Fogera Hotel Gonder

Camelote en afrique, c est le slogan du ministere du tourisme : a cause de c est chateau ayant 5 siecle d age. Ce fut la capitale de l ethiopie en 1600 car se trouvant a l intersection de 3 grandes routes de caravanes et surtout car ses environs sont verts.

Traduction il pleut souvent, et je n y ait pas echapper ...

... Gonder is Ethiopia's 'Camelot', complet with castle and fairy-tales, but I've got other tasks first, specifically malaria meds. Bahar Dar is next stop on the trip and they say malaria is endemic there, especially this time of year. So I find some mefloquine. They say start the treatment 1-2 weeks in advance is best, but 1-2 days at least. That's all I got. I'm sensitive, so hopeful. At least these prophylactics don't leave a ring in ...

... 18th
century) and the Fasiladas Bath where the Holy Water ceremonies takes
place.

We also went on a one night camping
trip up the Siemien Mountains to see the wild baboons and Ibyx.
Unfortunately it rained all night and we couldn’t see much because
of the fog but we did get to see the ibyx from a distance and lots of
baboons.
Saktophe's Highlights ...

... Upon arrival at the airport, some browsing through the available postcards unfortunately cost us with our ride to our hotel, as there were no taxis left and we had to squeeze in with two of the other remaining people at the airport. Since they were originally from Ethiopia, however, we realized that our fare quote, though not incredibly expensive, was still 4x their price. After we puttered up to our hotel (noticing that an extensive ...

... is a bizarre writhing of you body in time to the music and letting your shoulders shake uncontrollably. Besides been hit on by hookers it was a great night - but having not really had much to drink in months, and a FitzGerald tolerance anyways, I was pretty wasted by the time I got back to my room. And then I called Wing, what we talked about I have no clue! And then Debs from uni arrived. We spent a day traipsing around looking for ...

... and your camera being taken. Built in the classical style the palace is set in a large park on the banks of the Blue Nile, just as you would expect of a British colonial building. The National Museum where we went next was so dimly lit that we could hardly read the explanations next to the exhibits, which were very similar to ...

... from Axum to Gondar is spectacular (again), more hairpins than in Corsica and some very beautiful gorges. We passed the Takazze river (using a modern version of Bailey Bridge, the old bridge having been blown up or washed away) and set up camp on a hill soon after. It was on the inside of a hairpin bend of the road. As it was getting dark there weren't that many people around, a few curious passers by and some trucks continued during the night. The next day we were looking forward ...

... When multiple patients come staggering through the doors it's like a war zone - on my first afternoon we had a patient in status epilepticus on the couch, a convulsing patient with cerebral malaria on the floor and then a man is carried in having seemly had a silent heart attack. In a similar fashion to the UK they are admitted directly to the ward, discharged or sent to the, what I call, medical assessment centre. This is a tent. The floor is mud ...

... England where they would probably be cheaper but wouldn't arrive for at least another day. It was 6am in England and with the parts in Addis needing to be on an internal flight in under 2 hours, yet again the clock was working against me. Jim was up and trying his hardest to make contact with the Bristol Bus Company but in the end I was forced to bite the bullet and go through with the order. The mechanic had managed to negotiate a discount of 1900 birr ...

... royal complex is right in the center of town and is comprised of several castles/libraries/lions dens of King Fasilada. They may just be hollow skeletons now, but it's fun to imagine the walls covered in ivory and gold, and the banquets that took place there! The Debre Berhan Selassie church is most famous for it's ceiling of 104 winged cherubs looking down on you. This church is also one of the only in rectangular ...