Ethiopian Adventure Day 4 (Axum/Lalibela)

Packed out of Sabean International Hotel in Axum and was taken by my driver to airport at 9 for flight to Lalibela. Got there ahead of the crowds going out on same and other flights because security conducted the most thorough search of my possessions I have ever experienced. My Bulgarian friends Kras and Jivko showed up about half an hour later, we went through security together, and then we chatted while waiting for our flight, which came in about an hour late. 

My friends did not have a place to stay in Lalibela and so I suggested they try the Mountainview Hotel, where I was staying, and they took the hotel shuttle there and were able to get a room. I met with my local guide, Daniel Shewalem, and our driver took us to the hotel so that I could check in. 

We then spent the afternoon visiting the first seven of the 11 rock-hewn churches of Lalibela. Then, in the evening, Kras, Jivko, and I sat out on the upper terrace of the hotel, drank the local St. George beer, and watched the sun set over the Amharic highlands of Ethiopia. 

Ethiopian Adventure Day 3 (Addis Ababa/Axum)

Flew from Addis Ababa to the ancient city of Axum. Checked into Sabean International Hotel and then headed out with my guide, Sisay, to explore sites around the city, including the Stelae Fields (shown below), location of numerous royal graves and monuments; a pool associated with the Queen of Sheba; a three-language proclamation stone declaring the victories of King Eksana; the local antiquities museum; the ruins of an Axumite palace and the tombs beneath it; the church complex containing, among other things, the Temple of the Ark of the Covenant; and the subterranean tomb of King Balthazar, one of the three Magi who visited Jesus at the time of his birth. 

* St. George lager, a very decent Ethiopian brew, is the thing to drink here. In provincial Axum a bottle cost just 15 birr (75 cents), and in Addis Ababa and some other locations the price is a steeper 30-60 birr ($1-3). 

* Have smelled marijuana twice since getting to Axum, first while approaching the tomb of Balthazar and now the stuff that is giving me the contact high while writing this in my hotel room. Know it is illegal here but have read a few sources that say it is readily available and it would appear enforcement is lax in Axum. 

More detail to come but as of this writing I am getting ready to head out for my flight to Lalibela!