Hudad at the top

Once we all sat down and plowed through a hot meal and then realized that we actually made it to the top (I had my doubts), we started to explore the plateau.  Lalibela Hudad is an eco lodge on the top of a plateau.  The website describes the lodge as being "luxury".  I completely disagree.

The dining and kitchen area of Hudad

 There is nothing luxurious about this lodge.  There is no electricity, no running water, no indoor plumbing.  The toilet is a hole in the ground in a bush 30 feet from your dark freezing cold room. The staff would bring a bowl of hot water to your room for a bath if you wanted (we didn't want-it was so damn freezing up there).  All the cooking is done by Ethiopian women in a stone kitchen by open fire. The second night for an Ethiopian buffet fresh injera was made and a goat and two chickens were slaughtered.  The girls and I watched as the women cornered the chickens under the table and then grabbed them by their necks as they skwaked.  Surely, these chickens knew their fate.  The goat was carried down from a higher plateau on a local tribe woman on her back. I can honestly say, it was the best Ethiopian food I've tasted.  It may not be luxury, but Hudad is the most authentic Ethiopian experience I've ever had.  Once I came to terms with the fact that I was essentially camping at the top of a mountain with my family, I loved it!

beautiful fresh ingredients

our dinner on night two

how in the world do you control the temp on this thing?

Here are some photos of the plateau and the lodge.

our room.  Inside were two beds and a bench on top of a dirt covered stone floor.  We were given candles for dark.  Luckily the beds were comfy and piled high with heavy warm blankets.  

Lalibela Hudad-the trek up

After a short 45 minute flight from Addis, we landed in Lalibela, Ethiopia which is north of Addis in the high lands.  There are mountains and plateaus in every view.  We took an uncomfortably crowded bus ride from the airport into the city (is there any other type of bus ride in the third world?).  We hopped off the bus, collected our luggage and met our guide along with three men with mules.

Let me backtrack by saying that a few weeks prior, Justin stumbled upon a website for Lalibela Hudad and instantly fell in love with the rugged plateau topped eco-lodge.  I agreed that it was a must see.  A once in a lifetime experience.  The 2.5 hour hike up the mountain to the plateau would be tough for the kids but for the most part we brushed it off as just part of the adventure.  We immediately called and booked two nights at Hudad.  I worried a bit about the travel but Justin seemed pretty confident that we could handle whatever we were faced with on this trip.

Now as we stood in the city looking up at the plateaus around us, watching the men try to tie our enormous suitcase and Ashlynn's pack-n-play to a mule; I became a tad nervous for the trek that awaited us.  Addie and Bella mounted mules.  Megan, Justin, and I (with Ashlynn on my back) sucked down some water and started walking, then climbing and hiking.  The city was behind us, we were in the mountains and I was already sucking wind.  Bella ended up being too small to hold onto a mule by herself so Megan rode with her.  About half way up, Ashlynn and I mounted the other mule and Addie decided to hike with Justin.

It took us three and a half hours to hike the mountain and reach the plateau.  It was the hardest hike I've ever done and I completed half of it on the back of a mule.  Justin and Addie were the real hiking heroes.  The last part of the hike is an uphill climb and they did it entirely by foot.  Justin was cramping towards the end and Addie was pale and exhausted.  All of us were in need of food and water.  The trek up to Lalibela Hudad was definitely an adventure.  Definitely a trek.

One of the guides came to Addie's rescue for the last bit of the hike.  She was beyond tired and pale having hiked a large portion of the toughest part of the hike.

pumpkin spice doughnuts: adventure fuel

The girls had been excitedly waiting for our adventure to Lalibela for weeks.  We decided to make a trip of it while Megan was in town.  We knew she'd love the adventure and having an extra set of adult hands during the busy trip would be helpful for Justin and I.  I've taken to making something delicious the night before a trip so we can grab it and go in the morning on the way to the airport.  These homemade pumpkin spice cake doughnuts were a lovely New Years treat and even better the next day in the airport giddily waiting for our flight that would take us on our next Ethiopian adventure.  

Yod Abyssinia-spectacular Ethiopian dancing

Yod Abyssinia is the cultural restaurant in Addis Ababa.  There are two; one on each side of the city.  It's where all the tourists and business people go for traditional food, drink, atmosphere and dancing while visiting Ethiopia.  I beg Justin to take me because I crave injera and shiro so I couldn't wait to take Megan for dinner one night.  Justin, Meg and I left the girls home with Eneye and drove the short distance to Yod for a grown-up dinner.  We stuffed ourselves with shiro and tibs and were amazed by the dancing.  It's truly spectacular and I don't think you can really get an understanding of the pride Ethiopians have in their culture until you see them dancing in all their finery.

Incense is burned with the coffee ceremony after a meal.  Popcorn is served

I bet you didn't think Ethiopia looked like this...

I've been around Ethiopian now; looking out over vistas or down into lush valleys and I never in a million years would have imagined that this country had such diverse landscapes and terrains.  Everything from lakes and valleys to bone dry plateaus.  It's an amazing place.

picnic with Ethiopian coffee

The girls gifted this little soccer ball as we left.  

We drove Megan to the Bethel Women's Center a few days after Christmas.  We've picnicked here a few times.  Last time we were here the girls had their first experience with a pottery wheel.  It was a gorgeous day to get out of Addis.  Megan and I packed a cooler complete with a beer for Justin and little pink water bottles full of whiskey sours for Megan and I (I ended up drinking both of them-I guess Meg isn't into afternoon cocktails).

The best part of the picnic was introducing Megan to a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony.  My sister is not a coffee drinker (which is absolutely nuts).  All the Ethiopian coffee in this country was kind of lost on her during her visit.  But I really wanted her to taste it and see the coffee ceremony.  She liked it and watching the beans roast and get crushed and then boiled added to the experience!

morbid curiosity: cemetery photos

There's something peaceful, even pretty about gravestones scattered over a hill next to a little church.  Every time we drive by this church on the side of the highway, I think about how I'd like to take a picture or two of the gravestones.  I've never asked my driver to stop for a number of reasons.  One being that I usually have one or two of the children with me in the car.  Making an extraneous stop, to lengthen a car ride with small children, is just a bad idea in Addis.  Traffic is horrendous on a good day.  I wasn't quite sure it was appropriate as a white woman to hop out of my car and walk into this graveyard to take photos.  I didn't  want to offend anyone.  My reservations kept me from stopping.

Nothing like having an accomplice to help rid one of reservations.  I pulled the trigger on my little morbid photo shoot one afternoon when Megan and I were the only ones Zalalem was chauffeuring around.  I tiptoed around the trash and animal (?) feces that littered the ground around the graves and found a good little hill to stand on a snap a few pictures.  I was on the receiving end of tons of strange looks from locals walking by.  All the children stopped to stare and ask for "one dollar" as they have been trained to say.

I stumbled over a very recently chewed on sinewy animal bone, snapped one more shot and ran back to the car.