Author: Phil GB

(Taken from Ryton2Ethiopia 2009 diary pages at Ryton2ethiopia.org )

( Previous Days: Day 1 and 2 , Day 3 and 4 )

Day 5

Back to Addis

Wednesday was the earliest start yet. We were woken up in tents at 5 o’clock, greeted by the roar of a lion which some people had heard through the night. Thankfully it was only the caged lion we had seen on the way in. While some took down tents, others cooked a breakfast of porridge. Meanwhile, the monkeys were back, dropping stuff out of trees on to us, which usually missed, but hurt when it didn’t!
After stopping to watch a beautiful African sunrise, we finished packing and washing up and we set off for a day of safari! Driving the bus around the park we saw gazelles, oryx, ostriches, a huge tortoise, some guinea fowl and a warthog running across the road in front of us with its baby. No wild lions, but a great experience all the same.
Much of the rest of the day was taken up by travelling back to Addis, stopping for the odd drink. We stopped at the crocodile stop from yesterday again and all saw more crocodiles and marabou birds (sort of like storks.)

Back in Addis, a long awaited game a football was organised with the locals. We mixed the teams to keep things fair and drew 6-6 after what was surely the most frantic game of football ever played. About a third of the pitch was an ankle deep muddy swamp and at one point there was a huge water fight in a puddle in the far corner. The English “ferenjee” (foreigners) kept out of that one though.
After some shirt swapping and showers all round, we went out for some food and ate local injura (rolls of. . .something. a bit like pancake but more, umm, rubbery) Matthew accidentally ate a whole jalapeno and that certainly did make his eyes water!
Another early start tomorrow – up at four o’clock for a flight to Lalibela!

Matthew & Vicki Y

Day 6

To Lalibela

Today was a very early start, we all had to be packed and ready by 4:40! Everyone was a bit grouchy because they were so tired from the late night before. On the bus everyone was squashed as the cases had to come on with us inside the bus because of the rain… nobody could move!

Our busy schedule had caught up with some of the group members who were suffering a little and we were all quite tired. Despite a few dodgy tummies we all enjoyed our journey to Lalibela which was very interesting to say the least! We boarded a tiny little aircraft with propellers that were unbelievably noisy! Despite the noise the take off and landing was smoother than expected. Most people missed the airline drink and sarnie on the plane because they were sleeping!

When we arrived at Lalibela everybody was amazed at how small the airport was, we watched our cases being brought into the airport; we were in and out of the airport in a matter of minutes as there weren’t any queues because our aeroplane was the only one in the airport!

Driving in the minibus to the hotel was breathtaking…the views were incredible and very different to those in Addis. There was a lot of little mud huts named tukuls and everyone seemed to be farming with their cattle. As we got closer to Lalibela town the houses seemed to get bigger and ‘posher’.
Feelings about the hotel were mixed. The Seven Olives has an amazing view and nice food…but there was no electricity and therefore no running water and no flushing toilets! We have decided that the muddy unwashed look and fragrance is quite attractive.

A group of us went into the town to explore after lunch and met a group of children. They were very different to the children in Addis because they didn’t ask for anything at all, they just wanted to talk to us and have their photos taken. A few people got emotional when one boy named Gabree told us about the family history of many of the children. Despite being so poor they were so happy and cheerful. When one old lady pestered Ashleigh for money, all the children told her off and chased her away. We were quite concerned for the children because the soldier was watching and they kept getting told off for ‘bothering us’, so we spoke to the soldier and explained we didn’t mind and were enjoying it.

Whilst some were wandering the town, a few stayed back at the hotel. Alex R found a sick baby bird and Mark had brought it with him to the seating area of the hotel, he tried his best to nurture it back to health. He managed to get it to drink some water and it seemed to be recovering. We left to visit the churches of Lalibela so Mark had to leave it behind but had put it in a bird food house and we hoped it would be alright.

The churches were amazing. It is so hard to believe that they were carved down into the rock. We had to take our shoes off before entering the churches and in each one there was a priest dressed in cloaks carrying crosses. They also sported sunglasses for the camera flashes, which looked bizarre to say the least. There are thirteen churches but we only had time to see nine today, the rest we will visit tomorrow.
Richard decided it would be best to eat at the hotel and give our stomachs a rest from Ethiopian food. Everybody enjoyed their meal and spirits were lifted as we ate our dinner in candlelight and talked about first days at school etc. Despite a few stomachs still grumbling, the night went really well and we are all looking forward to the football match tomorrow!

Mark and Ashleigh.

(Taken from Ryton2Ethiopia 2009 diary pages)

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