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Of the 100 or so archeological sites in the world, Lalibela ranks easily in the top 6 or 8 as most spectacular. Many of the 12th and 13th Century rock-hewn churches are monolithic, meaning that they are freed entirely out of a single surface of rock. The most impressive by far is Bete Giyorges, which was the final church to be built by King Lalibela.

The Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela:

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Due to the poor transportation network in Ethiopia I was forced to fly so as to avoid the 3 day bus journey (only about 160 Km/92 Mi.). Fortunately this gave me extra time to spend in Lalibela which I ended up needing due to nearly 2 full days of constant rain. With 2 other fully days I had ample time to see all of the 11 rock-hewn churches in town, although I never made it out to the farther monasteries due to the high cost associated with private tours and not enough tourists to do them with.

[To be continued...]

St. Mary of Zion is where many believe the Ark of the Covenant currently rests but which access is prohibited by all except one lone monk and it remains perpetually un-verifiable.” border=”0″ />To save myself a stopover in some dinky town and an extra morning of travel I traveled to Aksum by private Land Rover with a group of Dutch Med Students I had met in Gonder. The trip was long, cramped, expensive ($300 total is a ton in Africa even with 10 hours of fuel) but the scenery in the Semien Mountains was spectacular and that comprised the majority of the trip.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mary_of_Zion

[To be continued...]

After a few days in Bahir Dar on Lake Tana I hopped a relatively short 3 hour mini bus to the early 17th Century Imperial City of Gonder. Gonder was founded as the first permanent Imperial Capitol by Emperor Fasilides in 1635, where it remained prosperous for over 200 years until it was moved in 1855 and then sacked and plundered in 1864.

Of all the local food between South Africa and Ethiopia I have found beriberi spice mixture (also called peri-peri in other parts of Africa), which includes chilies, ginger, coriander, allspice and cloves. Most Ethiopian food is served on a large, flat, pancake-like fermented bread called Injera and the bread is ripped off in pieces and used to pinch bites of food without the aid of silverware. Some of the tastiest dishes are Doro Wat, Tibs and Shiro. Ethiopians are fiercely Orthodox Christian and rather than observing Lent once a year they fast every Wednesday and Friday days then only eat vegetarian in the night, also with tasty dishes like Shiro (the vegetarian version) and these dishes are called fasting foods. Both the carnivore and veggie dishes have combos with samples from multiple dishes on a single Injera for multiple delicious flavors.

Even though the food is good I found it hard to digest Injera more than once a day so would have the other of my 2 Ethiopian meals of the day with bread. Normally I am not a big breakfast fan but I found bread was an especially fine companion for my favorite Ethiopian breakfast (or for me often lunch) food that was sometimes called Ukilasis (sp?) and sometimes just [Scrambled] Eggs with [Beri-Beri] Sauce. I actually make eggs somewhat the same way by scrambling salsa with the raw eggs before cooking and I found this version even more tasty so I had to buy some of this delicious spice to recreate the simple but delicious dish upon my return.

After two nights in bustling and freezing cold Addis Ababa (60 degrees was the high with lots of rain) I hopped an over-priced, 10 hour mini bus for Bahir Dar (a grueling 10 hour trip) on Lake Tana, which is the (murky) source of the Blue Nile (one of two Nile arteries that later join). Lake Tana is famous for the ancient monasteries that are scattered on islands and a peninsula in the lake and one in particular that is alleged to have housed the famous Lost Ark of the Covenant for 40 years before allegedly being moved to a church in Aksum, Ethiopia.

After surviving the horrible Kenyan death-roads (likely the worst roads in the world) and 2 days of buses from Kigali, Rwanda through Kampala, Uganda, I ended up in shady Nairobi, Kenya (affectionately known as Nai-robbery by locals although thankfully I had no problems). After one full day and 2 nights there I hopped another long distance bus for Mombasa, on the South Coast of Kenya. The Swahili culture is one evolved over many generations of intermarrying between Arab, Indian and African traders along the coast of Africa from the South end of Somalia through Kenya, Tanzania and into Northern Mozambique and extending only about 10 miles inland along the coast and throughout the islands (Zanzibar and Lamu being the most prominent isles). Although ethnically the culture is centered along this coastal regions both Kenya and Tanzania have adopted Swahili as their official language (although with slightly different variations).

Mountain Gorilla Highlights:

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I just completed The Most Punishing Hike Of My Life, but was rewarded with one of the most amazing experiences of my life: I came face-to-face (within 6 inches) with a 400 pound Black Back Mountain Gorilla, (an adult, but sexually immature male of about 9 years old).

After a short 2-hour mini bus ride from the border on very nice new roads we made it to the charming Rwandan capitol of Kigali, set among the hills of Rwanda. I found the countryside and landscape of Rwanda to be as beautiful as southern Uganda and among the nicest landscapes in all the countries I have visited in Africa. After a local showed us the way we found rooms in a guest house, down a steep hill from the city center. Kigali is very modern and clean by African standards, a testament to the massive influx of International aid and assistance that has flowed into Rwanda the past 14 years since the horrible atrocities of the Rwandan genocide. While people still stared at us and street touts tried to sell us trinkets and phone cards the level of hassle was extremely lessened from the rest of Africa (and not even on the same scale as Egypt and Tanzania).