In His Hands: Day Three (Part I)...

and it only gets better and better...

I slept much better last night, thanks to Ambien, ear plugs, eye cover and a sound machine, although I don't know how Christy (a light sleeper like me) maintains her sanity with the barking dogs. Actually, they don't bark, they make the indescribable sounds as if they are being eaten alive. Yay, it's that bad and it's all night!
This morning we had the treat of pancakes with peanut butter, syrup and bananas...Oh my, sooo good! Did I already mention that the fruits and vegetables taste SOOO much better in Ethiopia? I think they said it's because they are not re harvested, or who knows, but they are fresh and sweet and oh so good!!
The plan for today was to go to the Portuguese Bridge. It was about a two hour drive and we had another family (from Bingham) coming with us. After we picked up Malcolm and Becca and their PRECIOUS kiddos Emily and Noah (I believe they were from New Zeland) we hit the road. My favorite part was listening to Emily and Noah talk. Their accents are sooo cute!! Somehow all twelve of us fit in the van. Christy and the kids were troopers and took the bumpy back! I am so thankful for this trip as it really allowed us to see the beauty of Ethiopia! We saw the mountains, drove through several villages and saw many beautiful people along the way! As we left the city we saw the women carrying Eucalyptus leaves down the mountain. It was amazing the giant loads they were carrying. As we got farther away we saw many shepherd boys. Some of them looked very young, maybe 4-5 years old. We saw herds of cows, horses, sheep, goats everywhere. One of the funniest things we saw several places in Ethiopia were signs that said "well come" for welcome. It was funny that it was pretty common.
As we got closer we stopped at a lookout overlooking a beautiful valley. Several children from the nearby village came to us selling soapstone crosses and small woven baskets. It breaks your heart because you want to buy from every one of them!

Loved the see saws in Ethiopian colors on the Bingham compound...

gorgeous ms. Emily again...

disclaimer on this (and subsequent photos)...these were taken out the window of a moving van driving on bumpy roads :)

I wish I could know his/her story...

carvings out of the side of the mountain...

a load of eucalyptus being carried down the mountain...

I would never run out of interesting locations if I could do photography in Ethiopia (maybe some day!!!)

sifting the grain used to make injera...

many more grass roof huts the farther out from the city we drove...

beautiful shepherd boy...

not sure if this is some sort of religious building???

completely captivated by those gorgeous eyes...

I wonder what he's thinking?

the many sweet spirited children selling crosses and baskets...

a little boy Matt just loved...

When we got to the Portuguese bridge we hiked down, across the bridge carved out of a giant rock and took in some amazing views. There was even a cave like area in the side of the mountain where the baboon live. We hoped to see them, but they must have been staying away from us. After some time enjoying the views we hiked back up to the top and ate our picnic lunches. It was a beautiful day and soooo very relaxing, until the birds appeared. There were several large birds (hawks maybe) that swooped down to steal our food. I can't remember who was attacked, but the birds were amazingly fast and precise, stealing the food right out of hands and off of plates. We learned to stay under the eave of the hut and keep our eyes peeled! Too funny!!

what a view...

the Portuguese Bridge

the crew...

I LOVE the perspective all of the little people give this shot! :)

King of the mountain??

looking up towards the bridge...

Beautiful water...

catching minnows

he's got personality...

now that's the way to travel!!

Ahhhhh.refreshing!

duck!!! (no, not duck quack, duck and cover)

How cool is this basket...

After a relaxing and leisurely lunch (minus the dive bombing, of course) we headed home. We hadn't driven for long with the skies got dark and we were soon being pelted by hail and seeing lots of lightning. The sound in that van was pretty intense and my heart rate went up slightly. At one point the river was washing over the road. We made it through, but my guess is a few more minutes and the water would have been too high. I was worried about the shepherd boys out in the middle of the fields far away from shelter, but one of our guides later in the week told us he was a shepherd boy and that when it rains/hails the herd bundles up in a circle and the boys just lye underneath the animals legs. He said they don't get hurt, but just wait for the storm to pass. Amazing!!