We did not at all
rejoice at the idea of having to descend, then wade through the
wide and rapid Bechelo, and again climb the opposite precipice--a
perfect wall--to complete our day's work. Fortunately, our mules
were so tired that the chief of our guard halted, for the night
half way down the descent, at one of the villages that are perched
on the several terraces of this basaltic mountain. At dawn on the
12th we continued our descent, crossed the Bechelo, and ascended
to the opposite plateau of Watat, where we arrived at eleven A.M.
There we made a slight halt and partook of a frugal breakfast, sent
by the chief of Magdala to Bitwaddad Tadla, who kindly shared it
with us.
From Watat to Magdala the road is an inclined plain, constantly but
gradually shelving upwards towards the high plateau of the Wallo
country--the end of our journey, as Magdala is on its border. The
amba, with a few isolated mountains, all perpendicular and crowned
with walls of basalt, seem like miniatures of the large expanses
of Dahonte and Wallo--small particles detached from the neighbouring
gigantic masses.
The road on nearing Magdala is more abrupt; one or two conical hills
have to be crossed before the amba itself is reached. Magdala is
formed of two cones, separated by a small plateau named Islamgee,
a few hundred feet lower than the two peaks it divides.
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