Gondar,Ethiopia

14^th February 2011.  Gondar to Bush Camp 120kms.

Today was going to be my first day back on the bike after having 3 days off sick and then 2 rest days in Gondar.

I stayed in the hotel last night and enjoyed the hotel breakfast of toast, coffee and corn flakes.  We all headed down the hill back into town to meet up with the children from the school who we donated the clothing to the previous day.  Took a couple of photos with the children and it was time to head off for the 120km ride to the bush camp. The road was so smooth and much better than the crappy roads of Sudan.   

We had 2, 5km climbs which was not difficult but I rode a nice pace with Peter the Plumber and roared down the other side into the valley below. 

  Like usual the view from the top of the mountain was just breathtaking.  The beautiful green valley floor met us pretty quickly, and this also didn’t give the children to line up stones, sticks, and cow pats to throw at us.  We were going too quick for any of them this time. 

We had the mandatory coffee stop just before lunch.  I had a coffee, a tea and a piece of cake for 6 birra.  That equates to about 35cents.  I should have bargained to try and get the price down a bit, but decided to hand over the full amount.

Lunch was the usual tomato, bread, cheese and gherkins.  The lunch stop was surrounded by about 50 locals just sitting there and watching all these cyclists shovelling as much food into their stomachs as possible.  We got back on the road for another 5km climb and then it was all downhill to the camp at the 120k mark.  All in all a fabulous day on the bike. 

 

The campsite is once again surrounded by locals and TDA have surrounded the camp with a rope to ensure no-one comes inside the barrier and steals anyone’s belongings.

What a nice way to start back on the bike.  Tomorrow is a nice 65k ride to Lake Tana.

My current position is:

Latitude 11degree 57’04.46”N

Longitude. 37degree42’38.00”E

Altitude 1808Metres.

15^th February 2011.  Bush camp to Bahir Dar on Lake Tana, Ethiopia. 62kms

I headed off nice and early for a light 62km ride into Bahir Dar.  Stopped on the side of the road to take some photos of the locals doing business at the local market.  I always love riding through towns and seeing the locals wandering around, together with donkey and cart, and people walking along the roads barefoot with bundles of goods on their head to sell at the market.  I can’t imagine how little money the people must earn for a bundle of tomatoes.

I did get to see a deceased being carried along the road on a wooden platform.Luke caught me whilst I was taking photos and we rode together for the rest of the day.  With about 23kms to go we were caught by 2 of the racers.  I sat with them until the finish line in the centre of town.  Man were we moving fast at times down the hills.  It did feel good to do some hard work on the bike, but only because the trip was a short one today.

 Got a room at the hotel for the next 2 nights instead of putting up my tent.  Headed off to the market and bought my clothing for tonight’s fancy dress party.  I should be a hit.  I love dressing up in women’s clothing.  Will post photos later.  Going to see the White Nile Falls and the monasteries on the lake tomorrow for a rest day.  I’m not sure at this stage the distances for the upcoming week as we make our way south towards the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa.  Will talk again soon.

Spearman Cycles, proud supporter of Khartoum, Sudan to Addis Ababa Ethiopia.

 

Riding in the Ethiopian high mountains.  Today was at 2000metres.  Beautiful riding all day.

stopped off at the roadside stall to check out the produce on sale.

this photo is, on the morning out of Gondar we stopped at the town square for the children to see us off.  These are some of the children we donated the clothing to yesterday.