The Road from Kombolcha to Addis Ababa

April 21 - Hard for us to believe, but this is our last scheduled day on the road. So many incredible experiences and so many highlights. The drive today was similar to yesterday - up and down through numerous valleys and mountain passes.  

We left Kombolcha at 8:30am and only 30 minutes out of town when we encountered this formidable roadblock. The "ships of the desert" also showed they are "kings of the road". We'll post a video on Facebook. 

Another gorgeous day on the road. 

We stopped for this photo near Tamaber Pass...

And we were lucky to find a large group of geleta baboons lounging on the cliffs. 

Although difficult to see in this photo, there are about a dozen baboons on the ledge in the center. 

We stopped for lunch at a town called Debre Birhan, founded in 1456 by Emperor Zara Yaqob (Jacob). It translates as 'Mountain of Light'. Legend has it that a miraculous nocturnal light (most likely Halley's Comet) passed over when the Emperor was encamped in this area, prompting him to build a church on the spot and to use the site as his permanent capital until his death in 1468. Due to its high elevation, this area is known for quality woolen items - carpets, blankets, hats and clothing. 

Eva's Restaurant in Debre Birhan. 

It's 5:00pm and we are now back in Addis Ababa. We just checked in at The Adot Tina Hotel, our home away from home. The past 13 days on the road flew by, but now we can re-focus on completing the adoption process. We will bring our little Tigist (we plan to slightly modify her name to Haile Tigist Murphy when we get home) back to the hotel with us tomorrow. She will say goodbye to the orphanage, and the three of us will begin our new life together. We are so eager to bring her home!!!