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Ethiopia occupies an area of slightly less than twice the size of the US state of Texas
or approximately the size of the country of Bolivia.
It has been on our bucket list for some time, so we made sure to include it on our itinerary early in the planning process.
Because of the country's sheer size, we decided to fly from Addis Ababa to our first stop, Ahirdar.
This is where we met our guide, Burhan, and our driver, Alex.
On the same day we arrived, we made a visit to our first site together, the Falls of the Blue Nile.
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On the following day, we visited three of the dozen or so Ethiopian Orthodox monasteries in the late Tauna area.
Many monasteries date from the late 16th or early 17th century, though most were founded much earlier.
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We had the opportunity to visit the Azwa Mariam religious school, where boys are being trained to become monks.
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We met briefly with a monk who attended the same religious school 15 years earlier.
Our next stop was Gondor, where we visited several sites.
The first was the Debron Berham Salassi Church.
This structure is one of the most stunning churches in the nation.
On the ceiling, you can find rows and rows of winged cherubs.
Next, we visited the Royal Enclosure.
The entire compound contains numerous castles and palaces.
It was almost completely restored with the aid of UNESCO and was made a World Heritage Site in 1979.
Finally, we took a horse-drawn carriage to the Fasalati's Bath.
Once a year, the bath is filled with water for the Timkat celebration.
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On the following day, we departed for Debar, the jumping off point for our trek in the Simian Mountains.
After getting some last-minute supplies, we started up the long, arduous dirt road.
Massive erosion over the years has created one of the most spectacular landscapes in the world
with jagged mountain peaks, deep valleys, and sharp cliffs
dropping some 4,900 feet or 1,500 meters.
Almost immediately, we were treated to sightings of Gelda bathrooms.
It was just so much fun to watch them.
We saw several hundred of them while we were in the park.
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Not too much later, we saw several Clipspringer antelope.
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We continued trekking until we reached the Jinbar Waterfall.
Because the terrain is so extreme, establishing an accurate height of these falls has been difficult.
One estimate puts the height at about 1,600 feet or 488 meters.
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We came across these two young shepherds on the third day.
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The Waliya Ibex is a type of goat found nowhere else in the world.
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Here, a male is seen eating his favorite food.
The leaves are the low-belia plant.
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On our last full day in the park, we had the opportunity to pay a visit to the Arganjana School.
This is one of the most remote schools we have visited on our journey so far.
It is located about 36 miles or 58 kilometers from the park, and is at an altitude of 11,155 feet or 3,400 meters.
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We have arrived at the Arganjana School.
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