Dec 23 pm - The Blue Nile Falls

Following lunch under an enormous fig tree by the shore of Lake Tana, we set out on the hour-long drive to the Blue Nile Falls.  If our trip to Ethiopia served up any disappointments, then this was always going to be it. The Blue Nile Falls were once a magnificent curtain of water plunging 45 meters over a 400 meter wide cliff.  Sadly (for tourists), they are no longer the spectacle they once were since happily (for the state electricity generating company) the Nile has been diverted through a hydroelectric plant leaving a relative trickle to entertain visitors. If I thought that the local population were the recipients of the electricity, then I would not have minded the bum-anaesthetizing ride to see the falls.  Sadly, this is not the case. When the sun goes down, Ethiopians light candles or a fire or, like we did in the mountains, go to bed. 

The Blue Nile Falls.  Now imagine cataracts of water plunging over the whole length of the cliff.  Yes, alright, we went in the dry season, so what did we expect.

Actually, close up, the falls are pretty impressive. That's my griping over - back to superlatives from now on.