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30th august - 3rd october

Overlanding across Afica in our Land Rover Defender: Ethiopia

Andy Lees
2006-05-14 18:15:24

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concerned about how unused the road was. only one or two tracks preceeded us, we had seen no other traffic and when we passed through villages we caused such a scene that the children and even young adults worked themselves into a frenzy, mobbing the car - sometimes aggressively, throwing sticks and stones as we drove off to the calls of "brother, sister, where you go, where you go?".

by dusk we were worried about making it to lalibela, about fuel, nightfall and the villagers. our maps were inconsistent and unclear and the gps showed us to be well and truly in the middle of nowhere. thankfully, though, the land rover had stopped making unusual noises. when we did stop to ask passers-by if we were on the right road, they all nodded encouragingly. however, we were not too sure if they understood what we were staying.

we pressed on through the growing darkness, the mud covered headlights struggling to light the ruts sufficiently. an hour later we reached a tarmac road and shortly after we were amongst the lights of lalibela. we found a guest house and drunk three beers on the trot. it had taken us over five hours to cover less than ninety kilometres.
lalibela - 16th september

the day was spent visiting the famous rock-hewn churches - ethiopia's most popular tourist attraction. dating from the 12th century these churches are carved downwards into the rock. from the dusty, shack-lined streets they are almost impossible to see. we shunned the attention of the local guides and made our own way through the stone corridors and passageways. there were surprisingly few other tourists, making exploring fun. hermits crouched in tiny enclaves in the surrounding walls, bibles shielding their faces. white robed musicians drummed and chanted. the sound echoing though the dark stone passageways reminded us of scenes from indiana jones.

lalibela itself is an isolated mountain town, and even with the tourist income there is extreme poverty. ...