Though out of order I wanted to add this post in.. I wrote it and posted on the wrong blog.... yes I was clearly jet lagged. But since my blogging is not exactly consistent..figured I should keep them all in one place.. this was from July 29.

 Our first day in Ethiopia

We arrived in late last night after a long but smooth 24 hour travel day(s). Got to our hotel and attempted some sleep. We were not allowed to go to the Care Center today as it is Sunday. Our agency requests Sundays not be the first day we visit the center since the IAN in country staff who speaks English are not there. So.. knowing we had a day to be in Addis and not get to meet Y, we had plans to keep us busy. Our driver Ayele picked us up in the morning and we head out of the city. north/north west. We climbed around Mt Entoto through eucalyptus tree forests. Running down the side of the road are women and men with sticks chasing/herding donkeys who have what look to be bundles of wood on their backs. The other side of the mountain bring our eyes to miles and miles of beautiful green, lush fields and hills. What an amazingly gorgeous country it is here. This is not the Ethiopia that we in the rest of the world have historically seen on the news as we hear of drought and hunger consuming the country. Our driver tells us there are only small parts of the country where the weather is dry and harsh in this way. We drive on through a few towns along the way. Such a hard working population lives in the country side. The walking droves of people herding animals and carrying loads of sticks and bundles for sale. Children, men and women working in the fields and along the roads. It is Sunday so many are gathered in the towns talking, walking and lingering around the streets. 

After about 2 hours drive, we come to the gorge and the cloudy weather has sunk into the gorge where it is literally a wall of white. We head down into the gorge on a road with many pedestrians. Monks in their dress, women covered in scarves and people along the side of the roads. We pay birr to gain access into the monastery. A tour of the small museum there yields history of Ethiopia from chairs/thrones that Haile Salassie used to dozens of manuscripts, crosses and challis that have made their way here from history. Outside of the monastery there are women praying, with heads bowed to the ground. Men here for the holy waters and healing powers of the church and area. The history so rich here. We move into the monastery and witness the stained glass around the walls and up to the dome top. Services are ongoing here on Sundays although there is no service in the hour we are there touring the grounds. 

We make our way back up the road winding up to the brim and driving further along the gorge. We park a short way down a rough road to the Portuguese Bridge. Still the clouds cover the gorge and present an impossible wall of white barricading the view of the gorge. After paying a fee for the bridge we walk down a muddy, rocky path along the edge of the gorge. We pay again upon entrance and head towards the bridge. It is beautifully built over the muddy raging waters supposedly of ostrich egg shells and limestone. At the monastery however the monk told us that indeed these are not ostrich egg shells but chicken. Ostriches must constantly care for the egg they are to hatch- day and night by father and mother. This he says is like God who watches over us day and night. However, our guide down the path to the bridge goes out of his way to even pick up a piece from the ground that he claims is ostrich. We continue on the path and see up on the hill the baboons. A large male with red chest seems to be head of the pack, which includes babies on their mother's backs. We walk to the edge of the gorge and are given a piece of the cloud clearing to a view spectacular across the gorge. It then moves up as the clouds get heated and raise up the river showing us the three waterfalls that we have walked along. Baboons across the river up against the side find their home in a cave accessed through a crevass along the cliff. The clouds open up to give us these gifts of beauty as we see parts of this beautiful area. Still were never given the full view of the gorge. I can only imagine the immense beauty that must rest below those clouds. Another trip will have to reveal this. 

We drive back along the country road again witness the hard work of the people here. Oroyomo (need to check spelling) people here do not speak Amharic much according to our driver so are limited to communicate with the people of their towns a bit more than in Addis. 

Coming back around Entoto we get a view of the city, sun shining down onto the city areas. We return to the hotel after lunch at Island Breeze with Ayele. The clouds finally succumb to their weight and it has been pouring here for an hour or so with glimpses of a lighter sky only starting now to return. We are exhausted and my eyes closed for a bit...could no longer hold my lids open. 

The excitement and anticipation for tomorrow is almost overwhelming. At 8:30 tomorrow morning we will get a ride over to the IAN Care Center to meet our son for the first time. Hopefully this evening will bring some sleep before the sun rises on a very important day!