Day 4 - Lalibela... The good, the bad, and the ugly

Well, all good things must eventually come to an end... I knew we were flirting with disaster bringing the kids on a tour like this, and today, we pushed them over the edge.  But first let me back up a bit...

We had to wake early again this morning to eat our breakfast before our flight from Gonder to Lalibela.  The kids always hate being woken early, and it gets worse with each progressive day.  We ate breakfast, said farewell to Seyoum, the hotel owner and tour operator, and our guide Werku and our driver took us to the airport.

On the way, Faith asked if Werku was coming with us to Lalibela.  When we said he was not, she burst into tears!  “We just got to know him and now we have to say good-bye FOREVER!!!”  She was genuinely sad, and it should have been our first clue that the day was hanging on by a thread.

We arrived at the airport a little late due to traffic, and there was only one attendant working the check-in counter.  We were in a long line, and I was starting to worry we would not make our flight.  Finally, a man came and asked if anyone in line was going to Lalibela, and Dave told him we were, so he skipped us to the front of the line.  We rushed to the gate and only waited 5 minutes before boarding.

There were some people already on the plane when we boarded, and for the first time, we did not have seats assigned all together.  The kids sat together, and Dave and I each sat with a stranger.  Thankfully, the kids did really well on the flight.  It was only 25 minutes, which certainly helped!

When we got to Lalibela, the luggage carousel wasn’t working and so we had to collect our luggage off the cart on the tarmac.  It was remarkably efficient.  The driver from the hotel was waiting for us, and we rode the 25 minutes to the hotel with an  Ethiopian-American family from Portland, Oregon.  Their children are also 6 and 8, and the mother’s cousin runs the hotel.  So we have seen a lot of these children since we have arrived.  The owner has suggested that tomorrow we have a USA vs. Canada soccer match!

We got to the hotel around 10 am, and the manager told us our guide was ready to go anytime, but he suggested we rest and go after lunch at 2pm when the churches opened after lunch.  We thought that sounded like a good plan, so we watched a movie on the laptop and then ate at the hotel restaurant.  The food was not very good, and I think everyone left a little hungry. We had another 45 minutes in the room before it was time to go.  I have a bad cold, and my stomach was a bit upset, so I thought maybe I’d be bailing at the last minute.  But we decided to head out for a few hours, knowing we could come back if we needed.

At 2, we met our guide, and began the walk to the first set of churches.  It was a bit of a walk, mostly uphill, and  I should have known the day was not going to go well when the kids were complaining of being “done” within 10 minutes.  We walked on, and stopped first at the church museum.  It was quite small, basically just one room with some artifacts in it.  The guide from the hotel sent us in with a museum guide.  He told us a bit about each artifact as we walked fairly quickly around the room.  Faith started to fuss that she “didn’t have time to look” so we slowed down.  She always wants to know what each and every item is, in great detail.  For instance, in the case with the priests’ robes, she wants to know who wore each one, how old it is, what kind of material it is made from, etc.  This is complicated by the fact she has a hard time understanding new accents, and while the guide spoke excellent English, he did have quite a strong accent.  So I had to act as “interpreter” and retell everything to her.  She started to have a meltdown at one point, so we removed her from the museum.  She cried and cried that “this is her one chance to see these things!” so we gave her a second chance.  With a lot of very careful management, we made it through the museum.

I thought things would improve once we were viewing the actual churches. Not so much.  On the one hand, you have Thomas, who couldn’t care less and just wants to rush through.  On the other hand, you have Faith who is melting down because “she doesn’t understand” and “she still has more questions” and it is “not how she expected”.  Oy.  I am seldom embarrassed by my children, but I was today.  And yet, I knew that was hardly fair, as we have pushed them beyond their capabilities in terms of over-stimulating days “out” in a row. 

We eventually ended the tour early, as it was obviously past their abilities to participate in a way that was considerate of other visitors (not to mention worshippers).  Of course, the drama didn’t end then, because Faith was in genuine distress that she had not yet seen, and perhaps now will never see, the third small chapel at that site.  When we got back to the hotel, she just cried and cried.  I felt so bad for her, frustrated for us, and just plain tired.

And then, on top of everything, at the end of an absolutely exhausting day, we had to take them out to eat.  Again.  I am embarrassed to admit we let them have fries, bread, and pop for supper.  I just didn’t have it in me to try to get them to eat something “strange”.  Honestly, I barely touched my own food.  I don’t know what they feed the chickens here, but it doesn’t do much for the texture of the meat!

People, we could use your prayers.  I am tired and sick and run down.  We have one more day here in Lalibela, and then we fly back to Addis.  I wish we could relax when we get there, but we have visits with Bereket, a trip to Adama, and a visit with our compassion child all schedule between now and Monday.  And on Tuesday, we will take Bereket from the orphanage to join us permanently.  Which I’m super excited about, but also expecting to be a lot of work.

It’s not all bad... The hotel here is lovely and the weather has been excellent.  We dropped off our laundry to be washed when we arrived and we now have clothes to wear that are clean, and mostly dry.  We are together, and get to visit some amazing places and people and are making a ton of memories. Mostly good ones. ;)