Lake Tana

Since Quara provided free breakfast and I will have almost 1.5 days in Bahir Dar, I took an easier pace in getting ready to leave from Gondar. The breakfast was ok because this hotel has lots Ethiopians so half of the stuff is Ethiopian cuisine, which tends to be heavy stuff like rice, meat etc for breakfast.

After checking out the hotel I caught a motor taxi (tuk-tuk) for the bus station where I will catch a minibus for Bahir Dar. There were couple minibuses filling up with people, and I was ushered into the one that filled up slower. But that is just how things are; sometime you get lucky sometime you don’t. Since it was still early in the morning, wait wasn’t too bad. It took about 3 hours on good road to get to Bahir Dar. The landscape is nice too, elevation dropped to 6,040 feet from 6,998 feet. Our bus made a strange stop, where everyone got out the minibus and the driver angry talked to another guy and towel dried back seat and floor. To my best guess is that the guy peed in his pants/seat. There was no vomit smell so I don’t think he throw up. Anyway after the cleanup we made to Bahir Dar without any additional incident.

I have yet to decide as to where to stay in town. The worn and dilapidated Ghion hotel with nice courtyard by lake Tana or some other place. Rasmus who came from Bahir Dar told us that the resort Kuriftu next door to Ghion has half price for month of October, so you can get a room for 2 for $140 including massage and manicure and pedicure. I first stopped by Ghion to check out its room but apparently there was another government meeting in town, and most of the rooms in are filled. So the person told me to wait for an hour or so to see if anyone will check out. I then went to Kuriftu resort to see if I can ask for more discounts. The receptionist told me all rooms are booked for the next few days. Disappointed and relieve at the same time since I going to miss a little r&r but glad that I didn’t have to make the decision to pay for $140 a night. Reception did told me that they offer day pass to the resort which is about $11 and that includes 1 three-course meal plus 1 non-alcoholic drink, tips included. Also you get to have any spa treatment for 25% off. I told her that it sounded real enticing and that I will be back.

After the somewhat good news at the resort I went back to Ghion Hotel to have my lunch there. Afterward I asked again for room availability, but the manager said there is no room but they can take me to another hotel nearby to see if there is room. I also asked about Blue Nile Falls and Lake Tana monasteries tours, and decided to sign up here with Ghion hotel even though I know it is probably overpriced, but he offered a free ride to the airport. I have read that this manager at Ghion is a sleek character; with some people dislike him a lot, while some found him interesting. For me he is just another sleek character that you can’t trust fully, but probably someone who can get something done. He did let me use his laptop for Internet.

The other hotel they took me to was new as I was told, which it did look so, but again poor construction quality of the hotel is on par with other Ethiopian infrastructures. There was another tourist couple staying there and they told me they arrived late the day before and Ghion was full and they were driven around the town looking for room around town. I also heard the same story from other people I met during my tours in Bahir Dar. So people, it is always good to arrive in a new city earlier in the day especially if you don’t have any reservation. Another tour guide at the hotel also tried to sell me tours but I told him that I already booked it with Ghion for the same price, and he was not happy and started to say that the hotel is offering a local rate to me (I don’t know if this is true or not), and I need to book at least one tour with them. I told him that Ghion will take me to the airport as well; he finally backed down from his demand.

Now that I am all settled in, I walked back to Kuriftu resort to purchase a day pass and book a one hour aroma therapy massage at 8PM and dinner afterward. I have a little bit of time before the 3PM tour of Blue Nile Falls, so I went to the internet café to contact Mr Martins Cozy Place in Addis for a room for tomorrow night because I will be arriving in Addis late and needed a place to crash close to the airport before a early flight out to Harar.

When 3PM came, other tourists started to show up in Ghion for the minivan ride to the water falls. The road to the falls is unpaved dirt road will lots small pot holes. Our minivan was very slow because of the road and small tire size. Soon as we arrived at the ticket office we were approached by a guide belong to another guide association. He want about $1 each person, there were 8 of us I believe. You don’t really need a guide as the walk to the falls is very straightforward and his price was way too high for us. Once we all got our tickets our driver drove us a very short distance to the entrance, and there another older guide approached us, and he offered his service for half of what the first guide asked for. He also told us instead of double back on the same trail we could take a boat across the river above the falls so the group decided to go with this guide. The falls itself is pretty big and nice with good amount of water just after the rainy season. But the afternoon sun was right in front the us as we were facing the falls, so not a good photo opportunity, so the advice is to arrive in the morning instead, but not sure if the tour companies in town do morning tour of the falls as most of them do the lake Tana and monastery tour in the morning. A few years ago, the government built a dam nearby to generate electricity, but that substantially reduced the water flow over the falls, and there was a big outcry from the locals and tourists alike, that the government changed the diversion amount and season.

The walk around the falls to the boat cross was ok, we saw some villagers and kids and crossed over on a little suspension bridge. The boat ride itself is short and costs about 50 cents. I don’t know it is worth or not, but if you have the time then it is probably worth it. The ride back to the town seems to take lot longer, maybe it is because the sun went down and our driver was very slow on the dirt road; a guy on the bicycle passed us and we couldn’t even catch up with him! You need a SUV get a decent speed on this road. We finally got back to Ghion just past 7PM, a long journey for short sightseeing.

I decided to go back to my hotel to drop some of my stuff before heading over to the spa for my massage. The masseuse asked if I want a hard or soft massage, I said hard as it is god for tired muscles after 3 days of hiking. She was really strong, as it was painful when she pushed/pressed hard on my calf. I paid about $12 including tips for the 1 hour session, a great deal if you asked me; only Bali was cheaper. By the time I finished my massage I was ready for my dinner, I ordered a meat dish, but there was so much meat and chewy, I weren’t able to finish my dish. With such a late dinner, I walked back to my hotel to sleep with full stomach. It will be my last meat dish (other than fish) and of this trip. The walk back to my hotel late in night wasn’t too bad, there were still few people walking around.

The sleep at hotel turned out to be no so pleasant. There were dogs barking loud during the night that kept me awake then around 4 to 5AM the call to pray blasted loudly from the nearby mosque’s speakers.

After checking out the hotel I waited in the lobby for pickup from Ghion. The driver came late and there was just me, so I asked if he can take me to an ATM so I can withdraw some money. After got some cash we arrived in Ghion where I dropped off my backpack at the storage and joined the rest of the group for half day boat ride to some of the monasteries dot the lake. The hotel’s boat has small engine so the ride is slow. Our first stop was Bet Maryam on the shore of the lake not too far from Bahir Dar, it cost each us 100 birrs and most of the churches around the lakes cost about the same, so it is not cheap. The path to the church are lined with souvenir vendors selling crosses, painting, etc; not too bad of selections but nothing stands out as great item for good price. The circular church’s exterior wasn’t very interesting, but inside it has very nice painting like others I saw so far. After that we visited a small nearby museum as well a reconstruction of a burned down church.

In our group there is a older French Canadian guy who traveled around the world quite a bit and he told me that Ethiopia is the first country where he had serious trouble with local food and he has been to India. He had been to some of the churches on Lake Tana and the manager from Ghion had promised him some churches that he hasn’t seen before. So when our boat went back toward Bahir Dar and stopped at Ura Kidane Mihret, which he also saw, the local guides whom approached us for service just ticked the French Canadian off. He got into shouting match with them. Other people in group and local guides wonder why he is so unfriendly and rude. The funny thing is that I felt the same way about the Ethiopians sometime as him, so much hassle, and sometime we tourists just want to be treated with respect and honesty and not as cash cow or ATM. But to the clueless Ethiopians, they just think they are just making a living by overcharging “rich” tourists and make false statements; they want tourists to treat them with respect, yet they can’t do the same thing for the tourists. Anyway at this second church I decided again paying another 100 birr to go in, at this time I have seen enough the Ethiopian churches. Afterward, as we make our way back to the boat, I decided to may be look for something to buy from the vendors, one cross caught my eyes, but after quick negotiation, the price didn’t came down as far as I wanted, so empty handed I got on the boat for our last stop to a church on an island in the lake.

We asked the French Canadian guy if it is worth stopping at the island church, he told us it is not worth it, so we decided to ask the boat captain to take us to the lake’s outlet for Blue Nile. We saw some pelicans there that was about the only interesting part of this side trip. We got back to Ghion hotel around 2:30. I decided to go for another day pass at Kuriftu since it is well pass lunch time and get a pedicure for my now well-worn feet. I ordered fish dish this time and added a glass wine and sat by the lake and enjoyed the few. Not sure if it was the meat dish I had the night before or something else, my stomach started to acting up again, not good for my flight in the evening. As for the pedicure itself it was not too bad, I would not have done it if it is not this cheap and that I have been in sandals for a while.

I went to an internet café for quick check to see that Mr Martins Cozy Place has confirmed my reservation for tonight. As I was at the café, I made the mistake of sitting next to an open window. An old lady beggar saw me and just stand there asking for money (in I assume amharic language) for almost a minute. Most of the beggars would have been gone in 15 seconds or so when I made no eye contacts. I would have given her credit for persistence. Anyway I went back to Ghion to wait for my ride to the airport. The manager of the hotel keep on telling my ride would be coming even though the time for my flight was getting close. I guess there is word urgency does not exist in Ethiopia, another impediment to the country’s progress I believe. Eventually I hassled them enough (I can play the game too); they find get a driver to take me to the airport.

The Bahir Dar airport was under construction so it was kind of crappy looking inside and outside. As I was approaching the security line, my stomach was in needed immediate relieve so I rush for the first of the two toilets in the airport. It definitely not fun to have stomach issue while in transit. Anyway  the flight was none eventful and when I got to Addis I tried to call the taxi driver I met during my first visit here couple weeks ago. But there was cell reception problem and I can’t get a hold of him so I ended negotiated a ok price from the taxi nazi outside the airport. The guy agreed to take me to the nearby Mr Martins Cozy Place and back for 350 birrs (about $20).

We arrived at Mr Martins Cozy Place very quickly as the traffic was light. There was no sign at the locked door, so I called the phone number provided to me in the email and soon someone was there to open the door. I was showed a decent sized room! It cost about $12 a night for a share bathroom. No other people were around when I got there. As I went to pay for my stay, some of the guests returned. I chatted with a Taiwanese for a little bit as he has just arrived to Ethiopia and have some questions. Eventually I made my way back to my room and get myself ready for a short sleep.

Amazing Simien Mountains

My sleep at Queen Taitu Pension was ok, but I had so many bug bites (fleas or bed bugs who knows) the next few days make me wonder if the infestation occurred at the Pension or while sleeping in the rented sleeping bag during the trek.

Yalew arrived just past 7AM at my hotel with Rasmus and the German couple already in the SUV. I handed my big backpack to him so he can store it for safe keeping as I don’t need much of my stuff and expected to wear the same set of cloth for 4 days! We drove straight for Debark, the town closest to the park entrance and where the park office is located. The road is paved except for few short stretches where paving were still being done. By far the slowest part of the drive was to avoid hitting the stream of people and animals on the road walking to towns, there are no sidewalks in this part of the world. It was Saturday morning, so I think it was market day, so people from all over bring their goods and animals for sale. We saw that in Debark which had big size outdoor market.

We arrived in Debark around 9:30 I believe, where we stopped by park office to sign in and our guide paid the park fee and pick up our guard (scout) and cook; we also picked up few more supplies. There was also another group of tourists going for the trek as well. There is nothing to offer in Debark except may be meet other independent travelers for do-it-yourself trek as you only required to hire a scout I believe. Luke, Yotam, and Noam did that for their trek, they even cooked their own food! Beside it was told this town is run by transportation association (Nazi) by prevent any outside competition and charging high fee for transport to/from town.

We departed Debark may be around 11AM and by 11:40 or so we left our vehicle behind and started our trek. The SUV will drop off our stuff at our first camp, Sankaber. A dirt road runs through the park, but in order to see and feel the dramatic landscape, it is best to walk up and down along the edge of escarpment overlooking the lowland far below. The distance covered each day isn’t too great, but with lots big ups and downs and in altitude ranging from 2,800 meters (9,186 feet) at Debark to our highest point 4,430m (14,557 feet) at Mount Bwahit. We averaged may be 5-6 hours of walking a day.

We walked with our guide and scout over soft and green ground. The rainy season has just ended so everything was green with patches of wildflowers. During the rainy season, it usually very foggy and no views are possible. Now with sun out, the heating caused the ground moisture rises to create a very noticeable hazy at our eye level and valleys and lowlands below, so some of my photos aren’t too clear as result of that. By no mean does this reduces the dramatic and beautiful landscape I witnessed.

A short distance from the start of our trek, we made our first encounter with the endemic gelada monkeys. They were foraging on grass, roots, and flowers and ignored our approach. Geladas have a noticeable red patch on their chest that looked like a heart, with they being ground foragers and sitting down most of the time, it is used a signal as indicator of over health for an individual. Some the gelada troops in the park can have hundreds of individuals. Geladas sleep at cliff faces to avoid predators like hyenas, lammergeyers (large bird of prey) etc. We were told by our guide that these monkeys are used to tourists especially the light skinned ones and runs away from dark skinned human as local Ethiopian villagers and kids throw rocks at them. Soon the other tourists we saw in Debark joined us in their SUV, obviously they were not going to hike as much as us. With enough photos of geladas we continued our hike on the edge of the escarpment and enjoy the warm weather under the bright sun, puffy clouds, and stunning views. We stopped for a lunch break with great view of the immense expanse of lowland thousands of feet below us. After about 4-5 hours from the start of the hike, we arrived at our camp. Our tents have already been setup and snack and hot drink ready for us on the table. There were three tents for 4 of us, so no sharing except the German couple and they are 4-person tent! We also have a big dinner tent. Dinner was being cooked in a large circular concrete with metal roofed structure. They are few of these kitchens around the campsite. There were many big thick-billed ravens flying around looking for scraps and scavenging around the trash dump. Each group got their own cooking house. But I assume some sharing might be needed when it gets busy during high season. As for the toilet facility here in Simien Mountains, it is actually pretty good by my standard. Concrete building and floor with a hole in the ground and not much smell and you can’t see the bottom, and I believe they clean it every day.

As we sat down for our snack before dinner, the German guy washed his hands with the soap and water provided. He shook his arms back and forth and felt that his wedding ring slipped out, but he couldn’t find it around where he was standing. Soon everyone was looking for this elusive gold colored ring. We pull up grasses, weeds, and enlisted help of some local kids, but for over an hour we could not find it. Finally the German guy said it was enough, and he will have to replace it when they get home. His wife was pretty calm about it the whole time. I wonder who will be the luck person to find this ring in the future.

There are villages scattered in the park and government tries to limit this number as resource are scarce and environment fragile. Many local kids would gather along the hiking trails to sell the same locally made items like knit hats, wooden instruments, or useless items, but to our dismay no drinks, candies, or good hiking snacks. We would have paid good money for say chocolate bars after a long hike as our tour company didn’t provide any decent snacks, nothing after the first day. We told our guide that he should relay this information to the local villagers so it would be benefit to all parties.

There was some time before dinner was served so I went walking around the camp area for some late afternoon rays on the beautiful landscape. As soon as sun went down the temperature dropped very quickly, we all put on many layers of clothing as a result. I had two layers for pants, and 4 layers for my body. Even that was still a little chilly. Finally the dinner was served, and the warm food warmed us up as well. The food on our trek was good and tasty (when one is hungry everything is good) but nothing to write home about. I wished we had snacks between meals (no snacks after the first day) and lunch can have more variety instead of egg with tough breads every day.

After dinner we chatted a little, Ramus the most talkative guy among us said that he is an anesthesiologist and volunteering in a Korean church group run hospital in Addis Ababa and was taking a much needed break after a month of non-stop work and was sick and tired of kimchee for lunch every day. He said that the work culture here in Ethiopia is just very unprofessional. All the nurses would take lunch at same time, leaving critical patients unattended. And people just work to get a paycheck and not taking professional responsibilities or pride, sort of echoing the same sentiment as Merjin from Danakil depression tour. With being the first day of hiking in high altitude we all went to bed very early. I slept with my cloth on as the sleeping bag they gave us is probably 50F bag and the temperature at our camp site of 3,250 meters (10,663 feet) was probably near freezing. Rasmus also complained about being cold with his sleeping bag. I had a very good night sleep none the less, must slept 9-10 hours, the most in a while. It is very quiet in this part of the country.

We got up may be before 7AM and sun already up for a while, so I went around taking few more photos before the breakfast was served. We left our camp just after 8AM, our tents and stuff will be carried by mules and it mule handlers. The daily rate for a mule is higher than the mule handler.

We continue our hike up and down the valleys and along the escarpment with occasional short walk along the dirt road. There are many domestic animals in the park, cows, sheep, and goats along with mules, donkeys, and small horses. Rasmus who is full of facts told us that Ethiopia has second largest donkey population in the world after China. We stopped at the Gich Abyss and Jinbar river waterfall for some photos. Sun was at bad angle and hazy condition makes not so interesting photos.  Later on we encountered another troop of gelada monkeys, but they were more scattered and the harsh sun make it hard to take photos, so we didn’t stop too long. Not soon after that we stopped at the crossing for Jinbar River for lunch and a little siesta. We were moving at a very good pace. The other group from Sankaber camp arrived at the river crossing just as we were leaving to move up the valley to Gich village and our camp for second night – Gich camp 3,600 meters (11,811 feet). This is when we started to see the high altitude giant Lobelia plants. Our guide said the plant only flower once and then dies. He asked us if we want to try the coffee ceremony at the Gich village, we all declined. I saw it informally before and I don’t drink coffee. After a long steady climb, we finally reach Gich camp just as the people were finishing putting up our tents, a little too fast for them. There was a store near by selling sodas and bucket warm showers. Rasmus went over got us some sodas.

It is cooler at Gitch camp and more exposed, because it is sitting on a high plateau. Our guide took us up to a high point not too far from our camp for sunset. The view was very nice as late afternoon sun shine horizontally across the vast plateau at same time the lowlands below was getting dark and obscured by the thick haze. We lingered until the sun disappeared below the thick cloud on the horizon and then headed back down to our camp and dinner. After dinner our cook and guide tried to start a wood fire inside the kitchen and had us sit inside to get warm but the smoke from the wet wood filled the kitchen quickly. So we decided to head inside our tent. I wasn’t sleepy yet, but just want to stay warm in the bag. Maybe I slept too well the night before, I didn’t get a good night sleep and had to get out for pee breaks in the middle of night which is always fun in middle of cold night.

Next morning we awoke to another brilliant sunshine, and again we were off for our trekking and toward Imet Gogo, a large 3,925 meters (12,877 feet) peak with spectacular views of foothills and plains to the north and east. From there we head down and up valleys along the escarpment. At bottom of the first valley after Imet Gogo, we were staring at long slope up the other side of the valley. Local kids were ready for their horses to take tired or slow tourists up the long uphill for a fee. None of us took up the offer and we just slowly move our way up. At the top we rested for lunch and by this time clouds have moved over Imet Gogo. From here it was mostly downhill with few short stretches of climb before we descent toward our camp at Chennek, 3,620 meters (11,876 feet). Chennek is at a valley and at the base of Bwahit Mountain, 4,437 meters (14,557 feet). We arrived with the news that we will have couple chickens for dinner, which our guide purchased from a villager as we approached our camp. The two chickens looked very skinny. The meat turned out pretty tough as expected, so I only have couple small pieces. I didn’t bother with watching the killing as I did for goat killing in Danakil since I have seen chickens been killed before. Our guide told us that a sheep out here would only cost may be $20 or so! I can make a small profit if I were to buy one here and take it back to Gondar. I told the group that Luke and others bought a sheep and had a feast while they were in the Simiens. So Rasmus asked the guide if the cook would kill the sheep and cook it if the group was to purchase one, and our guide said yes. Since I will be leaving the next day, I will not be at the feast.

There was no other group at this camp as the other groups we met early were either taking an easier pace or shorter itinerary.

Rasmus had brought his ipad along, so we played trivia game with it to pass time. With another chilly night, our guide setup a bonfire inside the kitchen again and this time he promised us that there will be no smoke because they will be using dry wood. So we all gather around the fire for warmth and chatted and telling riddles. Eventually everyone headed back out in the cold and getting ready for bed. Instead headed straight for bed, I decided to try to setup my tripod for few photos of the stars and Milky Way. I tried 40 to 60 seconds exposures, but none of it turned out too well. With my hands getting cold, I called it a night and got into my sleeping bag with all my cloth on again to stay warm.

Early next morning, we heard some howling sound around the camp; I was too cold to get out of my tent to investigate. Later I was told it was made by an Ethiopian wolf.  I am glad that I am not a wildlife photographer. I did go around the camp area after the sun had raised high enough to start warming the land. I took some photos of the sun shining across the sloping land and escarpment.

After breakfast I packed up for one last time. I was told that my stuff will be waiting for me when I come back down from the summit of Bwahit Mountain and that a vehicle will be arriving shortly after that to take me back to Gondar. Before we headed up for the summit, we parted way with one of our mule handler as they now have less stuff to carry to next camp site. I gave the guy a little tip. We sorted discussed how much each one of us was going to contribute to the tipping pot to be divided up to all helpers. But this was not expected, but it was no big deal, only small change and he did real work. After that we started our slow and steady climb up to the summit, about 3000 feet of elevation gain over short distance. Not too far from our camp our guide spotted an Ethiopian wolf in a distance, probably the same one that was around our camp earlier in the morning. With help of our guide and Rasmus (both have good eyesight) we were able to spot it with binocular. Ethiopian wolf is not very big we were told, not the big size wolf you found in North America. As we approaching the summit over rock strewn grassland terrain our guide spotted four Ethiopian ibex, also known as walia ibex. Again our guide and Rasmus were able to spot it and followed its movement. The ibex’s coat help it blends in well in the dry brown grass covered slope. Eventually the ibex and us came close enough for photos.

With our last wildlife encounter behind us, we pushed on again slowly toward the summit. At this altitude the breathing is definitely tougher but I didn’t have any symptom of altitude sickness, must be drinking enough water and acclimatized over the last week or so. With final push Rasmus and I summited and soon after the German couple arrived. All in all about 2 hours for 3000-feet with stops for wildlife, not bad in this altitude! We lingered around the summit for photos and our guide pointed our other peaks around the area including the highest mountain in Ethiopia, Ras Dashen (4,550 meters or 14,928 feet) and the way to next camp for rest of the group. Before we parted, we had group photos and I gave Rasmus my share of tip for the guide, scout, and cook. We had two scouts that came up with us so that I can go down with one of them.

On my way down, my scout took the shortest route back to Chennek camp, which is through thick tall grass, but it was not too bad and we moved pretty fast, may 45 minutes to get down including a stop for lone ibex we saw. He was closer to us than the fours we saw on the way up so better picture. There were other tourists in 4 SUVs around the area looking for ibex. As we approached our camp we encountered some gelada monkeys, but they were moving fast so I didn’t take any photos.

The vehicle to take me back to Gondar was already waiting for me. Since I am the only one with my scout, I had to tip him myself, so much for sharing the tipping cost at the end. Also the assistant cook was there as well and going back to Debark with us, but I decided not to tip him since I already tipped two people by myself and chipped in the tipping pot for the whole service group! The cook stared at me with an expression of where is my tip.

Yalew had a note telling me not pay for anything for the ride back to Gondar. There were two other tourists from UK in the vehicle, 1 US and 1 Russian, traveling together for vacation. I don’t mind sharing as it reduces cost and why waste empty seats. But I think there was some confusion as to how much the others were paying for the ride and was try to reach may be Yalew (poor or no cell phone reception) to straighten out their cost and the Russian lady told me I should chip in $10 to get us moving. I didn’t respond to that request. Anyway not soon after we were moving, and I got to know about my fellow passenger a little. He is a banker from Connecticut, but now works in UK and she is from Russia but also works in UK. I am not sure about their relationship, but I think may be friends. She got food poisoning the day before, so she is finally feeling a little better today for some sightseeing. We stopped by the waterfall so they can go take some photos of the fall and Gich Abyss. I decided not go with them since I saw it already and there was a nice small troop of gelada monkey right next to our vehicle for photos.

After the waterfall and before we left the park, we made one stop at the Simien Lodge, self-proclaim “Highest Hotel in Africa” at 3,260 meters and only hotel inside the park. It sits on top of a ridge with good 360 degree view of the region. And I think the high setting also attracts wildlife to its ground. We saw a lammergeyer landed right in front of our vehicle as we approached the hotel. The UK tourists want to have lunch here. They stayed here the night before. I ordered a cake from the restaurant which was ok. This hotel is not bad of a place consider the location, but I think it is an expensive place. So it is good for people don’t care about price and has limited time or physically not too fit.

After lunch we made our final drive to get back to Gondar stopping only for dropping off our UK tourists’ guide, assistant cook, etc in Debark and a quick photo stop between Debark and Gondar. We got back to Gondar may be between 4 and 5PM, and guess where the UK tourists are going to be staying, Taye hotel, good choice. But for me I can’t find myself paying $50 or so for just a quick night. So I went for Quara instead. It wasn’t too expensive and everything worked and it comes with free breakfast. I didn’t do much except much needed shower, dinner, and internet. After that I just stayed in my room and watched TV until I am ready for sleep. I did have a scare when I realized around 9PM that my trusted and beat up green daypack of over 20 years was nowhere to be found. In it was my wide angle camera lens. I knew I last saw it in the SUV as I was getting out, I thought Yalew had helped me take it into Quara, so I gave Yalew a call, and he said he will call the driver to see if it is in the SUV. A moment later he called back and to my relief was told that the backpack is in SUV and the driver will deliver it to the hotel in about 30 minutes. When I got my daypack back, I gave the driver a good tip since it was nice for him to deliver late at night (Ethiopian don’t like to drive at night). The funny thing I noticed is that his eyes were blood shot red, may be a little too much drink after getting paid for the drive from park to Gondar.

I highly recommend trekking in Simien Mountains and hopefully in a small group to share the cost. This is definitely a highlight of my trip ranked just behind the Danakil. I would also put it in the must hike list for the world!

I can also recommend Yalew as a tour operator; I had no problem on my tour. Although someone else who also used him a few weeks after I did complained about some small lies Yalew told for her trip. I guess the key things to remember when doing budget travel (may be even high end) in Ethiopia is not expect too much from the tour service and you end up happier that way. Things are “promised” but just as sort polite gestures as I call it, not necessary will be follow through. Although generality of the trip itinerary you will get but details might and well change. O, bring your own snacks!