Lalibela Day 1

After running into sunrise around 5:30 am, we flew to Lalibela in a small Ethiopian Airlines plane that took us calmly and without any hassle to our final town. It was SUCH a treat to take the plane, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who doesn't have a lot of time to spare (and even if you do, the extra few $$ is definitely worth it).

We then took a minibus through the countryside and hills to get to our new hostel, Ashten House. The ride was very scenic, and I could tell immediately that I was going to love this place. The air felt fresh, the rolling hills were gorgeous, and there were barely any people dotting the landscape.

The hostel was also our favorite right away, with rustic decor, embroidered bedspreads, carved wooden beds, metal light covers with designs in them, and gorgeous gardens. The price was cheaper than Gondar or Bahir Dar too, despite being a tourist destination, and we started off with great spirits.

We walked for awhile to see the area and ended up stopping to get massages (thanks for the treat Mom!) in a small place run by several young, modern Ethiopian girls. The children and men were quite talkative and kept at us the entire time we were walking outside, so the massage place felt like even more of an oasis. The girls let us pick out silver crosses as an added present at the end too - Kwazo and I both felt so great and appreciative for the female bond. Really, women rock.

Relaxed and refreshed, we went to find a late lunch and ended up at a place called Roha cafe, which had great vegetarian injera (I think I should start spelling it correctly at this point!), as well as ginger tea. We then geared up for our first round of the historic, "rock hewn" churches, which is what Lalibela is known for.

There are 2 groups of churches, and we decided to start with the smaller, Southern, group on the first day since they're only open from 6-12pm and then from 2-5pm and it was already 3pm at that point. We saw all four in the group, Bet Rufael-Gabriel, Bet Merkorios, Bet Amanuel, and Bet Abba Libanos. The stone work, tunnels (some VERY dark and spooky!), and peace and quiet were incredible. The cobblestone streets filled with afternoon black flies and talkative children hassling the tourists vanished once you stepped into the church sanctuaries. The priests inside were either silent, reading, or chanting, and we walked around each church to see the various paintings and stone carvings. We decided not to pay for a guide because we had our Lonely Planet descriptions, and we were happy with our choice. It was nice not to feel attached to anyone or anything and to just take in what we could and enjoy the experience. Plus, the descriptions in the book were pretty thorough!

We stayed until closing and then head home, chatting to all the people who approached us along the way. It was definitely fun at times, but also exhausting, and we ended up telling some kids we were French to entertain ourselves. Of course, they knew some french, and that provided some new amusement :) We got caught in our lie later, ("Why did you change your country?") but it was totally worth it.

A quick internet stop (very pricey so just the bare minimum check-ins to say we were alive and well), and then we went to a place from our guidebook called Unique Restaurant, which was SO delicious. The woman who runs it is adorable and there is a special guest book where everyone writes about their experiences there. Our vegetable soup, fasting food, and beers were so amazing that we instantly knew we'd probably eat several of our meals there (and happily).

It was a great first day in Lalibela, and we went to bed early with happy bellies, massaged backs, and images of impressive, ancient architecture.