Gondar and Bahir Dar

We are finally done with our travels for the rest of the Semester. The next month will be solely devoted to our Independent Study Projects. Our last trip did not disappoint however. We arrive in Gondar around ten o'clock and had a little bit of time to relax before we headed out to see the castles. For any Lord of the Rings fans, the town is named Gondar not Gondor, which is a little disappointing, but we still looked for a white tree the whole time we were there. The castle complex was amazing, definitely living up to its name of "Africa's Camelot". The main castle in the complex is still remarkably intact, and we were able to go inside and walk around on the second floor. The man with the key to the roof was not there that day, so we didn't get to go up the towers. The next day we went to a few churches. The inside walls were completely covered in paintings; quite spectacular. We then went to Dashen Brewery, and got to see all of the inner workings of one of the biggest breweries in Ethiopia. The bottling line was probably the most impressive part. We finished off the day at a few traditional music clubs, and then a modern club. Gondar is known for its club scene, and our teachers weren't going to let us leave Gondar without a little dancing. The next day we traveled to Bahir Dar by car, and hiked to a castle in the hills overlooking Lake Tana. I then proceeded to nap the rest of the afternoon. The next day we spent on Lake Tana, boating to the various island monasteries. The churches once again contained spectacular paintings, and some old manuscripts as well. I also saw a monkey on one of the islands, but no hippos in the lake. This morning we spent hiking to the Blue Nile Falls, which are now dammed and not as spectacular as they once were. If I hadn't been told this however, I would have been thoroughly impressed. Even with half of the water dammed, they were still amazing, and the spray got us all wet. Overall the trip was everything I had hoped for, and I got to hang out on a lake for a day. I couldn't have asked for anything else.