It is a lovely day in Bahir Dar. People
tell me it must be hotter than Gondar; it's always hot here, compared
to the March temperatures I experienced in Toronto, but in any case
it doesn't [i]feel[/i] hotter. I suspect it's because I have spent
more time walking or in a tiktuk[look up spelling] (think of an
auto-rickshaw) here, while in Gondar I spent a lot of time in cars. I
have experienced a good wind and plenty of shade.
Regarding cars, and this is a tangent,
there's a "window" game. A driver taught it to me purely by
example. If you see a large dust cloud coming toward the vehicle, you
roll up your window. If all is clear you roll it down again. Unless
you visit this country during a wet season, you can expect a lot of
dust to come from the wheels of large vehicles heading in the
direction opposite yours. It's not fun to inhale it or get it in the
eyes. To make the game easier, don't even watch for clouds: roll the
window when the driver does, and always in the same direction.
Anyway, enough of that. This post will
talk about amateur bird-watching on the patio of my B&B, my
experiences on Lake Tana and in an island monastery, and also the
reality of travel budgets.