28 April, Thursday Lalibela to Bahir Dar
We go for breakfast at my friend Martha’s little coffeehouse/restaurant. We cause quite a stir when we arrived with the packed vehicle in the narrow little street. Andrej and Willie have pancakes – real pancakes - with banana and honey and it is delicious. Hugo and I have fir-fir, which turns out to be scrambled eggs with bread – also very tasty. Martha wants us to stay for a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony. We have far to go and I am sad that we cannot stay, because an invitation to a ceremony is a sign of friendship or respect: For the coffee ceremony freshly cut grass are spread on the floor to bring in the freshness of nature. The ceremony starts with the roasting of the coffee beans on a small, charcoal stove. The beans are then grinded before being brewed. When ready, the coffee is served in tiny cups with plenty of sugar. Popcorn is often passed around to compliment the ceremony which can last from 40 minutes to 3 hours.
I meet Martha’s dad and they give each one of us a cross as a gift before we leave. We exchange addresses and I sincerely hope that we will be able to stay in contact. A memory we will treasure which started with a random meeting in the street.
Bahir Dar lies on he shore of Lake Tana – the source of the Blue Nile…?
We go for breakfast at my friend Martha’s little coffeehouse/restaurant. We cause quite a stir when we arrived with the packed vehicle in the narrow little street. Andrej and Willie have pancakes – real pancakes - with banana and honey and it is delicious. Hugo and I have fir-fir, which turns out to be scrambled eggs with bread – also very tasty. Martha wants us to stay for a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony. We have far to go and I am sad that we cannot stay, because an invitation to a ceremony is a sign of friendship or respect: For the coffee ceremony freshly cut grass are spread on the floor to bring in the freshness of nature. The ceremony starts with the roasting of the coffee beans on a small, charcoal stove. The beans are then grinded before being brewed. When ready, the coffee is served in tiny cups with plenty of sugar. Popcorn is often passed around to compliment the ceremony which can last from 40 minutes to 3 hours.
I meet Martha’s dad and they give each one of us a cross as a gift before we leave. We exchange addresses and I sincerely hope that we will be able to stay in contact. A memory we will treasure which started with a random meeting in the street.
Bahir Dar lies on he shore of Lake Tana – the source of the Blue Nile…?
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