Tucked inside a tiny island in the middle of Lake Tana in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia lies the island monastery of Entos Eyesu and its people. It is a magical place that feels like another planet given its isolation and centuries-old traditional way of life for its tiny population. The monastery is not as beautiful as some of the other better known ones such as Bete Maryam, however, experiencing this tiny island is like taking a step back in time seeing a way of life long forgotten.
As we left the Zege Penisula, we saw the unfortunate paddler of the papyrus boat filled to the rim with wood. This man had the laborious job of paddling the firewood to the market at Bahir Dar, two to three times a week. The same distance on a motorized boat like the one we were on would take only a mere 30 minutes. Yet on a heavy, weighted down papyrus boat it would take a total of six hours to reach the market all for a sum of $25.
As we watched him paddle, the boat of wood hardly moved at all. I couldn’t believe the hardship and backbreaking work of this man’s daily existence.The island was a short distance away from the peninsula and we could see it covered in green foliage in the distance as we approached on our boat. It was beautiful and hard to believe that people lived on such a small, isolated piece of land.
We were not met by a big crowd like we were at the dock to the Zege Peninsula nor were we expected to hire a guide. Instead, we disembarked and explored the monastery on our own. It was incredibly quiet and serene. Only the sound of the birds could be heard and there was not a soul in sight along the narrow dirt trail.
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