A different world

Hey everyone. We have been in Ethiopia for two and a half weeks but it seems like much longer. Connectivity (even in the capital city) is terrible, so its unlikely we will be able to post pictures for a little while yet. In the past two weeks we have seen things that make India seem orderly, Mongolia seem clean and Bolivia seem rich. The Ethiopian countryside is completely undeveloped. When you step off the road, its like stepping back in time. Herders on distant hillsides with goats, villagers wearing homemade clothing and no signs of electricity or modernity. For us, Ethiopia has been an experience of highs and lows. It is at once inspiring and tragic. In lieu of pictures, here is a short glimpse into our time here:

• We have been surrounded by child/adult beggars asking for Birr ($), food pens more times than we want to remember


• In the mts, we were surrounded by "Bleeding Heart" Baboons, an alpha male stopping only a few yards away to groom himself (we will post a vid of this) while dozens of others ran by playing, fighting and doing what baboons do


• We arrived in a village one afternoon after 9 hours and 4000 ft of hot ascent/descent in the Simien Mts to a trickling stream as our only water source. The water ran through a dry creek full of livestock. Just downstream a man was peeing in the water. This went down as one of the most difficult moments of the trip for us.


• Walking home to our hotel one night, men were slaughtering cattle for a huge wedding celebration. Steer, or at least pieces of them, were strewn all over the dusty alley. You can all imagine what Kori did when she realized what was going on (we will not post a vid of this...but we have one..).


• We were invited to the wedding 2 days later. The wedding was really amazing, a top event of the trip for me...dancing, singing, thousands of people and lots of food. We quickly learned the fate of the cattle upon entering the tent where all eleven of them hung splayed out on hooks and pieces of raw meat were being served in traditional Ethiopian fashion. Kori did her best to not to faint and I did my best to not think about what I was eating when I sampled the "kitfo". (of course we will post pictures and video of this)


• To get out of a national park, we rode with locals in the bed of a dump truck. This was the dirtiest we have been on the trip by far. During the ride as we were get thrown around (harmlessly) among villagers, chickens and the occasion baby handoff, a few guys asked to have their portraits taken amid the chaos. I've riden on tamer roller coasters, but we did our best. (video and pictures on the way)


• We have passed many people who have been mutilated for the purpose of begging. One man's leg was broken at his ankle and his foot was being dragged behind him hanging on by only skin and tendon.

We will do our best to post with pictures soon. Before Ethiopia we spent a too-short half day in Istanbul (outstanding city) and a too-long half day in Cairo on layovers. We are going back to Istanbul so these pics can wait and as for the pyramids of Egypt...they are just like the movies, "Ramses, Let My People Go!".

This is the most challenging time of the trip for us. We appreciate the emails and encouragement. Although we are not at work, this is very far from a vacation. Thanks for keeping in touch.

More soon...