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Near Bahir Dar, Wereta, lies the Niagara Falls of Ethiopia. The Blue Nile Falls, or Tis Abay (Great Smoke) in Amharic, is truly an attraction to see. The journey to the falls starts at the base of a mountain where you walk upwards among locals. The path goes by many farm houses, cattle, and sheep. Donkeys are often carrying goods from the farms down the mountain to the main village and vice versa. Across a dodgy suspension bridge straight out of an Indiana Jones movie lies numerous huts for people to stop and drink coffee. The cold mist of the falls at the end of the 25-minute hike is incredibly rewarding. Where the rest of the mountain is only slightly green and very dry, the falls is a haven of bright, luscious, green vegetation and a cool retreat. It is currently the dry season therefore the falls were minuscule compared to what they would be during the wet season with the additional rainfall. It is hard to get anywhere close to the pool of water at the base without slipping in mud and becoming soaked. However, rocks surrounding the pool provided a great vantage point to absorb the beautiful scenery.

The walk back was just as scenic as we traveled with locals down the mountain. Our shoes were caked with thick mud and slowly peeled off as we climbed down rocks and dirt paths. The video down below better describes the scenery but does not do justice to the beauty of the Blue Nile Falls.

Find the video here: https://youtu.be/mxYZdOzom-k

This is my absolute favorite Ethiopian tradition (so far). If you visit Ethiopia, you will find a wide range of how they prepare their coffee. With an Italian influence, coffee differs from what we have in Canada. For example, a macchiato is coffee with milk, a cappuccino is coffee with cocoa, and black coffee is usually served with A LOT of sugar. However, they are all delicious and my coffee addiction has not decreased at all on this trip, most likely the opposite.

Ethiopians take immense pride in their coffee. So much that during special occasions, they prepare coffee with a special ceremony. This is usually prepared by a woman who wears a traditional white dress and scarf that often has bright colors at the ends. She will burn incense while roasting the coffee beans over coal and poured from a gebena into cute little cups. Occasionally, popcorn is served as well. This ceremony is not only beautiful to watch but the smell of the incense and the beans roasting is heavenly. The taste of the coffee, or “buna” in Amharic, is just as lovely.

When we first arrived at the ATTSVE office in Addis Ababa, they welcomed us with gebena buna and popcorn. It was a very warm welcome as we sat and drank coffee while introducing ourselves. I am very happy to be here working with the ATTSVE office and all of their friendly members.

Maddie Empey

ATTSVE Intern 2018