A Flirt With Death
However exciting it was to be making the first descent by paddle board, this story was about the great Blue Nile and all her glory. Surviving the rapids and crocs were actually the least of our concerns, compared to the amount of money, preparation and structure needed to deliver the school projects or even get to Ethiopia to start with.
Never the less we made it, by the skin of my psoriasis. We were prepared for the uninterrupted sun of the African dry season in an open raft, a journey that no other ginger would dare. We took a convoy of tuk-tuks to hustle through town where the swarm of chaos between man and donkey was strangely fluid. Then we were welcomed by the immense presence of Lake Tana, where the source of Nile begins. We christened the lake with our first glide on the water, visiting the sacred islands and their ancient monasteries that contained so much extraordinary religious history.
It wasn’t long before we had our first run in with some hippos; the docile water cow image is quickly shattered when you behold their power and highly aggressive, unpredictable behaviour. Luckily, despite them swimming under us on more than one occasion, we slipped past without trouble.
