drove but the waterfalls was beautiful.

The hotel where we were staying was quite bad. Even with the lights on we needed to use our headlamps.  One guy woke to see a rat on the other twin bed in his room (about a foot away).  He screamed and it ran under the bed.  He ran to the front desk and told the receptionist.  The hotel guy got a broom and went to the room.  He swung the broom under the bed and the rat ran out frightening the guy.  He told the TDA guy to leave  the room and he did but left the door open an inch or so, so he could see what was going on.  There was a whole lot of running around and slamming of the broom.  Finally, the guy came out the room carrying a large dead rat on the end of the broom. He told the TDA guy he could go back into his room.  He said there was blood everywhere. The manager comped  him for one night but not the two nights.

Laundry Day 

Onlookers as we prepare to ride 

Typical Ethiopian Landscape

Beautiful Landscape

Kids are constantly trying to sell you something. 

Everyone on their way to the market

Donkeys and people are loaded with goods to sell at the market 

Women carry large bags of grain on their heads

Roadside shelter 

Big trucks and small bikes on the road: Right of weight

Relaxing in Bahir Dar: People-watching by the lake

Ethiopian colours

Cabbage Garden

Taking a boat across the Nile to get to the Blue Nile Waterfalls

Blue Nile Falls

Enjoyed a layered juice at a local shop, then went upstairs for Ethiopian food, injera (fermented bread with a spicy meat mixture)