4/18/19
We drove to Lalibela (12 hrs) through some spectacular scenery: lush mountain valleys and hill sides with traditional houses (thatch roof and wood/manure siding) and up onto a high plateau (11,000 ft) with traditional houses that looked like hobbit houses (small and round with rock walls and thatch roof). We then had a steep descent on a dirt road in a very dry area through traditional villages to reach Lalibela. That night we had a delicious buffet dinner at our hotel, which is a pretty nice hotel.
4/20/19
We took a tour of the 11 or so rock-hewn churches in the Lalibela area. They were so amazing! Some call this place the 8th wonder of the world. The churches are carved completely out of rock. They are carved down from a huge rock area. It's hard to imagine someone would be on a huge rock slab and conceive of carving down a huge church. St. George church was probably the most stunning. There were really cool underground passageways and tunnels carved out of rocks as well as little rooms in rock walls and in the passages carved out. Some of the churches have hidden stairways and entrances into the churches. Some of the tunnels were really long and dark, so that you needed to feel your way through in order to walk from one end to the other. Within the rock walls around the churches, there are mummies within the walls. Part of this reminds me of Petra in Jordan.
We had a yummy Ethiopian meal at our hotel. Our hotel has a huge deck, and myself, Norbert, and Kris did an insanity workout, that I led, during a rain sprinkle. The dutch couple, Ferdinand and Leonna left the trip today, due to the tragedy.
4/21/19
In the morning, the whole group went to St. George church to watch the Palm Sunday service (The Coptic Christian calendar is 1 week behind the European calendar, so it was actually Easter back home). While there we had a candlelight vigil (used traditional candles from beeswax) for Kelly.
Elisha was sick with a cold, so Wes and I hiked up a mountain outside of town that had a church built into the cliffs. It was a nice hike with great views of the valleys and mountains. We got invited into a house up on the mountain slopes for fresh injera, curry, and coffee. Super delicious! We even got to watch the lady of the house make the injera. We hiked through a traditional village up on the mountain. We of course had kids following us for most of our hike.
In the afternoon, Elisha and I went back to St. George to walk around. In the evening the group went to this crazy spaceship/Dr. Seuss styled restaurant with a view for Kris' birthday. Had a yummy traditional dish.
We drove to Lalibela (12 hrs) through some spectacular scenery: lush mountain valleys and hill sides with traditional houses (thatch roof and wood/manure siding) and up onto a high plateau (11,000 ft) with traditional houses that looked like hobbit houses (small and round with rock walls and thatch roof). We then had a steep descent on a dirt road in a very dry area through traditional villages to reach Lalibela. That night we had a delicious buffet dinner at our hotel, which is a pretty nice hotel.
4/20/19
We took a tour of the 11 or so rock-hewn churches in the Lalibela area. They were so amazing! Some call this place the 8th wonder of the world. The churches are carved completely out of rock. They are carved down from a huge rock area. It's hard to imagine someone would be on a huge rock slab and conceive of carving down a huge church. St. George church was probably the most stunning. There were really cool underground passageways and tunnels carved out of rocks as well as little rooms in rock walls and in the passages carved out. Some of the churches have hidden stairways and entrances into the churches. Some of the tunnels were really long and dark, so that you needed to feel your way through in order to walk from one end to the other. Within the rock walls around the churches, there are mummies within the walls. Part of this reminds me of Petra in Jordan.
We had a yummy Ethiopian meal at our hotel. Our hotel has a huge deck, and myself, Norbert, and Kris did an insanity workout, that I led, during a rain sprinkle. The dutch couple, Ferdinand and Leonna left the trip today, due to the tragedy.
4/21/19
In the morning, the whole group went to St. George church to watch the Palm Sunday service (The Coptic Christian calendar is 1 week behind the European calendar, so it was actually Easter back home). While there we had a candlelight vigil (used traditional candles from beeswax) for Kelly.
Elisha was sick with a cold, so Wes and I hiked up a mountain outside of town that had a church built into the cliffs. It was a nice hike with great views of the valleys and mountains. We got invited into a house up on the mountain slopes for fresh injera, curry, and coffee. Super delicious! We even got to watch the lady of the house make the injera. We hiked through a traditional village up on the mountain. We of course had kids following us for most of our hike.
In the afternoon, Elisha and I went back to St. George to walk around. In the evening the group went to this crazy spaceship/Dr. Seuss styled restaurant with a view for Kris' birthday. Had a yummy traditional dish.
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