De Blauwe Nijl

by Virginia Morell

Sacred, mysterious, powerful, the Blue Nile has carved a deep channel through human history. From its source in the wild Ethiopian highlands, this river passes through some of the most untamed country on Earth as it rushes toward its desert rendezvous with the White Nile in Sudan. More than one adventurer has perished in the Blue Nile Corge, whose hazards range from raging rapids to menacing crocodiles to armed bandits.

When National Geographic invited Virginia Morell to join its 1999 expedition -- which hoped to be the first to descend the river in a single, uninterrupted trip from its source to the Sudan border -- she jumped at the chance to revisit Ethiopia, a land she'd come to love during a sojourn many years before. The only African country never colonized by Europeans, its history spans more than two millennia from King Menelik, said in legend to be the son of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, to Ras Tafari, better known to the West as Haile Selassie, who ruled until his overthrow in 1974. This is an insular culture, isolated by geography and tradition, where ferenjjoch visitors are greeted with curiosity and courtesy -- and sometimes suspicion, after three decades of military rule and a long war with Eritrea.

Highlighted by Nevada Wier's evocative photographs, Morell's engrossing account introduces a world where tribesmen still hunt leopards with spears, and where villagers sometimes journey for days to catch a glimpse of foreigners and their marvelous boats. We linger at an impromptu concert and feast with people who have never seen a white face before, meet patriarchs whose Christianity stretches back to the Roman Empire, and face off with Kalashnikov-toting militiamen who may not be able to read the documents they demand. By the time we reach the border town of Bumbadi, we've been taken on an unforgettable journey through time -- and among a strong people who've resisted the advances of the modern world.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Africa, Adventure

318 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Virginia Morell is an acclaimed science journalist and author. A contributing correspondent for Science, she has covered evolutionary and conservation biology since 1990. A passionate lover of the natural world and a creative thinker, her reporting keeps her in close communications with leading scientists in her fields of interest. Morell is also a regular contributor to National Geographic and Conde Nast Traveler. In 2004, her National Geographic article on climate change was a finalist for Best Environmental Article from the Society of Environmental Journalists.

In addition to her journalistic work, Morell is the author of three celebrated books. The New York Times awarded a Notable Book of the Year to Ancestral Passions, her dramatic biography of the famed Leakey family and their notable findings. Blue Nile, about her journey down the Blue Nile to Sudan, was a San Francisco Chronicle Best Travel Book. And The Washington Post listed Wildlife Wars, which she co-authored with Richard Leakey, as one of their Best Books of the Year.

An accomplished public speaker, Morell spent March 2009 as a principal lecturer for National Geographic Society’s Expeditions Program on one of its exclusive, round-the-world trips. She lives in Ashland, Oregon with her husband, writer Michael McRae, a Calico cat, Nini, and a smart, six-year-old American Working Farm Collie, Buckaroo.

Read “Animal Minds”, Virginia Morell’s National Geographic cover story that explores animal intelligence, the subject of her upcoming book from Crown, Animal Wise: The Thoughts and Emotions of Our Fellow Creatures, which will be published in February 2013. Elizabeth Kolbert selected this article for the Best American Science and Nature Writing 2009 (Houghton Mifflin).

Published work
Animal Wise: The Thoughts and Emotions of Our Fellow Creatures (Crown, February 2013); Wildlife Wars, My Fight to Save Africa's Natural Treasures (St. Martin’s Press, September 2001); Blue Nile: Ethiopia's River of Magic and Mystery (National Geographic Books, June 2001); Ancestral Passions, The Leakey Family and the Quest for Humankind's Beginnings (Simon and Schuster, August 1996)

Reviews

[Michael P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is in the tradition of the great travel narratives of the nineteenth century, but written with a modern sensibility. The old books told of the things and people travelers to exotic places found on their journeys. This book does that very well. The old books often condescend to the "heathens" of other cultures. This book never does that, but seems to respect all differences between Ethiopian and western culture. That is the modern sensibility. This is a wonderful book about mostly wonderful people, who live in a wonderous place. Buy the book. Read it. Let it raise your consciousness.

[Sandie · Rating 4 out of 5]

When one hears the word Nile, the mental image is that of the large, broad river flowing through Egypt. But there is another Nile, the Blue Nile, that starts in the mountains of Ethiopia and flows through remote lands until it joins up with its sister Nile. It is full of dangers, rapids and waterfalls, crocodiles and other wildlife and militants who are still fighting for freedom. The Blue Nile is so remote that it was not fully mapped until the 1920's.

In 1999, National Geographic magazine sponsored a trip which would be the first to travel by boat from the start of the Blue Nile to its ending. Virginia Morell jumped at the chance to be on the trip and write an article about it for the magazine. She had spent time in Ethiopia many years before and welcomed the chance to visit the country again.

Armed with supplies and an entire packet of authorizations from local and state governments, the expedition took off on three rafts. The guide was a whitewater expert who had been on some of the rapids and falls, especially one gorge that had taken the life of one of his expedition. He was cautious and leary of the natives although the writers and photographers wanted nothing more than to meet and learn about the native inhabitants in these remote regions. That created some internal tension for the trip.

Many of those who lived along the river had not seen boats before. They did not travel the river but were mostly farmers. They would walk hours to sow their crops along the river with its richer land. In 1999, most were still uneducated about the world around them and most had never seen a white person. There was fear at first but the native people were generous and interested in those traveling through their lands.

Virginia Morell spent her career writing about remote lands for different publications. This is an older book but still full of interesting observations about Ethiopia at the turn of the century and about the people who live there. Readers, most of whom will never travel in this area, will have an outlook on the area's geography and culture. This book is recommended for nonfiction readers.

[Kavinda Ratnapala · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rather enjoyable story.

A masterful writer with excellent conception of pacing the reader using the chapter breaks.

Worth a read if it's the first time you have considered the Blue Nile or Ethiopia

[Ford · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read about Ethiopia. I found the little did know about Ethiopia was mostly wrong. But the story never garbed my interest and it took over a week to finish the book.

[Unwisely · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book starts out really interesting. History, culture, setting up an adventure. This actually takes about the first half of the book, and it's a page turner. (Ethiopia = interesting, dangit. See also Flashman on the March.)

But then they finally start on the journey, and that is actually the least interesting part of the book. The author spends quite a bit of effort setting up some sort of reality-show dynamic, where the reader is primed for some sort of horrible cataclysmic show down. This never actually happens, and kind of detracts from what is a really interesting trip.

Other than that, fascinating, and the pictures are pretty awesome (as you would expect from a trip sponsored by National Geographic).

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me much longer to read this book than it did for the author to make the journey down the Blue Nile. However, it was not because it was a laborious text. I found the parts explaining some of Ethiopia's history most interesting as well as the descriptions of the people the boating members met along the way and the descriptions of a few customs and legends. The parts of the book where just scenery is talked about was a bit repetitive (probably because the flora was just that), but overall it was a fine tale.

[LindaN · Rating 3 out of 5]

This account of the first continuous descent of the Blue Nile (partly a trek past the most serious rapids) conveys the excitement of the trip, the beauty of the land, and the charm of the people living along the river. A distraction is the continual mention of interpersonal clashes among the travelers--a less than professional touch to this otherwise excellent narrative. There is much background info on geology, flora and fauna, agriculture, early explorations of the river, and Ethiopian politics and history. (I wish there was more info on the history of Christianity there.)

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like it should be worth reading, but the writing style is difficult to get engrossed in.
She seems to be telling you "stuff that happened" rather than sitting you down for a story.
That's nice and all, but after a Masters, I don't want to go through it again.
If you can forge through it, it gets better about 27% in; but I warn you, perseverance is a necessity.

[Curtiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of a modern day trip down the Blue Nile from its source in the mountains of Ethiopia to is conjunction with the White Nile at Khartoum; spiced up with a history of the exploration of the river and the surrounding region.

[Kate]

I read this right before our trip to Ethiopia. Amazing story of a river rafting trip from source to sea on the Nile River. Beautiful stories about beautiful people in a beautiful country. A must read.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because it was the only adult book in the Library that
was about Ethiopia. I wanted to read something about Ethiopia after reading "Cutting for Stone".
It was interesting and I enjoyed reading it.

[Lea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exciting and informative. What an adventure. I had no idea that this river was so mysterious and away from tourists. I know that I could never do this trip, but I felt like I was there with Ginny!!

[Matthew Turnbull · Rating 2 out of 5]

Badly written in many parts and conversions in miles to km is embarrassing oversight. She writes like she's constantly throwing toys out of the pram. Some of it is a good account and she paints a picture of encounters well.

[Philip · Rating 1 out of 5]

A bit week and naive I thought. I like the book but as a safari guide, I thought she was a little unappreciative of the guides commitment to getting them home safely.

[Showme · Rating 2 out of 5]

Morrell's constant complaints about the tour guide, Mike Speakes, is what stands out for me - more than the scenery, the people, the history, etc.

Morrell suggests that she chose not to address her concerns with Speakes directly out of deference to others in her group. Instead, with the exception of one instance late in the game, she saved all of her venom to share with thousands of readers.

Morrell's mean-spirited jibes at Speakes so permeated the story that my opinion of Morrell's character is perhaps as low as she wanted the reader's opinion to be of Speakes.