Tuesday was a quiet day w/Baye and Linnea helping me take care of minor errands. Met for breakfast at John Cafe with a very friendly hostess
If I ever get back to Lalibela John Cafe is probably the first place I will go back to.
and bought some souvenirs there as well. Got some cash from the bank but not able to use my bank card. I had to get a cash advance on my Visa credit card.Bought some replacement shoes for my damaged boots and bought some souvenirs and mailed them home. Tiny poor post office but the young "postie" seemed quite efficient. met Mallie & Harry at breakfast. Expat teachers from New Zealand.Changed hotels. Went to dinner at Ben Abeba Restaurant -
food was good with a varied menu but the architecture was completely amazing and like nothing I have ever seen before. Chatted with Susan for a while with Susan, a Scottish woman a few years older than me who is a co-owner & co-manager. On the way home Harry was very unhappy with the cost of the transportation (which he misunderstood). he got out and took his wife with him. His problem not mine.
Jan. 2 - I went with a different guide (licenced to guide in Lalibela) to see the rock-hewn churches which were crowded with pilgrims and tourists with more to come. Churches were like nothing I have ever seen before. Churches were massive and carved downwards from ground level.
The modern roof above is to protect the church. These churches are believed to have been built in the 12th and 13th Centuries.
Above is a religious ceremony which I didn't understand. It involved pilgrims and related, I believe, to the coming Christmas which is celebrated in Ethiopia in early January as their calendar is not ours.
Detail from within one of the Lalibelan rock hewn churches
Some pictures of the most distinctive of the rock hewn churches which give a sense of the scale of the churches. There is a belief that these churches were built when pilgrimages to Jerusalem became too difficult because of the growth of Islam. Christianity goes back to at least the 4th Century AD and possibly the 1st Century AD.
The amount of faith required to do the work sustained over decades is hard to comprehend & this is still a religious nation. Witness the many many pilgrims, not all of whom were Ethiopians. Saw blind people including one blonde middle aged woman being helped around by a local guide. Praying for a miracle?
Feeling overwhelmed with old churches I decided to not do an afternoon tour but to hang out. After a relaxing lunch w/Baye and Linnea I mailed some postcards and got some money. Baye picked up a small flashlight for me and I went back to John's Cafe and bought a small wooden cross as a further souvenir. Linnea and I hung out while Baye did an errand.We were going down to our hotels when I went over to Elleni at John's Cafe to thank her for her hospitality. She pulled me over to the souvenir shop and told me to take something. I took a scarf and thanked her again. If I come back this is the first place I will come back to! We went over to the Old Abyssian for dinner which was quiet with incredible views. One last shoulder dance with beautiful young woman & back to my hotel for an early night to bed and an early ride to the airport. The possibility exists of a wedding invitation in the future.
Jan. 4 - Baye dropped me off at the Lalibela airport for an uneventful trip to Addis.Got a ride to the office of Tesfa Tours where I picked up the gear I had stashed there & had a nice chat with Mark Chapman the owner of Tesfa Tours. They found me a taxi and negotiated a good price for a ride to the Caravan Hotel. The hotel was very nice but like the others I have stayed at in Ethiopia had plumbing issues.I had a shower but the tub drain was closed and I couldn't figure out how to open it so the tub didn't drain. The shower head was a nice design to allow variability of the shower height & direction but there was a piece missing and it didn't work. The shower curtain was closed but the bathroom floor still ended up covered with water. Ethiopia needs more skilled crafts people like plumbers.
Got to the airport and found out I couldn't change all my birr so ended up buying some more souvenirs. Not what I planned. However a helpful Ethiopia Air ticket agent helped me make a change on my ticket from Kampala to London at a much lower cost than shown on the internet. Very good news. Flight was delayed from 10:55 to noon to 6 Pm to 8 Pm and lifted off at 8:45. Very frustrating especially as there was no one who could speak to the problem or give us good information as to what was actually happening. I think the airline officials actually avoided us as many of the passengers were getting very angry. Had a coffee with three other passengers who were waiting and they turned out all to be UN workers in Uganda. All were African and it was an interesting conversation. One spoke of cycling to school in Nova Scotia in the winter when he was so bundled up that you couldn't tell he was African! They warned me to be very very careful in Uganda of the boda bodas which are small motorcycles used to get around in Uganda. One of the UN workersAlso a problem communicating with the person who was to pick me up at Entebbe airport as I couldn't get good info as to when my flight was arriving as I couldn't get that information. Many times the waiting passengers on my flight would find an airline employee who gave information that turned out to be wrong. Very frustrating.
Next update >>> Uganda!
If I ever get back to Lalibela John Cafe is probably the first place I will go back to.
and bought some souvenirs there as well. Got some cash from the bank but not able to use my bank card. I had to get a cash advance on my Visa credit card.Bought some replacement shoes for my damaged boots and bought some souvenirs and mailed them home. Tiny poor post office but the young "postie" seemed quite efficient. met Mallie & Harry at breakfast. Expat teachers from New Zealand.Changed hotels. Went to dinner at Ben Abeba Restaurant -
food was good with a varied menu but the architecture was completely amazing and like nothing I have ever seen before. Chatted with Susan for a while with Susan, a Scottish woman a few years older than me who is a co-owner & co-manager. On the way home Harry was very unhappy with the cost of the transportation (which he misunderstood). he got out and took his wife with him. His problem not mine.
Jan. 2 - I went with a different guide (licenced to guide in Lalibela) to see the rock-hewn churches which were crowded with pilgrims and tourists with more to come. Churches were like nothing I have ever seen before. Churches were massive and carved downwards from ground level.
The modern roof above is to protect the church. These churches are believed to have been built in the 12th and 13th Centuries.
Above is a religious ceremony which I didn't understand. It involved pilgrims and related, I believe, to the coming Christmas which is celebrated in Ethiopia in early January as their calendar is not ours.
Detail from within one of the Lalibelan rock hewn churches
Some pictures of the most distinctive of the rock hewn churches which give a sense of the scale of the churches. There is a belief that these churches were built when pilgrimages to Jerusalem became too difficult because of the growth of Islam. Christianity goes back to at least the 4th Century AD and possibly the 1st Century AD.
The amount of faith required to do the work sustained over decades is hard to comprehend & this is still a religious nation. Witness the many many pilgrims, not all of whom were Ethiopians. Saw blind people including one blonde middle aged woman being helped around by a local guide. Praying for a miracle?
Feeling overwhelmed with old churches I decided to not do an afternoon tour but to hang out. After a relaxing lunch w/Baye and Linnea I mailed some postcards and got some money. Baye picked up a small flashlight for me and I went back to John's Cafe and bought a small wooden cross as a further souvenir. Linnea and I hung out while Baye did an errand.We were going down to our hotels when I went over to Elleni at John's Cafe to thank her for her hospitality. She pulled me over to the souvenir shop and told me to take something. I took a scarf and thanked her again. If I come back this is the first place I will come back to! We went over to the Old Abyssian for dinner which was quiet with incredible views. One last shoulder dance with beautiful young woman & back to my hotel for an early night to bed and an early ride to the airport. The possibility exists of a wedding invitation in the future.
Jan. 4 - Baye dropped me off at the Lalibela airport for an uneventful trip to Addis.Got a ride to the office of Tesfa Tours where I picked up the gear I had stashed there & had a nice chat with Mark Chapman the owner of Tesfa Tours. They found me a taxi and negotiated a good price for a ride to the Caravan Hotel. The hotel was very nice but like the others I have stayed at in Ethiopia had plumbing issues.I had a shower but the tub drain was closed and I couldn't figure out how to open it so the tub didn't drain. The shower head was a nice design to allow variability of the shower height & direction but there was a piece missing and it didn't work. The shower curtain was closed but the bathroom floor still ended up covered with water. Ethiopia needs more skilled crafts people like plumbers.
Got to the airport and found out I couldn't change all my birr so ended up buying some more souvenirs. Not what I planned. However a helpful Ethiopia Air ticket agent helped me make a change on my ticket from Kampala to London at a much lower cost than shown on the internet. Very good news. Flight was delayed from 10:55 to noon to 6 Pm to 8 Pm and lifted off at 8:45. Very frustrating especially as there was no one who could speak to the problem or give us good information as to what was actually happening. I think the airline officials actually avoided us as many of the passengers were getting very angry. Had a coffee with three other passengers who were waiting and they turned out all to be UN workers in Uganda. All were African and it was an interesting conversation. One spoke of cycling to school in Nova Scotia in the winter when he was so bundled up that you couldn't tell he was African! They warned me to be very very careful in Uganda of the boda bodas which are small motorcycles used to get around in Uganda. One of the UN workersAlso a problem communicating with the person who was to pick me up at Entebbe airport as I couldn't get good info as to when my flight was arriving as I couldn't get that information. Many times the waiting passengers on my flight would find an airline employee who gave information that turned out to be wrong. Very frustrating.
Next update >>> Uganda!
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