Sunday, October 16, 2011

Magnificent Monday: Water.

Hi and welcome again to Magnificent Monday and our theme  this week is ''Water".
Waves, rivers, watersports, waterspouts, reflections on water, boats on water, boats underwater, bodyboards, surfboards, seashores, and more -bring them all over and link them up in the Mr Linky Tool at the bottom.  

The vital ingredient to all life, water is so precious. So calming to look and contemplate upon, yet so powerful in its anger. Bringing us life with its gentle rain, taking life with its storms and tempests. Nurturing our crops but savaging our fields with raging flood waters. We pray for it, yet we often curse it. Goes fine with a dram of Single Malt also...just a wee drop though.




If you have ever seen any of the world's largest waterfalls you can only be impressed by the mighty and awe-inspiring demonstrations of the power of water. Thousands of tonnes of water crashing and thundering over the edge of faults in the earth's crust to smash down in foamy torrents on rocks below, to flow through canyons and rocky defiles, feeding headwaters of mighty rivers that may flow onwards for 1,000's of miles through our continents, re-vitalising the land with water borne silt and nutrients deposited with annual floods and bringing life to all along the edges.

Ethiopia's rainy June-September season sees torrents of water cascading down once dry, rocky mountainside gullies into streams and rivers feeding Lake Tana in the northwestern plateau. Fed by a natural spring at Gish Abbai,  the Lesser Abay stream which flows into Lake Tana is the source of one of Africa's grandest rivers- the Blue Nile, which joins with the White Nile at Khartoum, Sudan to create the Nile, generally regarded as the world's longest river.

Long a dream destination of ours, finally standing at Tis Issat Falls, 30 kms south of Barhir Dar on Lake Tana, we looked for the Blue Nile...and found a shitty brown one! Heavy rains meant the falls were thunderously alive with water so silted up, so full of soil washed down off mountainsides and plains and heading at high speed up to Sudan and Egypt!


Catch a taxi or tour from Bahir Dar. Then a 30 minute walk across this old bridge, and around a hillside. 

We had to get through the usual gauntlet of locals with handicrafts, hustling a few birr off passing visitors; very high pressure tactics. Even the children's choir were doing their best to earn a living. Loved them. Kay taught them a new song.


Not one of the world's highest, but at 45 metres still a grand vista. 

In full flood here, but in the dry season more rocks than water.

Have a look at how green the country is. 


Heading back after a very scenic hike. 



To join in this week's Magnificent Monday-
1. Paste your name and a link to your Water article in the Mr Linky tool below.
2. Leave a comment to show you care.
3. It's good etiquette to edit into your article a reference to this article to let your readers know also.
4. Visit each post, leave a comment and share Stumble, Digg, Tweet and Facebook etc so we can all benefit.



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29 comments:

cathy jones said...

Beautiful photos. I've always been fascinated by waterfalls and have been lucky to see Niagara Falls in Canada twice. And was equally inspired both times. :)

Jessica M said...

Impressive waterfalls! I bet the sound coming from those thousands and thousands of tons of water continually crashing down upon the water and rocks below was amazing. I loved the pics!

Leah Griffith said...

Jim, each time I visit your site I grow even more and more jealous. Wow! I love your photos...the waterfall looks like a coffee waterfall with just the right amount of cream in it. Thank you for sharing, at least I can live vicariously. *grin

AJ said...

Wow, wonderful scenery. I like how the falls are in the middle of the wilderness, not a concrete viewing deck with a shopping mall and casino. :)

Healing Morning said...

I've been absent from your world for way too long, my friend. What a wonderful post to come back to! Your world travels always enlarge my own knowledge and inspire me to embark on some travels of my own. The photos are beautiful, as always, and I love what you share of the history and mystery of each destination.

- Dawn

Jim said...

Nowhere near as impressive as Niagara Cathy, but still a magnificent site. All the more so when you think how hard it was for early European explorers to reach it, seeking the source of the Nile.

Jim said...

Hi Jessica, the sound was very loud but we were unable to get right up close. The viewing was from a hillside which was very wet and slippery.

Jim said...

Loved that comment Leah, as Ethiopia is reputed to be the home of discovery of coffee so I guess the excess must be colouring the water!

Jim said...

You're right AJ. I was amazed though how easy it was to drive to them, then the easy hike into the wilderness to see them. Very pleased we made the trip.

Barbara Weibel said...

LOVE the photo of the little girl sitting in a tree, playing a flute, surrounded by all that green...

sheril benedict said...

Nice pics Jim ..Looks like a hill station.Grt way to explore the world jim u and your wife are doing awesome work.Why the color of the waterfall looks like that ? is that due to rain ?

Cathy Sweeney said...

Awesome scenery -- what a hike! Your photos really do show the power and beauty of water. The photo of Kay and the children is a real treasure.

Jim said...

Thanks Dawn, I have been missing your healing warmth also. I'll have to head over and re-vitalise my inner energies. Glad you enjoy our travels.

Roy Durham said...

wonderful pic's Jim i have joined you this trip and the quest for water. god bless

Jim said...

I love that photo also Barbara. Unfortunately the sky was very overcast and gloomy with rain expected anytime so pictures are not all that bright and clear. But that pic of the child on that huge tree is rather cute, all the more so when you realize how most of Ethiopia's original forest cover has gone, chopped down for fuel and there are very few large trees around. In the last pic you'll note how that large tree has been trimmed of most branches, just main limbs re-growing.

eileen ludwig said...

Retweet of an older post but it is water - beaches - I love waterfalls but not hiking to them. That is why is fun to see others posts for places I would not get to but can admire through others

NvGtravels said...

This Ethiopia trip looks amazing and sounds inspiring.

Manisha Bhatia said...

Jim those visuals r just soo beautiful, specially d child playing flute. Thx fr d journey.

<3<3

photos by jan said...

As always Jim beautiful photography, I love all the shots of the people you share your experiences with. I envy you, yet know that I would not travel as you do. Beautiful falls and wondrous scenery.

I could not get blogger to place things where I wanted them tonight. I put this blog together 3 times, it was doing things like changing font and such. very aggravating.

Thank you for this beautiful post.

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

I also love waterfalls. I love the way you've included people in some of the photos so we get an idea of the scale. The sound of waterfalls amazing - powerful and peaceful at once.

http://www.mariscamera.blogspot.com/

JANU said...

Wonderful pictures of the water fall.

Alpana Jaiswal said...

A pleasure to see such wonderful pictures...

Christy @ Technosyncratic said...

There's just something so peaceful about waterfalls, even when they're massive and powerful. Gorgeous photos, btw.

Laurel said...

Love the contrast of the green landscape with the muddy water.

Jeremy Branham said...

I love waterfalls! The most beautiful one I have seen is in Kauai. I've been to Niagara Falls and those are spectacular as well!

I love the green at Tis Issat Falls!

Sophie said...

Gorgeous in an unusual way those caffe latte falls. One more reason to visit Ethiopia!

Jeremy from Idelish said...

Beautiful photos! Reminds me of a waterfall in Oregon where we had to go on a 6 hour hike to reach!

Larry Lewis said...

As always a wonderful collection of photos. You are also so right in what you say, i love the relaxation that seeing the sea and hearing all the sounds give me, and often travel to our local beauty spots and beaches. Yet i hate the rain.

Debbie Beardsley @ European Travelista said...

Wow this is beautiful! It is so green. Waterfalls have always fascinated me and I try to search them out while traveling.