Ethiopia '15 Part 3 - More Trekking

​Watching the sunrise was surreal. The best part was listening to the day’s harvesting planning session, literally shouted from the mountain top. Getnet explained that the farmers were calling to each other to decide which farm would harvested on which day. Hearing the voices calling to and fro across the mountains was just beautiful.

​The day started out fairly flat (for Ethiopian standards) and then dropped down to a river crossing. This broke the cardinal rule of hiking, never ever lose altitude that must be gained again at a later stage………

​After a peaceful morning meander down to the river, we climbed again, with much huffing and puffing to an altitude of around 4 400m. Again, every step was worth the effort. There was so much to see and hear. The patterns and different shades of the terraced farms in various stages of the barley harvest, young cattle headers and shepherds, an ongoing bird chorus, constant long distance chatting between farmers and a truly enormous blue sky above.

The temperature dropped sharply as we got higher and by the time we reached the overnight stop I was wearing pretty much all the layers I had. Another lovely evening was spent making dinner in the tukul, pitch dark bar the fire, eyes streaming from the smoke, not understanding a work of what was being said but perfectly content.

We got an early start and had a beautiful walk across the plateau. The light was perfect. As we reached the edge of the plateau I saw an Ethiopian wolf. I must admit that I got so excited I forgot to take a photograph. It was the perfect sighting and is permanently stored on the shutter in my brain! We headed back to Lalibela the way we came. It was quite relaxing to know the route and just absorb the scenery. We met a young shepherdess on the way down. She was looking after her family’s sheep and goats. She was about 7 years old. She had been up on the mountain, on her own, for 3 days. She was heading down to see her family. Quite remarkable.​

Back in Lalibela I found the accomodation I had booked, Sora Lodge. It was an oasis. A nice clean room with a wonderful shower (no running water for 3 days makes this worth mentioning) and a restaurant with a wonderful view. A perfect place to sit and reflect on an incredible 3 days. 

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