why do i climb the mountain?

Somewhere toward the beginning of my time in Ethiopia, I fell into a dream within a dream. During my Demystification trip to Wukro, a small town 45 minutes north of the Tigray regional capital, I shared a beer with my pre-departure mentor, RPCV Ben Morse. The beer was called Dashen. It has since held its own as my favorite (mass produced) beer in Ethiopia. I asked Ben the meaning and he told me it was a tribute to Ethiopia’s highest mountain, Ras Dashen. From that moment on, it was absorbed into my being: I must climb that mountain.

northern crosses

Lalibela is known for its cluster of rock-hewn churches, reportedly built with the help of angels, but the surrounding landscape actually offers more interesting sightseeing options. We obliged our sense of historical and cultural significance by checking out the churches of Lalibela on day one, but used the next two days to get out and see more than the average visitor. Day two saw us renting an old, rugged Land Cruiser and necessary driver for perhaps the most scenic drive I’ve ever experienced, before reaching a remote village, some 40km outside of Lalibela. From there it was 12km of off-roading (what our guide called an “African massage”) in order to access a church made of marble and cedar wood, located in a cave in the middle of a mountain. And since we didn’t get quite enough spectacular from that experience, we set off on a hike to reach a rock hewn church situated atop a mountain overlooking Lalibela on day three. In both cases, we encountered only one other set of tourists, which afforded us lots of bragging as we closed off our time in the town with a night at a Torpedo, a popular tej house, in the company of fellow travelers from Canada (see: highfiveadventures.com), France, and Spain.

it's been a while

      My absence has not gone unnoticed. Were my blog me and anyone who reads it my Ethiopian counterparts, I would undoubtedly get the question, "Tefah?" Where have you been? Any significant lapse of time between encountering a person or people, especially those in your closer circles, might elicit such an inquiry. It's easy to misinterpret the intent. Generally, it's safe to assume a noticeable void existed because of your value to the person or people. For those of you have Tefah'd me over the last couple months, I thank you. I have, as those Ethiopians who Tefah me might say, disappeared. 

newborn eyes

What follows is my very first journal entry from Ethiopia, entered 7 June 2012 – the morning after our plane touched down at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa. It was an insightful read for me while thumbing through my log, a wonderful gift from my step-mom-to-be before my departure. Enjoy.