We are in Gondar now and today we'll get to go see all the castles and churches. We had a long trip yesterday, so it will be nice to be out and walking a bit. The roads have been quite nice - much nicer than when LeAnn and some of the others were here 3 years ago. They are mountain roads, though, so they're pretty twisty-turny. Gondar is the third largest city in Ethiopia, so it is a pretty bustling place. We're in the Quoroa hotel, which is right in the middle of the city. It has a lovely terrace that overlooks the city, where I'm enjoying breakfast right now.
I didn't say very much about the mule ride we had the other day, so let me explain a bit more about that. Each of us had a mule and a "mule-a-teer" which can otherwise be called a "mule boy." That person is in charge of getting us on and off the mule and keeping us going on the hiking part. The poor kid who was assigned to me had no idea he was getting such a klutz! What I learned is that I am not part mountain goat! I do not like scrambling on loose rocks, whether it is on my own two feet or on a mule. The flat parts weren't too bad, but I was pretty glad to be back on flat ground. My mule was one of the "express lane" mules, so it liked to speed whenever we had a chance. My "mule boy" was a nice young man who said he was in 10th grade. However, you hear that a lot from the boys in Lalibela - a sob story about not having enough for school...a poor family...won't you please sponsor me for school? It is always hard to say no and deflect, but you can't always trust what the
y say. I tipped him well at the end, and felt that he had certainly earned his money.
Our wonderful tour guy, Habtu, is an example of a "Lalibela boy" who did well for himself. He impressed the husband of one of our organizers many years ago and was sponsored and now owns his own tour business. And he does a great job! He is a wonderful guide and if anyone decides to come to Ethiopia, I highly recommend Vast Ethiopia Tours!
Hope all is well. I'll email again as I have time.
Love,
Alica
Monday, July 12, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
july 10, 2010 10:36 pm
Hi Everyone! I had a lovely day yesterday for my birthday. I was finally feeling pretty good, so felt like eating (yahoo!). All the things we did and all the nice things done for me made for an absolutely wonderful day. We went to the rock-hewn churches (there are 12 of them), some in the morning, and some in the afternoon. They are amazing! The churches were "built" by digging down into the rock, so almost all of them are considered monolithic. The also "big" thing is that we went to the family home of our wonderful guide, Habtu, and his family made a traditional Ethiopian meal and we got to observe a coffee ceremony there. Everything together made for a memorable and fabulous day.
The hotel where we are staying in Lalibela is FABULOUS!!! It is quite new and absolutely beautiful. The chef here at the hotel is from Jamacia (I know I spelled that wrong, but can't figure out the right way right now), and he makes really great meals. The menu each day is set, but has several choices. My lunch choices for my birthday were mushroom soup, pot roast & mashed potatoes, with creme caramel for dessert. I was satisfied and happy with that meal, and everyone sang Happy Birthday when we got our dessert. The chef had a little secret for our lunch, though...another dessert! He found out that morning that it was my birthday and made me a special cake. :) Everyone was so sweet and kind. The Ethiopians don't celebrate birthdays for adults, so I think it was kind of a different thing for a lot of them.
Today was a really neat day, too, but exhausting! We spent the morning (7:30 am-1:30 pm) on a mule ride/hike. We traveled 2 km to go to a monastery that was also rock-hewn. The priest spent some time with us, talked with us, and then blessed us as we went on our way. It was really neat to experience that part of their religion. We came back for a yummy lunch and then went to the museum that has artifacts from the rock-hewn churches. Amazing to view those 600-900 year old crowns, Bibles, and robes. Beautiful!
Tomorrow we are on the road again - probably at least 10 hours to Gonder. We'll be there a couple of days. Thank you all for the wonderful birthday wishes and messages. This year was certainly a birthday to remember!
Jessica, tell Joshua that I am thrilled he is on the mend! Give hugs and kisses to the boys and a special scritch-scratch for Archie!
Love,
Alica
The hotel where we are staying in Lalibela is FABULOUS!!! It is quite new and absolutely beautiful. The chef here at the hotel is from Jamacia (I know I spelled that wrong, but can't figure out the right way right now), and he makes really great meals. The menu each day is set, but has several choices. My lunch choices for my birthday were mushroom soup, pot roast & mashed potatoes, with creme caramel for dessert. I was satisfied and happy with that meal, and everyone sang Happy Birthday when we got our dessert. The chef had a little secret for our lunch, though...another dessert! He found out that morning that it was my birthday and made me a special cake. :) Everyone was so sweet and kind. The Ethiopians don't celebrate birthdays for adults, so I think it was kind of a different thing for a lot of them.
Today was a really neat day, too, but exhausting! We spent the morning (7:30 am-1:30 pm) on a mule ride/hike. We traveled 2 km to go to a monastery that was also rock-hewn. The priest spent some time with us, talked with us, and then blessed us as we went on our way. It was really neat to experience that part of their religion. We came back for a yummy lunch and then went to the museum that has artifacts from the rock-hewn churches. Amazing to view those 600-900 year old crowns, Bibles, and robes. Beautiful!
Tomorrow we are on the road again - probably at least 10 hours to Gonder. We'll be there a couple of days. Thank you all for the wonderful birthday wishes and messages. This year was certainly a birthday to remember!
Jessica, tell Joshua that I am thrilled he is on the mend! Give hugs and kisses to the boys and a special scritch-scratch for Archie!
Love,
Alica
Thursday, July 8, 2010
NEW/UPDATED July 8, 2010
Hey,
We're on the road again today. We made it to Dese last night in time for supper, and I survived being sick. I ate some noodles and drank papaya juice, so kept it pretty bland. I felt so much better today after a good night of sleep! The people around me aren't so lucky, though. Several are feeling icky today. I'm still sticking with a bland diet today, and that seems to be a good idea since we're still driving in the mountains.
These mountain roads are really pretty nice, but very twisty. We've gotten a good look at some rural life on our drive. The "big towns" we've gone through are still very rural. We've seen people plowing their fields with oxen, sowing seed, and herding animals. It is amazing to watch a tiny child of only 4-5 years old herding big cows, leading camels, or chasing goats around. We've seen a lot of people walking to get water, or getting water from wells, too. The majority of the economy is subsistence farming, which I can totally believe after seeing this part of the country. The fields are so rocky, though, that it makes it hard to grow anything. The rocks are huge! We came upon a bus that was broken down, and instead of the orange cones we use to alert cars to go around, they used some of the big-ish rocks from a nearby field! Saw the same thing with road construction when they didn't want people to go down a certain area - used rocks to block off the road.
Today we're on the way to Lalibela to see the rock-hewn churches. I'm excited to see something I've read so much about. The highlight of today (so far) is the market we came upon in a field on the road right outside Dese. They were selling animals, spices, salt (not the kind that we get out of the shaker! Real rocks! There were people selling fruits, veggies, shoes, grains, clay pots, injera pans...all kinds of things. The people were curious about us, of course, but kind and friendly. It was crowded, but not the crush of humanity like at the Mercato. I believe we'll get to go to the market in Lalibela, too, so I'm looking forward to that.
Hope all is well at home. I'll email again as I have time. :)
Alica
We're on the road again today. We made it to Dese last night in time for supper, and I survived being sick. I ate some noodles and drank papaya juice, so kept it pretty bland. I felt so much better today after a good night of sleep! The people around me aren't so lucky, though. Several are feeling icky today. I'm still sticking with a bland diet today, and that seems to be a good idea since we're still driving in the mountains.
These mountain roads are really pretty nice, but very twisty. We've gotten a good look at some rural life on our drive. The "big towns" we've gone through are still very rural. We've seen people plowing their fields with oxen, sowing seed, and herding animals. It is amazing to watch a tiny child of only 4-5 years old herding big cows, leading camels, or chasing goats around. We've seen a lot of people walking to get water, or getting water from wells, too. The majority of the economy is subsistence farming, which I can totally believe after seeing this part of the country. The fields are so rocky, though, that it makes it hard to grow anything. The rocks are huge! We came upon a bus that was broken down, and instead of the orange cones we use to alert cars to go around, they used some of the big-ish rocks from a nearby field! Saw the same thing with road construction when they didn't want people to go down a certain area - used rocks to block off the road.
Today we're on the way to Lalibela to see the rock-hewn churches. I'm excited to see something I've read so much about. The highlight of today (so far) is the market we came upon in a field on the road right outside Dese. They were selling animals, spices, salt (not the kind that we get out of the shaker! Real rocks! There were people selling fruits, veggies, shoes, grains, clay pots, injera pans...all kinds of things. The people were curious about us, of course, but kind and friendly. It was crowded, but not the crush of humanity like at the Mercato. I believe we'll get to go to the market in Lalibela, too, so I'm looking forward to that.
Hope all is well at home. I'll email again as I have time. :)
Alica
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)