Journey's End

We woke up bright and early yesterday, excited and ready for our four hour drive to Gonder. But as we discovered, Ethiopia is always full of surprises! The tour company we worked with sent a guide to explain that rebel forces had surrounded our city and the military had sealed off all roads in and out of Bahir Dar. As a result, they arranged for us to fly back to Addis Ababa late that afternoon. This was no overly-cautious response: our hotel was infested with soldiers wielding machine guns, a sight repeated throughout the town and especially at the airport where pandemonium reigned. After battling jostling crowds, and frustrated by a lack of departure signs or announcements and lengthy flight delays, we finally made it back to the safety of Addis Ababa where we are now cooling our heels in the Sheraton.

We are so sorry we didn't make it to Lalibela, but we are also realistic about the dangers of travel under these circumstances. And so we conclude our fantastic trip to Africa tonight by flying to Frankfurt and then on to San Francisco, arriving Saturday night some two days early. All in all, a very exciting adventure despite a few white knuckle moments!

Betty Knudsen, our 99 year old friend who still makes trips overseas, always says "Travel as much as you can for as long as you can" which fits neatly under the umbrella of novelist Henry James' advice: "Live life to the fullest; it is a mistake not to."

Thanks for sticking with us to the end, and we hope everyone enjoyed reading about our journey. In the meantime, safe travels wherever your road leads!

Tom and KevinLeia mais