Bahar Dar - Monasteries

We walked from our hotel to the Bahar Dar Ghion.  I don’t know if that is its actual name, but it is owned/operated similarly to the Ghion in Addis.  After attempting to get a boat to the famous islands that have the monasteries that allow visitors, we were told we could go on the next boat.  Three “next boats” later, we were on our way in a huge boat powered by a 15hp motor. 

The boat was pretty basic and had a tarp over it to block most of the sun.  It also had a bench seat running along both sides.  It was painted a very intense blue with bits of reddish rust colored paint peeking out from underneath.

The boat ride to the first island took almost an hour.  After arriving, we hiked quite a way up to the top of the island.  The path was a little rocky and some of the rocks were slick-worn from a lot of foot traffic.

At the top, we entered the round church. 

It had the 3 sets of doors like all Orthodox churches.  The church had an outside hallway that encircled the inner church.  The roof had originally been grass, but was replaced with metal.  Of course, we removed hats and shoes before entering. 

The majoity of the tour was focused on describing the bible stories related to the paintings.  Some of the paintings had been restored, but quite a few were originals.  They painted directly onto the cloth covered mud/grass walls.   There were even some areas where the charcoaled outlines of paintings were started.

Surprisingly for me, a lot more of the scenes were violence-based than I expected.  There were the standards like the Birth of Christ and angels bordering the doorways.  But, it also seemed that every church we went to had scenes depicting Herod killing the babies, St. George slaying the dragon, Christians slaughtering non-believers, Simon the cannibal at the scales* and St. Yared singing his songs. 

St. Yared singing is violent?!!  Yup.  Apparently, St. Yared’s songs are so powerful that the King was distracted and speared St. Yared in the foot. 

The story of Simon written with my perspective on the story:  Apparently he killed a lot of people and ate them. It started out with Simon being a good religious guy. He had some visitors come to his house and he served them ox.  They didn’t like it and asked Simon to kill his son so they could eat human flesh.  Simon, being a great host but not so great father, served them his son.  Simon became nuts and started killing and eating a lot of people.  At one point, a leper came up to Simon and asked for water in the name of Mary.  Simon seemed to recall that he used to be a good guy who loved Mary, so he complied.  Then, I think, he Hannibal Lectered a few more people and died himself.  When he got to the pearly gates and was facing St. Michael’s scale of justice, he was in a quandary-killing people seems to make it so you can’t use your EasyPass to get pass the Heaven tollbooth.  He had all the people he killed on one side of the scale weighed against giving the leper water.  The scale just barely tipped against him due to his murdering.  So, Mary came along and cast her shadow on the Leper-gets-water side of the scale and whammo-bammo, Simon the murdering flesh eater is given an entry ticket to Heaven.  

So, I already have a problem with several aspects of Christianity.  This story which was not conveyed with disappointment or shame put me in a huge funk.  I didn’t even listen to a lot of what was said after that because I was so pissed that apparently the Christian God thinks it is OK to indiscriminately kill people, including your own child, and your accountability for your actions is wiped out with sharing a cup of water.

After the church, we went to the museum.  That was a rip off.  It cost 2O birr to see the museum which ended up being a hut with 4 gold crosses and 3 priest robes. 

We hiked back down to the boat. There were many beautiful vistas.  In one area, we saw a reed boat that is actually functional.  Though I did manage to successfully bypass most of the tourist tables, I did buy a mini-reed boat replica for my oldest son from this girl named Fikranya.   She loved posing for the photos.

Next we went to the monastery islands.  The males went to one island, the females to the other.  Now, the male island has only males.  But, the female island, Entos-Eyesu, also has males because they must have male priests, male security guards and male guides for the tourists.  Another entry fee and we saw a smaller version of the same church on the previous island.  The nuns that are there farm for food and make stuff for the tourists.  They have been there their whole adult life and never leave.   They have an annual fasting when they all go into a cave and for 4O days only eat grains and water and pray.

It ended up being quite a pricey adventure as we had to pay for the guides, the guide tips, the entrance to both churches, a suggested donation to the churches, the boat ride, and a tip for the boat driver.

It seemed like quite a long day, even though we were only on the 6 hour trip.  They also offered 1O hour trips, too.  In the end, I was glad I went.

Giardiasis

Giardia Lambella - a lovely name for a fierce foe.

On my first trip to Ethiopia, I was quite vigilant about protecting against the pesky microorganisms.  I drank the bottled water, generally ate safe food, only ate peelable fruits, etc.  My son had two negative stool samples afterwards.

On the second trip, I got a little lax…or maybe a lot lax depending on your viewpoint.  I still drank bottled water. But, I brushed my teeth with water from the spigot that came directly out of the city water source and I ate lettuce several times (although it was soaked in lemon juice).  And, just by virtue of having been there for 3 times as long, I probably came across many more infected people who were less conscientious about washing hands with soap after using the shintobait.

<Warning:  Starts to get more disgusting from here on.>

So, no surprise here.  We have giardiasis (caused by Giardia Lambella).  According to Webmd, here are the common symptoms:

• Loose, soft, greasy stools (not always watery or liquid) that may float. Sometimes the stools may be foul-smelling or foamy and are often passed in small amounts.
• Discomfort in the abdomen or pit of the stomach that is often worse after a meal.
• Abdominal cramps, bloating, or pain.
• Passing gas (flatulence).
• Persistent bad breath or belching that sometimes smells of sulfur.
• Occasional headaches.
• Weight loss.
• General feeling of discomfort or illness (malaise), weakness, or fatigue.

Among the members of our household, we’ve managed to nab all of the symptoms.  We are NOT a pleasant bunch right now.

My 2-year old has mastered potty-training.  Unfortunately, he is having “oopsies” because he can’t sense the difference between oncoming poops and the frequent flatulence (which my 6-year old describes appropriately by saying, “Whoa.  Brother has powerful toots, Mom”).  I’m in the same position, but I just don’t gamble and I assume everything is an oncoming poop.  The poops are kind of cyclical, ranging from normal for a few days to narrow, greasy, yellow to an occasional runny brown.  Most of the time they are yellow, floaty and narrow.

My 6-year old probably got it from the 2-year old.  The poor boy has the most disgustingly foul breath just minutes after brushing, flossing and gargling with the super-potent cinnamon flavored mouthwash.

The abdominal bloating is terrible.  My son’s belly started to get smaller after a couple months home.  It is now big and round again.  I have stomach cramps and nausea all the time.  I can’t sleep properly because I can’t find a comfortable position that doesn’t induce nausea (between the poop runs to the toilet, that is).  It is a general personality killer.

This is not the worst diarrheal illness I’ve ever had, but it is the longest lasting.  The cyclical nature of it can fool you into thinking you are getting better.   Also, since most of the poops are semi-formed it doesn’t “count” as diarrhea to U.S. health practitioners without international experience.  In addition, giardia (the kind acquired in the U.S. rivers) may be able to resolve on its own so the docs may be hesitant to prescribe meds.

The other problem is that metronidazole is hard on the stomach (for adults). I have awful stomach problems after taking it…even with food which is hard to do because the nausea makes me not want to eat.   The metronidazole is one of those uncoated disgusting pills that starts to dissolve in the millisecond it takes to pass the back of your tongue.  Plenty long enough to get the gaggy taste!  The pharmacist did not want to fill the Rx for my sons because he said it tastes so awful he can’t flavor it enough to get the kids to take the meds.  We had to get an alternate med.

So, the reason I give you all the details is to watch for it in your child. Your child may be irritable or difficult because of giardia.  Get the recommended 3 different stool samples when you get home because the micro-organisms are hard to find to begin with, plus the bugs might be in the part of the cycle that makes them nearly impossible to find.

In addition to giardia causing weight loss and poor nutrient absorption, it can also make it difficult to digest some disaccharides (like milk sugar) for some time after the giardia is killed off.  The lactose sensitivity/intolerance is a whole ‘nother issue.  As a precaution, you may want to take it easy on the milk products until a month or two after the medication is finished. 

Of course, I am not a health professional…so the usual disclaimer stuff applies.