Hi again everyone....to continue...still in Axum and after our visit to what is believed to be the Q of Sheba's Palace Alan took us to his friends house....not your normal house in Axum but still not what we would live in in NZ..his friend works for an oil company so he and his wife rent this whole compound ...they have a 1 year old daughter and she was so cute...she knew how to use the cell phone...whilst on cell phones...they live on them here in Ethiopia..they may not have a roof over their head but they have a cell phone....our 1st day out I had to ask Alan to ask the driver to turn his off as it rang constantly! And so the point of going to Alan's friend's house was to experience a coffee ceremony...the wife 1st roasted the beans in a little pan over a charcoal fire she brought into the lounge room and then she pounded the roasted beans by hand an then boiled a pottery urn over the fire with the ground beans, once boiled she took it off the fire an let it sit and finally she poured the coffee and she served us with popcorn can you believe and she lit frank incense...they burn it everywhere here...you have to have 3 cups, just little ones than goodness but we went through this process 3 times but it was delicious coffee...and so to a rest. for dinner....Saturday morning the fun began as we had a flight to Lalibela....Sat. is market day so the drive to the airport was interesting as women were carrying their chooks to market and all sorts of things..people walking everywhere...doesn't matter where you go in Ethiopia there are people walking...we would love to know how far they walk in a life time....life expectancy here was 45 but they tell us it is now 65....the women work so hard...some of the loads they carry are mind blowing!  But back to or trip to the airport...Michael didn't know how he would  make the flight as he had bad diarrhoa but the fun really began at the airport..you show your passport just to drive into the airport and then as you step in the door it is shoes off,even my plastic watch and all baggage goes through a screen...then you move on and take your shoes of  and do it all again in case someone has bribed someone at the 1st security but here there was an over zealous security woman and she poked my boob..I am wearing my bean bag boob..well it was all on..there were about 12 security people yelling, no one was in charge, Michael yelled out "Heh" and they all went silent...he said to have me walk through the screen again but that wouldn't do and so they said they wouldn't let me on the plane...I had to take my bra off and let them xray it which of course showed nothing so again Michael gave a big yell "Yeah"...one of the top brass came to apologise and wanted to shake my hand and  then Michel's but we refused needless to say all this got fed back to the head office of the company we are travelling with and they phoned Lalibela airport to say this was no to happen to me there..so all in all we had an exciting morning but we made it to Lalibela which was always the place I most wanted to see here and where every tourist goes to...what a shock this place was...no infrastructure whatsoever...you cold hardly call the roads roads and so one again we got tossed around in another old van and taken to our hotel...on top of a mountain and what a view we had...we had 2 nights here which was marvellous..and so that afternoon we went viewing the earthly Jerusalem...all these churches carved out of rock from the top down...all built by King Lalibela in the 12th century.....certainly not a place to explore for little old ladies...they don't go in for an easy entrance..rock steps of all shapes and sizes....it was very interesting ...Unesco designated this a world heritage site in 1978 and the are supposedly building a new road in Lalibela..It sure needs something here....Sunday morning we set out at 7.30 am for our big climb to the church at 3,000 metres...feeling sick, both of us (we think it is the malaria pills that are making us sick)..we got half way up but then called for transport and went up a road then it was about another 20 minute walk at the end of the road.....Michael came part of the way but then went back..I was determined to get there but it was a challenging entrance...up the rocks...I was on my bottom some of the time but  made  it....Alan has been good with Michael's camera so he took pics of the place and my backside!!....took the transport down as we both felt awful..so hot and the flies were terrible...they kept hassling us to take a mule but we were glad we walked what we did..in the afternoon Alan took me to heavenly Jerusalem..the 2nd lot of churches built by King Lalibela...Michael rested but again Alan took some great photos but he really challenged me as to get to some of these places you really had to climb a rock face.....they certainly haven't made it easy for the tourists to explore....that evening we went to a rest. on top of the mountain and the architecture was incredible, run by a Scottish lady, Susan, who came and had a chat with us....she employs local youth...she went there to teach but ended up doing this rest. with a business partner....we watched the sunset as we ate an then she lit a pit fire and we sat there looking at the flames and the mountains...truly and awesome spot...and so Monday morning we flew back to AA sorry to leave our great Mountain View Lodge...back to the rubble of AA...the company we are ravelling with took us out to a buffet dinner and cultural show in the evening as a 'sorry' for all he muck ups when we arrived....we had a great drive to the rest and changed our opinion of AA a bit...lovely shops and some great houses in one street, we think they must have their own oil well...however all the big chiefs from the company came to dinner so a few corrections...80 million people and a GDP of 11% per annum....# 1 in livestock numbers in Africa and 10th in the world....they said 20 years ago the hotels we stayed in weren't there and the roads weren't there....1991 they had 2 universities and now they have 34.....plus private universities....they were interesting facts but we are still miffed when we look at the basket case Ethiopia still is today...they say they are the fastest growing nation in Africa...they drive on the RH side of the road and petrol is 90 cents a litre...the girls are beautiful, the ones that are not labouring in the fields...already there seems to be a lot with and a bigger lot without...back to Lalibela...it was very barren and desert like as it has been in habited for 3,000 years and the deforestation has been horrific and so here they have to live off tourism...they are planting lots of gum trees as they are quick growing....they use lots of wood for their fires and to build houses...no thatched roofs here...all corrugated iron as the grass they use for the thatching is in such short supply now it is too expensive....when we set out on our trek on Sunday morning there was a run on for women,all about empowering women..encouraging more to get an education...they all had white T Shirts and they must have made one size only and these skinny bodies in these big shirts but all this white coming running down the road was incredible...Michael got a great shot and it was great to witness such an event...Back in AA we would liked to have gone to the museum to see 'Lucy' that was found in the great rift valley in the south in 1974.....I remember reading about it...the GRV is 144 metres below sea level...I would like to have gone to the south but time time....they say that Lucy is 3.2 million years old and she is the transition from chimpanzees to homosapians (us)...I guess she would just look like any other mummy we've seen!! We went to Emperor Haileselassie's Palace but it is all locked up with a guard at the gate with a gun....he was killed in 1974 by the communists but all sorts of stories as there never was a body and then the government was formed in 1991 with the church and communism overthrown.....now the church and the government are separate.....the 1st PM was Ethiopian Orthodox and he died a couple of years ago and the PM now is a Protestant which many folk don't like but apparently they are warming to him...regarding vehicles here they are all beaten up things with a few 4 wheel drives and there are tuk tuks everywhere except in AA.....so much one could say about Ethiopia...we have had some good memories but we would not come back here.... today Tuesday we have flown from AA to Kilgali...been another whole day wasted as we flew to Entebbe in Uganda...sat on the tarmac for an hour and then flew on to Kilgali in Rewanda and what a contrast to Ethiopia...Michael and I can't believe it...the genocide finished in 1974 here so they have had 20 years too to build a country and Kilgali has blown us away...all very orderly at the airport...professional people to meet us and a decent vehicle to ride in (Land Rover) tree lined streets and mowed grass and lovely paved highways....11 million here with 1 and 1/2 million in Kilgali...70% Catholic 7% Muslim and the rest protestants etc...free education but they pay to go to university..their currency is Rewanda francs about 700 to US1$ but US dollars and Euros commonly used here....flying into Entebbe we couldn't believe how it could have been a suburb in Sydney with the red roofs and the same in Kilgali...our hotel here in Kilgali is 5 star...unbelievable...in Ethiopia we were always trying to get a towel, toilet paper, hot water and one hotel we got to didn't even have power...incredible what one country can do in 20 years whilst another is still struggling 20 years later...early start tomorrow ...4.30 am to see the gorillas....M & F