Extra Days in Addis Ababa

Our hope is that we can let Hanna in on as much of the culture of Ethiopia as possible. To help facilitate that we (Joshua, Christy and Jerry) are going to travel to Ethiopia a couple of days early in order to take in a bit of the culture. So, on September 1st we'll fly from Dulles (Washington DC) to Addis Ababa. We'll have a 1 hour layover in Rome on the way through (we'll stay on the plane while they refuel). On the evening of September 2nd we'll arrive in Addis at about 8pm. We'll pass through customs, buy our visas and then change some money. Then we'll meet Aleyu who is picking us up at the airport to take us to a Baptist Guest House. There are a few upscale western style hotels in Addis Ababa including a Sheraton and Hilton, however we felt that to best experience the culture it would be better to stay in a guest house with Ethiopians and eat Ethiopian meals. Its a great guesthouse - check it out here

On September 3rd we'll get picked up early in the morning for a tour. We are hiring a driver, guide and range rover to drive us 200 km north to The Blue Nile Gorge - a canyon that is larger than the Grand Canyon. It is 1 mile wide and 1 mile deep. On the way we'll also be stopping at Debre Libanos - a 13th century Orthodox monastery.

That evening we'll return back to Addis. The next day we are hiring a driver to take us around Addis. We'll visit some of the historical sites as well as go to the Merkato - the largest market in Africa. That day we'll also be meeting with Woody - an Ethiopian Vineyard pastor who lives in Addis. Can't wait to meet him and share some time together.

The evening of the 4th we'll meet the rest of our travel group and move into a guest house that our agency runs in Addis Ababa. On Friday the 5th, we'll get to meet Hanna. Can't believe it!