Round and round we go

Day Total: NO RIDING

Song of the Day: Band of Horses – Great Salt Lake

Last night’s party in the hotel bar was a memorable evening. The theme for the event, “Where are you go!?!”, left a large margin for interpretation and the troops did not disappoint. The market area in Bahir Dar made available a wide array of vintage and knock-off clothing, local and indigenous garments, and various festive accouterments suitable for the occasion.

The party started at around 7pm with the majority of attendees in some form of costume. A number of the men arrived with the shoulder blanket/walking stick combination in imitation of the villagers in the countryside. I opted for the consummate tourist costume: a woven woolen cap in the green/red/yellow of Ethiopia and matching scarf. To avoid confusion, the manufacturers of the cap wove the letters E-T-H-I-O-P-I-A
into the cap. Beers were consumed by riders, sturdier drinks by the staff, and because you can never be too prepared for the next riding day, a lot of food was inhaled. The stereo system was commandeered and dancing ensued, though I was too busy with my second bowl of spaghetti bolognaise to partake. By 10:30pm the pretenders – myself included –
called it a night while the most dedicated amongst our ranks took to the local bars to continue the celebration. I blame my failure to participate on my continued recovery.

The rest day officially began with breakfast at the hotel: 2 omelets, 5 pieces of toast, 2 orange juices, a machiatto, and french toast. Back to the room to apply sunscreen and then it was time for more machiattos, 2 amazing mango/avocado blended juices, and 2 pieces of cake. Finally I felt a touch of satiation and we could turn to a bit of tourist business. A quick walk along the shore of the lake and we had a boat arranged to take us to the 14th century monasteries near the lake. The tour was very relaxing – a long boat ride on calm water. The monasteries were quite simple in construction, but the relics, particularly the 500 year old scriptures hand printed on goat skins were a sight to behold. We wrapped up the tour with lunch along the lake. The food was good, but their was significant confusion on the orders and what should have been a pleasant dining experience turned into an exercise in frustration as my growing hunger got the best of me.

We wrapped up the day with another juice and coffee before a final stop at the grocery to stock up on post-ride snacks for the next 5 days of riding. We have 5 days of riding and roughly 560km to Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. We are told there is a fair bit of uphill/climbing in the coming days. Hopefully my body will begin to recover and comply when asked to perform.