Lovely Lalibela

In Addis Ababa, other travelers we met indicated the drive to Lalibela was 14-24 hours, depending on ones mode of transport. We departed casually around 8:30 AM with the intention to camp on the side of the road when we got tired and arrive refreshed the next day. As the day wore on, we seemed to make much better progress than anticipated and so with the goal post shifted to making Lalibela in one day we pressed on through the mountain roads in the dark. We turned off the main highway with less than 100 km to go but the secondary road to Lalibela was struggling to be a road in the midst of ongoing construction upgrades. After only 5km along we ran into a logjam of semi-trucks and dump trucks stuck in the mud. The trucks were double parked blocking almost the whole road. Almost is the operative phrase. While Ross negotiated Bubbles down into the ditch and around the first set of double parked/stuck in the mud trucks, I used all the Amharic* skills at my disposal to convince two sleepy truck drivers not caught in the mud to back up 10m each so Ross and Bubbles could re-enter the main road before the ditch became impassible. With cheers from the gathered group of stuck truck drivers, Ross navigated Bubbles through the gap and back onto the open road. Only 80km to Lalibela on muddy roads in the dark to go!

Despite the challenge in arriving at 12:30AM, we found a hotel near the traditional tourist sites still open with a room for weary travelers. We asked them to organize a guide for us in the morning and so after 6 hours of sleep we woke up to find Mr. Melise waiting for us. We toured all 11 stone churches of Lalibela which were built in the 4^th century, most carved out of solid pieces of rock. Through tunnels, across bridges and up and down many stairs, these ancient houses of worship were a marvel to behold. Filled with priests, incense, pilgrims and worshipers it was a fascinating tour through Africa’s oldest churches and Ethiopian pride of their long standing Christian traditions.

Our second day touring brought us to another set of churches built into caves outside of Lalibela. It was a beautiful drive with the sun out. We spent the afternoon back in Lalibela enjoying a leisurely lunch and books in the sun. It was good to have a break after our long drive up from Addis. And also good because of what was to come . . . .