~ Journeys ~

Fresh fruit at a roadside market in Ethiopia

Ethiopia is alive with color. It's literally everywhere. From the gates, to the shops, to the clothing, bright colors greet you everywhere you turn.

Shops in Addis Ababa

We had a beautiful day of sightseeing with our guide, Abel. We visited the Ethiopian National Museum, which is home to Lucy, the oldest hominid ever found.  Full of historical relics, culture and art, I loved every second of it.

Grave markers carved from wood

I found these grave markers very intriguing.

17th century painting on canvas

This is a portion of a painting that was the entire length and height of one wall in the museum.

Abel, the walking encyclopedia

Abel literally knew everything about everything in the museum. The man is a walking encyclopedia. Listening to Abel talk about his love of Ethiopian culture and history was the highlight of the day. He made the entire trip more fun. It wasn't easy to adjust to the time change. I think my sister and I were both fighting the urge to lay down in the street and take a nap, since it was the middle of the night at home.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

More beautiful color. The weather for our entire trip was pretty perfect. 70 degrees during the day, 60s at night. We slept with the windows open for 12 nights and had ONE, yes, ONE moth come into our room during that time. There didn't seem to be any bugs, but there were goats and donkeys everywhere. On the roads, in the middle of town! You haven't lived until you wake up at 2am because a donkey is losing his mind outside your window. My sister and I had many a belly laugh in the middle of the night after waking up to the manic braying of a donkey. I wanted to capture it on film, but I was always too busy laughing. At 5am, the Islamic and Orthodox Christian churches started a call to prayer. It was such a beautiful way to wake up every morning. And entertaining, since the singing over the loud speakers encouraged every dog, rooster, and donkey to join in. Bring on the Ethiopian coffee!