Ethiopia: Driving to Lalibela

Posted July 16, 2013 by Rahul Aggarwal

Woke up early this morning as wanted to make most of the views from Gheralta Lodge before the drive to Lalibela. I climbed up to another nearby viewpoint and looked down at the village again. Most families keep livestock at home, so it was no surprise to hear the cacophony of sounds – roosters, cows and donkeys all going off at once is a sure way of waking up in the morning! Multi-coloured birds flitted in and out of view, and after clicking some more photos, I tucked into breakfast and then we left for Lalibela.

Drives in Ethiopia are never boring. Ethiopia is one of those countries where you see all facets of human life unfolding on the roadside, whether it be a vendor setting up his small shack selling tidbits for eating, a young child striking his goat with a stick to get it back in line, tired looking donkeys carrying heavy loads and farmers ploughing their fields with the help of oxen. The highlight had to be the camel train. A camel herder was leading about 15 camels all tied to one another, but struggling to get them to move as they were all munching on the leaves of nearby plants. My guide explained that the camels were carrying salt from the Danakil, one of the most inhospitable places on Earth, where temperatures top over 60 degrees celsius in the summer! I had toyed with the idea of visiting this place, and maybe we will set up the option of doing private trips there, as the site of the crater and the volcano spewing lava is supposedly an incredible sight.

We stopped for lunch at a nondescript restaurant (next time we’ll pack food from Gheralta!) and continued the journey on to Lalibela. I was travelling during the rainy season, and one thing that can be said is that they don’t get the monsoon rains one experiences in India. Here, the affair is far briefer but no less powerful. It was like a repeat of yesterday, the clouds unleashed another torrent of rain and again I could see local people huddling under sacks and makeshift shelters. Our driver was excellent and navigated the huge puddles that had formed. We eventually reached Lalibela in the dark. Incredibly my computer picked up a wifi signal, so I had to make the most of catching up on emails and gave the obligatory Facebook update. After dinner, I caught up on Euro 2012 football as Portugal were playing Spain, which was being beamed live on ETV. It was past midnight when Spain eventually clinched victory in a penalty shoot-out and I called it a night.

This blog is part of an Off-The-Beaten-Track Travel Diary. Click on the link below to navigate through this journey.