Leaving Addis Ababa was akin to leaving home again, we had become like locals with our favourite eating places and bars. The price of beer varied from 2 birr to 25 birr for a handle. Yes that is from 36 NZ cents to about $4 NZ. It seemed to be priced according to how far you were from a toilet,,,, you pay more to be away from them so you can smell the beer.
Addis was also our last cool place for a while, at 2000+ metres a refreshing climate but big rain storms while we were there with flooding and mud.
We had a bit of time getting to know the UNICEF folk and went to a mobility project that they were partners in. This was getting special wheel-chairs to kids that couldn’t get to school otherwise. These all-terrain chairs were hand propelled and wonderful on the rough muddy roads with big wheels turned by swivelling your bottom.
Paul did a great job replacing the shock-absorbers on my and Tony’s bikes in record time so it was with enthusiasm I set off for Bahir Dar (550 km). We crossed the Blue Nile and were moved on by military before photos could be taken, then to Lake Tana the source of this famous river to have a cold shower (not by choice), a cold beer (last one for a while) at a local hotel.
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