....and came down again!
Today we had a great day. Elijah was a little cranky in the morning, but in general, he seemed to do just fine. We woke up, unsure what exactly we would do today, but we made some arrangements in the late afternoon to spend the day once again with A,B&I. We decided to meet them at their guesthouse at 2:30, and we would visit Entoto mountain.
Markos picked us up at 2:30, and off we went. We were told that it was about a 45 minute drive, but it ended up not being quite that long. We drove up the mountain about halfway with Markos, and then we were picked up by another vehicle... Basically it was like a little Chevy S-10, with a roof and sides covering the box. We sat in the box, and marvelled at many things on the way up.
We saw many women carrying piles of sticks and branches on their back. This is what Entoto is often known for "the Wood Carriers". Some of these women were carrying incredible amounts of weight on their back, and we all were in awe of the sheer strength and determination of these ladies. The way I understand it, they walk up the mountain and then take the sticks/branches on their back on the way down. They are paid about 5 Birr for each trip, and do this trip about twice a day. Unbelievable the work they do for approx $0.50. "A" tried went out to see how heavy a load was, and he felt that it was about 100 lbs. The weight is not the only thing though. This is not a smooth load, as there are going to be stuff sticking out of the pile of branches into their back and shoulders. All in all, it was amazing to see this in real life, even though we had heard about this many times from other adoptive families.
We also saw a vast area of what looked like beautiful farmland near the top of this mountain. There was lots of green, which we have not really seen inside the city. From what someone told us when we reached the furthest point up the mountain that we were going to travel is that we were actually at an elevation of about 10,000 feet above sea level. Amazing how high that is.
We toured an old church, and the courtyard of this church, and again were amazed by the beauty, and durability of these buildings. We saw a rock church which was quite old (over 700 years old), as well as a church that had some amazing paintings inside. I wish we could post all the photos that we had taken, but that would take too long, and Markos is a photo taking machine, so we will wait until we are home before we process all these pictures.
We also toured another church along with a monastery in the same compound. Again, the intricacies of the buildings was amazing. Our guide also let us go into an area where there were sheep, and Hilary, A&B held a sheep.. Hilary was in her glory holding a lamb. Again, pictures will have to come later of that, but it was great experience. Sadly, it was about to rain (or so the guide thought, and the rumbling thunder concurred), so our tour ended rather quickly, as we piled back into the vehicle to drive back to Addis.
We went out to "O Canada" for supper, and had fun chatting together again. Our boys were both a little squirmy today, and didn't really enjoy sitting down for the meal, but in the end, it was still very enjoyable. We started with poutine for the table, and then I was able to have a steak and fries, and Hilary had a filet mignon and fries. They were good, but not the biggest portions I've ever seen. We were all satisfied when we left, though, and the boys were both ready for bed.
We got back, and made some arrangements for tomorrow. All in all, it was a great day, but we are all tired.
Today we had a great day. Elijah was a little cranky in the morning, but in general, he seemed to do just fine. We woke up, unsure what exactly we would do today, but we made some arrangements in the late afternoon to spend the day once again with A,B&I. We decided to meet them at their guesthouse at 2:30, and we would visit Entoto mountain.
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| Eli watching Cars. His first experience with headphones! |
We saw many women carrying piles of sticks and branches on their back. This is what Entoto is often known for "the Wood Carriers". Some of these women were carrying incredible amounts of weight on their back, and we all were in awe of the sheer strength and determination of these ladies. The way I understand it, they walk up the mountain and then take the sticks/branches on their back on the way down. They are paid about 5 Birr for each trip, and do this trip about twice a day. Unbelievable the work they do for approx $0.50. "A" tried went out to see how heavy a load was, and he felt that it was about 100 lbs. The weight is not the only thing though. This is not a smooth load, as there are going to be stuff sticking out of the pile of branches into their back and shoulders. All in all, it was amazing to see this in real life, even though we had heard about this many times from other adoptive families.
 |
| One of the Wood Carriers |
We also saw a vast area of what looked like beautiful farmland near the top of this mountain. There was lots of green, which we have not really seen inside the city. From what someone told us when we reached the furthest point up the mountain that we were going to travel is that we were actually at an elevation of about 10,000 feet above sea level. Amazing how high that is.
We toured an old church, and the courtyard of this church, and again were amazed by the beauty, and durability of these buildings. We saw a rock church which was quite old (over 700 years old), as well as a church that had some amazing paintings inside. I wish we could post all the photos that we had taken, but that would take too long, and Markos is a photo taking machine, so we will wait until we are home before we process all these pictures.
We also toured another church along with a monastery in the same compound. Again, the intricacies of the buildings was amazing. Our guide also let us go into an area where there were sheep, and Hilary, A&B held a sheep.. Hilary was in her glory holding a lamb. Again, pictures will have to come later of that, but it was great experience. Sadly, it was about to rain (or so the guide thought, and the rumbling thunder concurred), so our tour ended rather quickly, as we piled back into the vehicle to drive back to Addis.
We went out to "O Canada" for supper, and had fun chatting together again. Our boys were both a little squirmy today, and didn't really enjoy sitting down for the meal, but in the end, it was still very enjoyable. We started with poutine for the table, and then I was able to have a steak and fries, and Hilary had a filet mignon and fries. They were good, but not the biggest portions I've ever seen. We were all satisfied when we left, though, and the boys were both ready for bed.
We got back, and made some arrangements for tomorrow. All in all, it was a great day, but we are all tired.
Sheldon, I am so enjoying your blog. I look forward to reading it each day. This will be such a treasure for you to look back upon. Thanks for sharing your experience!
ReplyDeleteJill