Part II:
Day
2 Continued:
After the Portuguese Bridge we went to the Debre Libanos
Monastery. The monastery was founded a very super long time ago (13th or 15th
century). First we went into the monastery museum where we saw lots of old
artifacts. We then waited until the service of the monastery was over, and we
were then able to see the inside. Inside the monastery was beautiful. The
stained glass was absolutely amazing. While it was very cool to see, there were
many people outside of the gates living in extreme poverty. It was very sad.
It was very pretty inside.
Part of our group with the monk guy.
Just one wall of the stained glass inside.
Later
in the evening when we finally arrived back to our hotel, we showered quick and
then got ready for a real Ethiopian night. We ate authentic Ethiopian food and
watched traditional Ethiopian dance. It was quite a show! Most of my close
friends and family know I am an admirer of all types of dance! This was no
different. I loved the beats and some of the moves were very cool to watch.
Lady singer
The dancers: they had tons of costume changes, there were 3 men and 3 women
Ethiopian
food is also quite interesting. Traditional Ethiopian food consists of
different cooked meats and vegetables that you eat with flat, spongy bread. You
tear off the bread, then pinch up the meat/vegetables with the bread. I did not
like the bread, but I did like this finger food. Then the waiters come around
so you can wash your hands… seriously you soap up and then they pour warm water
from a teapot over your hands and give you a fresh towel to dry them.
Hand washing
Day
3: Wenchi Crater Lake
This
was the day I was most looking forward to, and definitely my favorite day of
the trip!(.... except the part where I got violently ill when we got back to
our hotel... but more on that later or not).
The
day started quite early. We knew we had a 3-4 hour drive ahead of us. The roads
would have been really cool had they been roads. Our bus driver was seriously
amazing!! I do not know how we didn’t get stuck dozens of times or get
stranded. We stopped for coffee, where a bird pooped on me! (True story) The
views out of our bus were amazing as well. When we first got there we had some
fantastic restroom facilities… haha! It was a grass hut surrounded a cement
hole. We then made our way to our guides and horses. To make it around the lake
we had to both hike and ride horses. When the inclines were to steep for the
horses to make it with a person on them, our guides would bring them down for
us to meet them.
The beginning of the day!
The
horses were on the smaller side, and I’m amazed they made it (I’m amazed I made
it too). I’m also very thankful we had them. Horse gear in Ethiopia is quite
different than that in the states. Here it was a blanket with a homemade saddle
and a single rope for “reins.” The stirrups were made of a thin metal rod.
Quite different from the fancy saddles and nice leather reins back in the
states. Each horse had a guide that led it everywhere we went. I quite liked my
first guide because he pretty much let me take the reins (rope) to lead my
horse most of the time. When it came time to cross a creek or stream he was
still there to help.
Going through the creek on my horsey
We
started at the top of the crater and slowly horsed and hiked down the side and
into a large, BEAUTIFUL, open valley with streams and hot springs going
through. It was really breathtaking. Simple, green, gorgeous. The pictures don’t
even do it enough justice!! It was amazing to be there and take it all in.
Once
we got through the amazing, beautiful, exquisite views of the valley we ate
lunch and had a nice group pee. We then continued up through a tseep and narrow
climb in the mountain where we encountered a 5 year old boy herding lots of
goats, cows, donkeys, and sheep. It got a little crowded. Finally, we made it
down to the lake. Amazing views.
We
walked around the lake a little bit to go meet a boat to take us across. Our
guide called across the lake. Seriously, he literally yelled across the lake
for this john boat to paddle over. We waited there for about twenty minutes. This
is also about the time my mind and body started crashing. Exhaustion from this
point on just took over my body and I laid down on the ground. Once the john
boat got to our shore, we all hopped it, almost sunk it, paddled across to see
another monastery (that we couldn’t go in). At this point I started feeling
nauseous. Then john boated back in this super sketch boat that clearly should
not have been holding more than 7 people, but was holding 15+!!
This was the point where we all hoped the others could swim.
We
hiked a tiny bit up a hill to meet our next set of horses and guides. THANKFUL
THERE WERE HORSES. I would not have made it! On our way back up, we had some
more breathtaking views, lots of cute kids running from their huts
enthusiastically waving and shouting “HELLO HELLO HELLO HELLO!!!” It was so
adorable.
Finally,
after an exhausting day we made it back to the bus!! Halle-frickin-lujah! At
this point my body felt like it was shutting down and I was getting nauseous.
After another roller coaster ride back on the bus, we made it back to our
hotel. YAY. Still down right exhausted, not feeling the best, I’m thinking “Damn,
tonight is the last night in Ethiopia, just suck it up and get it together so
you can hang out and discover the lovely Addis Ababa.”
So
I did. I sucked it up, took a shower, got ready, went down to meet friends for
dinner. We were waiting forever for this food. I kept saying I don’t feel well,
but I’ll feel better after dinner comes. After saying that a few times I
realized I was going to be ill, left money with my friends, and bolted to the
room. I get to the room, straight to the toilet, and vom.com. Climb into bed,
pass out, and don’t move until the next morning.
Day 4 and beyond: In the morning I still feel
like a worthless pile, but get up to go explore the city a little bit with
others on our trip. We head back to the Mercado. While there I got a pretty
little ring and a few Ethiopia labeled touristy things. After we get back to
the room, I puke again, we pack up all our stuff, I got down to the lobby where
I sleep on the couches the next 2 hours until we need to go to the airport. The
flight when surprisingly well, although my body still felt completely
exhausted.
Upon
arrival back home (yes, I call Dubai home now!!), I called in sick to work…. Sunday,
Monday, and Tuesday! I went to work and finally started eating whole foods on
Wednesday—this was very exciting as I had only been eating crackers and broth
for 4-5 days. Thank goodness for friends and roommates who had broth and
brought me Gatorade. Evidently this prolonged illness stuff is quite common
among EVERYONE who travels to 3rd world countries for the first
time. I was also quite thankful for a friend having some Cipro, which is a
strong antibiotic that kills everything in your GI tract. I think that is what
eventually made me well again. Africa (the continent) is crossed off the list
for a while after that sickness!
Overall,
the trip was very successful. Short as it needed to be! I was so very, very
happy to be going back to DubaiJ
The most necessary picture: me just standing next to a giant pile of manure
