Ethiopia - Lalibella

On Tuesday morning we left Bahir Dar at 3:30am and headed east towards Lalibella.  We arrived shortly after lunchtime and I immediately booked Shell and I on a three day trek through a local company called TESFA (Tourism in Ethiopia for Sustainable Future Alternatives).  The walk was due to begin the following day at noon.

The trek did not start too well as Shell was ill and struggled to climb the 13 km’s from Lalibella to our overnight campsite.  We finally made it to the top and settled into a cold evening around the indoor fire.

Day two was supposed to involve a 50 km trek to the summit of a local mountain.  With Shell sick in bed, I decided to give the long walk a miss and instead visited the local villages with our guide, Fantow.  I had a wonderful morning visiting the local children, farmers and working wives.  I spent most of my time inside a local village hut drinking coffee, eating homemade barley injera (bread) with a spicy sauce and watching two ladies work their grinding stones while balancing small children on their backs and boobs.  It was a great way to see how the locals live.

On day three we made our way back down the hill to Lalibella.

In the lead up to Easter, Lalibella was getting ready for the celebrations.  The Saturday market was one of the biggest for the year so my new friend Fantow took me along for a look.  I was told that the two Saturday markets before Easter are the most expensive of the year.  This ensures that anyone with something to sell comes along.  The price for sheep, goats and cows basically doubles, which is great for the sellers; not so good for the buyers.

I was dragged along to a bar in the market which sold local beer in used tinned tomato cans.  Fantow asked me if I thought the beer tasted like Guiness.  I was polite and said that it did.  What I really thought it tasted like was apple, mixed with mud and soapy water.  Regardless of the taste of the beer, it was great to be with the locals who were taking some rest from their market stalls to enjoy a drink in the shade. 

On Sunday morning, Shell was feeling a little better so we got out of bed early to visit the Churches and see the locals praying.  Many of the people praying told us they had been at the Churches since 2am.  We spent the afternoon relaxing before going to a coffee ceremony at the house of Johoness, a friend of Fantow’s that I had met at the market.

 
On Monday morning we hired a guide and spent four hours going through the different Church clusters.  I was amazed by the size and shapes of the different buildings.  It is hard to believe that everything was hand carved into the granite rock surrounds 1000 years ago.  The stone is so smooth and the intricate details (inside and out) look so perfect.  It was an enjoyable morning and allowed us to see the locals praying and the  Monks chanting in the lead up to Easter.