Mom and I in front of an Ethiopian Orthodox Church

Prepare for a long post- today was jam packed full of new adventures….We began our trek south to Awassa early this morning… we left Addis Ababa at 8 am and took a 5 hour van ride thru some beautiful cities and small towns, it is quite different from the city of Addis- there is pure beauty in the love and friendship of the people. We saw mostly rural farm communities. Multiple families living in mud huts often with their cows. I have many pictures and to be honest I would have stopped every 10 yards for pictures but instead most images were caught thru the van windows. The weather is warmer in the south but still lovely spring type weather- although according to Alemu it is freezing and this would be why Ethiopians are usually bundled up while Americans are content in tee shirts- we told Alemu he needed to experience snow to understand cold :)

Injera

We stopped twice along the way once for coffee and once for Injera….both very tasty, however I discovered it was best that I did not ask what exactly I was eating….

In Awassa we stopped at a coffee and banana farmer’s home. He shared his home with his young wife and numerous children and of course the family cow. The pride he had in his banana trees and coffee trees was evident on his face and his children loved nothing more than to have their picture taken and see it on the camera screen.

Our Hippo viewing transportation :0

Hippos on Lake Awassa

On to Lake Awassa …. This was a leap of faith for me as I am not the most adventurous girl, we loaded into a small wooden boat and headed out in rough water to see the hippos- up close and personal….The boat captain was great but I was partial to the 1^st mate an eight year old boy who bailed out the ever increasing water that accumulated in the bottom of the boat…..needless to say I was thrilled to reach dry land and as additional proof of the Ethiopian wildlife I also let a large monkey on my shoulder to eat peanuts out of my hand…In what I have come to see as the dichotomy of Ethiopia we arrived at our resort for the evening… an amazingly beautiful place that sits on Lake Awassa, it truly seems criminal to stay in such luxury after our day’s trek.

Tomorrow we will visit another resort town, I anticipate another eventful day….. Each day I spend here is exhausting and awe-inspiring. It is so completely surreal that I am getting to glimpse a part of the world which is so very different from what I have known for 42 years- This trip is a precious gift and I truly feel lucky that I will return in the near future…and I look forward to the day I can bring my son back to visit his first home.