Ethiopia - Day 3

On our third day we decided to hire a driver to take us out of the city and see some of the country side. We headed north about 2 hours and on the way passed through absolutely gorgeous landscape (some of which reminded us quite a bit of home...huge farmlands with amazing mountains in the background) and many villages. One thing I learned along the way is that Ethiopia is not the place you want to live if you're a donkey! If I could figure out how to attach a picture on my iPad, you'd see about 400 lbs of hay (or teff, probably) with this teeny tiny, very unhappy looking animal underneath! Just the way it's done here though...everyone in the country works extremely hard, not just the animals.

Our driver was awesome though...very informative and honest, easy to talk to. Funny story though, he put on what I'm quite sure is his "American customers" soundtrack...which consisted of lots of Beyonce and then some of the worst rap songs I've ever heard in my life. Steve finally asked him if he liked that music and convinced him just to play whatever Amharic music he would normally listen to if we weren't there...which was much better!

Our first stop offered some breathtaking views of the Blue Nile Gorge. Think the Grand Canyon in the middle of some remote village...it was truly amazing to see. Ahhh...soooo wish I could figure out how to post pics...though I'm not sure my pictures even do it justice. We hiked down a little ways to get better views and came back up through a bee farm (bunch of yellow boxes) and came upon a huge herd(?) of baboons! There were probably about 50 of them and tons of teeny, tiny little babies. I was assured they were scared of us and it was fine to get a little closer for a better picture...but did take note that Steve, our driver, and the 2 boys that were guiding us all stayed much further back! I could have stayed and watched them all day, but it was time to move on...

Next we went to Debre Libanos monastery, one of the largest and most important in Ethiopia. The founding priest lived in a cave in the surrounding cliff and was said to have stood and prayed for 20 years straight when his right leg rotted and fell off. He's always shown with just one leg. There are some special services going on during this Christmas week and people came from all over the country and are just camped out on the grounds. There was also a funeral going on while we were there...definitely nothing like any funeral I've been to back home! The coffin is carried in and set down and all the mourners surrounded it jumping and chanting/moaning and dancing. It was really amazing to witness. I wanted to take pics, but didn't want to become that totally disrespectful tourist-type. (though I did get reprimanded for almost taking pics in the museum...guess I missed the monk telling us that was a no-no during the tour!)

Our final stop was a little restaurant with more amazing views of the gorge...and another visit from our baboon friends! Then it was back to Addis...though I can't tell you much about the drive because I think we both slept the whole way home!

It was an amazing trip...highly recommend it! If any of you future travelers have a spare day and want our driver's info just let me know!