The Secret of the Grotto
There was a large pool in the river Bomfata, above the pool which we used to occasionally swim in. It was dark and mysterious and we called it “the Grotto” There were two cavers in the overhanging cliff, which we knew had snakes in. We did have water snakes in Ethiopia, they were dark green/grey in color and we saw them a few times in the pool so it was very scary when we swam in there. It was a deep dark pool with an overhanging olive tree. We were not allowed near this pool unless we had adults with us. there was a grassy bank on one side which we used to have picnics or if it was cold we would light a camp fire to warm us up. There were two small waterfalls coming into the pool which were quite easy to climb down the side of. when we did this we found crystals there. usually small ones but Mike and Piers found a huge one once, about 5 inches long. We thought it may be magical so we kept in in our house in Mulu.