Take a deep breath South America, here we come.Tales from the saddle.: Enjoying the rest days at the Goha Hotel, Gondar Ethiopia

11^th February 2011. Camp to Gondar. Goha Hotel, Sudan. 100kms. on the truck.

Today was a good day sitting in the truck with Adele one of the staff of TDA. Today was the mando stage which is rated as extremely difficult. The mountains were pretty intense and the day involved 2500metres of climbing over 100kms.

The weather was perfect for the riders and stayed that way for the rest of the day. The scenery was spectacular and the numbers of children that lined the roads throughout the towns was simply mind blowing. I did hear at the end of the ride that some riders had sticks and stones thrown at them throughout the day. We stopped at the lunch stop and I helped out with the food preparation so we could get on our way to the Goha Hotel.

By the riding on the truck I got the chance to get a room and not sleep in the shitty tent. I got a double room so Luke could stay with me. He rode the day and had lately been sick with the usual ailments for this part of the world.

The hotel’s view is simply stunning looking down from the highest point in Gondar down onto the valley and town below. I sat on the edge of the road and watched many of the cyclists drag their tired bodies up the final section which was so brutal after a long stage.

The night was nice and easy at the hotel with a good meal that costs peanuts with coke and coffee.

12^th February 2011. Back to School. Rest Day.

Today is a special day in Gondar for me. I had decided prior to coming to Ethiopia to be part of the ‘Link Ethiopia’ school day and make a donation to the school. Up nice and early and about 15 other TDA cyclists travelled down to the school to meet up with the Director, teachers, students and parents. Being a Saturday there’s no school, but on this day over 350 turned up for this special occasion.

Firstly we got the royal introduction and walk around the school to see how the money is being used by the school. The money is being well spent.

We had a game of soccer with the students and the game ended 2-2. I missed a good chance to score but made a complete mess of it. Took over 100 photos of the most beautiful faces on earth throughout the morning. Everyone of the kids loved to see their photo once taken. After the game it was time for the official handover of the clothes that our money was being used for. I handed over a set of school clothes to a young boy and a school bag with some books and pens. It was so rewarding to do this. I don’t know who got more out of the giving or receiving on this occasion.

I then went into another room where a coffee ceremony took place and then we were fed so much food. The teachers also offered alcohol around to wash down the meal. I took a coke of course. We had an action packed morning and got back to the hotel to plan the next part of our rest day. The first part is to get the cycle mechanic to pull my back freewheel hub apart and try and fix it. It will last to Addis but has to be replaced. I know I should have done this before I left, but I’m slack.

During the afternoon myself and Luke went down to the Castle built in 1632 by the rulers of the day and took some really nice photos with the afternoon sun helping my poor camera skills. The afternoon was topped off by one of those cake and coffee stops with the locals in a small Ethiopian shop. I always love to find the small shop crowded with locals, it’s a good sign all is healthy.

Back to the Goha Hotel for a easy night.