between sudan and asia

a rancher guides his cattle past tis issat, 'smoking waters.'

the internet is a bit of a luxury these days. hopefully i'll have a strong connection before the week is over. until then, i wanted to put a little something up about (northern) ethiopia.

not far from lake tana, the source of the blue nile, is a waterfall called tis issat. directly translated from amharic, it means smoking waters. near the overlook, kate and i met a rancher who has seen the falls shrink as water from the blue nile has been redirected into hydroelectric and irrigation projects.

it used to be that the waterfall overwhelmed everything, throwing a cloud of mist over the whole area. two rainbows hung permanently in the sky. those days are over, it seems, but the area itself is still incredible.




it's a short hike to the falls. you set off from a small town, where cows trod past local barbershops.