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St. George Church
One of the most spectacular rock hewn churchs. This was once solid rock until they litteraly carved out the nearly 100 ft church in the shape of a cross. We want to say thank you to everyone who has written to us and added comments to the blog. It is so great to here what happening while we are away. We wish we had time to respond to all of them, but internet here is by the minute and remember dial-up? Well even that technology has not arrived here yet! But we do appreciate it!
Also we have to say
Happy Anniversary to my Aunt Norma and Uncle John. 56 years right?!? We are thinking about you!!
Just incase we don?t have internet access an early
Happy Birthday to my Dad! I know its a few weeks early, but I have to take my chance to say it when I get it!
Our African Saga Continues After five months of African travel we can safely say that Ethiopia has been one of the most difficult to travel. However the country redeems itself well with some of the most amazing landscapes we have ever seen. The Western media portrays Ethiopia as a desert state in a constant state of famine. While Ethiopia does have its desert regions and famine is a problem in certain
Castles of Gonder
Nope, the the Scottish Highland. This is the castle complex were 7 emporer all had to have there own castle built. Not unlike the US goverment spending habits. parts, the county as a whole is very fertile. The highlands are immensely beautiful with steep craggy valleys and canyons that rival the Grand Canyon in depth. We took on the ?historical loop? of Northern Ethiopia which cuts directly through the heart of the mountainous terrain. We traveled by minibus, private 4x4, 20 hr bus, boat, and plane. Ethiopia will be a place we will not forget, but will be happy to leave.
Addis Ababa As we descend into the capital of Addis Ababa we can begin to see the country that seems to live in a state of contradicting paradoxes. The very clean and modern airport impress you instantly until you witness the random people walking about on the tarmac, including a man who stood on the side of the runway as a 737 took off!! We met up with a couple of travelers in the airport and made our way to main backpacker hangout, the Wutma Hotel (not recommended!).
Addis has the feel of a city that is overflowing with humanity and on the verge of bursting. Tower modern skyscrapers overlook shanty towns. Modern business men and women walk past an endless line of beggars,
Priests of Bahir Dar
This is one of the friendly priests that showed us around the churches on Laka Tana. In his hands is a 800 year old Bible made of goat skin. cripples, war amputees, street children, and the plane lunny. Many of the beggars, especially children, will make a bee line when they see white skin coming! Even in Cairo we had a hard time finding a cup of real coffee, but here in Addis there are coffee with proper espresso machines and pastries at every corner!! That is Ethiopia, a country of contradictions.
While resting in Addis we attended the UN?s Child Policy Forum that was focusing of violence against women and children in Africa. We talked our way through security and found ourselves seated with beurocrats and heads of state in an official UN conference hall. It was really hard to hear the hard facts. Africa had a long way to go.
What was also difficult to deal with was the Addis bombings. Nine bombs went of the morning of March 12th. One hit the Ethiopia Airlines building a block from us, waking me up in the middle of the night. Some think it was the oppoistion to the goverment, others claim it was the goverment. Who ever it was did not seem to target people, just to make a ruckus. The early morning timing kept the
Ethiopian Eats
This is the traditional fast dish. It consists of several shiros and veggie portions served (as always) atop a huge piece of injera. Eaten with the hands, right hand only please! injures down, but there where still as many as 13 deaths.
Without a doubt this makes traveling harder. There are enough trails to the daily grind already. We have defiantly felt like heading home at points, the decision to keep moving is not an easy one. Afterall how many people here would give everything for the ability to be in the States the next day???
Food One the highlights of any country it trying the local fair (well, OK, many places anyway). The staple food is injera. This is a type of thin bread with the consistency of foam rudder (yep?foam) and a slightly sour taste. It?s made from the remarkably nutritious grain called tef that is endemic in Ethiopia. It is served with EVERYTHING and comes in a whole piece that is much larger than a pizza. In the middle of the huge circle of injera are places the main dish. This is usually some type of watt, which is a spicy sauce, mixed with various meats. Tibs is especially a local favorite which is cubed lamb served with garlic, butter, and onions. What makes it very unique is that they usually serve there meat
Mother and Child
Katelyn seeks out these cute baby pictures! raw. Yep, any given moment you can seem someone chowing down of pink and red chucks of meat. You can even get a cut of meat right from the carcass to your plate it you want!
They fast on Wednesdays and Fridays and on those days it is possible to get a mix of vegetarian dishes that are comprised of shiros, which are wats blended with mashed chickpeas and beans. No matter what you or your eating companions get it all comes out on one large injera and is eaten my tearing off a piece and then picking up the main course with it. It?s also customary for a host to place the food in the guest mouth. Just make sure it?s your right hand, the left is for something special that you would not want near anything you?re going to eat!
The Black Hole of Bihar Dar The first stop of the historical circuit is Bihar Dar. This city of 160,000 is a nice change from the crowded streets of Addis. We stayed at the Ghion Hotel situated right on Lake Tana. Its lush gardens and sunset views over the lake was our haven. Our little
Morning on Lake Tana
This is the early morning scene from our hotel. The man is in a papryus boat made of light stalks similar to driend corn stalks. Pelican are in the background. traveling group headed out onto Lake Tana to visit the monastery and churches of the Orthodox Ethiopia Christian Church. These remote churches are remarkable in the nearly 800 year old paintings inside. They also contain ancient Bibles, solid gold crosses, and crowns of past kings and emperors. However the real kicker is that they claim to house something a little more impressive..
THE Ark of the Covenant. Of course only one man is allowed to see it, for the safety of humanity. You will be comforted to know that the power of God is kept protected by a 50 cent Chinese padlock and 70 year old priest, so it will never fall into the wrong hands.
We took a day and headed up the rundown town of Gonder. This is the original capital of Ethiopia and home to the various emperors that ruled over the land. The ancient castles were interesting and the old church had the best paintings yet, but the town as a whole was very forgettable. What made it worthwhile was the food. We found a little local place that served only Ethiopia dishes, and bit it well! Best tibs in Ethiopia!
Lake Tana also happens
Inside a Rock
This is looking out the one of the windows of the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela. It's easy to feel the spiritual feel of such a place. to be the source of the Nile (well at least ½ the source as the headwaters of the Blue Nile, the White Nile flows out of Uganda and they meet in Sudan). We took a stroll the bridge overlooking the outlet where a hippos (well one anyway) were basking in the sun. We enjoyed Bihar Dar well enough; at least until it was time to leave to go to Lalibela.
Getting out of Bihar Dar We spent nearly a week try to wheel and deal with the dishonest management of the Ghion Hotel. Then end result literally had to get out of the vehicle the morning we were finally ready to leave. We ended up taking a flight that same day to Lalibela. After 5 days of trying to get out of Lalibela were ready to get out of Bihar Dar, but the black whole is powerful. We were 20 min into a 35 min flight when the plane turned around due to a mechanical problem!! Back to Bihar Dar once more! What tops it off it despite the fact we took off and landed at the same place, they still managed to lose one of our traveling companion?s luggage!! It found its way to Addis somehow, not to return for two days.
Ethiopian Airlines did put us up at the Papyrus Hotel, which is as up market as we have had so far (meaning it had a toilet with a toilet seat, the water actually ran, there was hot water, the door had not been kicked-in recently, and the lights turned on). Its most distinguishing feature was the pool that was completely black!!! Yes, this is the up market accommodations.
Don?t worry things get better the next morning. They book us on the next flight to Lalibela. What we quickly find out is that the next flight is on the same plane which they openly admit they had not fixed yet!!!! We decided to wait until the next one. The flight is an amazing experience though. To see the ravine ravaged landscape from the air is unforgettable and one of the best parts of the trip.
Lalibela Lalibela is unlike anything we have seen in our 5 months in Africa. The town is perched on the steep slopes if the craggy mountains that surround it. The modern concrete buildings of the cities have are replaced by traditional circular thatch huts. While the town is magnificent in its own right the reason everyone heads to Lalibela are its churches.
The solid rock-hewn churches of built by King Lalibela over 1,000 years ago are still awe-inspiring. They are carved top-down out of solid rock with some nearly reaching 100ft in height! The interiors are richly decorated with paintings and carvings as old as the churches. All of the churches are still in active use to this day. The monks live in tiny holes carved out beside the churches. What really makes Lalibela such a memorable experience is that all the churches are connected by a dizzy maze of carved trenches, tunnels, and secret passages.
The bus back from Lalibela was something else. The mountain terrain requires a pretty windy road. Combined with the endless potholes and constant dodging of livestock and people and the end result are a lot of people vomiting all around you. They even let a little boy pee right on the bus! What makes it a complete package is that they refuse to open the windows!!! It hot, stuffy, smelly, windy, and all around crappy ride that last 2 DAYS. The only positive out of the experience is that we got to see an incredible amount of country side up-close. On the whole it was VERY unforgettable!!
Days, Weeks, and Months to Come African travel has been exhausting. We have had a lot of discussions about where to go next. We have talked about everything from heading home and touring the National Parks and Forests to flying directly to Bangkok. We decided to keep on trekking as planned into Tanzania. We are looking forward meeting with the friends of Fr. Wilhelm who has generously arranged to them meet us at the airport and take care of us in Tanzania. We would like to volunteer for some time while we are still in Africa as this is one of the best ways to really get to know the people.
Africa has not been without its immense rewards and we are looking forward to exploring south of the equator for the first time in out lives!
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Dave
non-member comment
Utterly Astonishing
The two of you are certainly hardy travellers. I think I'd have turned back by now to the safety of the American wilderness with the bears and mountain lions. At least they don't blow stuff up. However, it sounds like through it all, it's been an incredible experience for the two of you. The risk of bombings, questionable food, and a less-than-desirable 2 day bus ride seem to be outweighed by the historical and cultural experience of a lifetime. You are certainly in my thoughts and prayers as you make the most of this journey. I am both supremely jealous of you and extremely thankful to be in the comfort of my home. Thank you so much for sharing this.