Home » Ethiopia » Cycle to the Summit Part 13 - Northern Ethiopia

13th - 22nd March 2002

Cycle to the Summit Part 13 - Northern Ethiopia

Toby Hammond
2006-06-25 19:53:22

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March 2002 - Iimba to Gonder 45km

After the customary morning tea we were escorted around to the mill owners to find ourselves in the middle of another coffee ceremony. The room was full and many were Muslims. Apparently there are a lot of Muslims in Ethiopia and a large community in this village. There are no accurate surveys of the population so much is speculation. The thudding of a single cylinder stationary engine was shaking the house. Refusing the third cup of coffee (very rude, whoops!) I announced I was going to investigate the noises next door. The mill was a simple belt driven enclosed mill. A platform above had been constructed to tip the grain into the top of the grinder and all was in the normal wooden shack.
The cycling was easier, eventually dropping down into a valley containing the Gonder road and to our surprise it was tarmac with a dashed white line up the middle. After paying brief homage to the Dashen brewery we were led to Toby and Owy's hotel in Gonder by a young lad, whom they had befriended. In fact there was an amazing grape vine and all the boys in the town seemed to know who we were. The hotel was situated overlooking the main junction and was once grand but now very dilapidated. Now the all the team was back together, our experiences were shared, and we slept in the most comfortable beds we could remember.

19th March 2002 - Gonder rest day

We spend a lazy day in Gonder with just a little sightseeing to a very photogenic church, with cartoon like paintings all over the interior walls and ceilings. It was great to get a guide who spoke very clearly in English and did not hassle us for money afterwards. I imagine we were still getting over the antics we had experienced in Egypt.

20th March 2002 - Gonder to Enfrans 61km

A blast back down the tarmac for a few miles felt so good that we did not even slow for the brewery this time. As soon as we passed the ...