Here we are in Lalibela
This is my first time writing a blog.
I am pretty excited.
So my name is Talia, and I am 19 years old, from the Israeli team.
So today is our eighth day of the trip. We got to Lalibela this morning, after a short flight, and a drive of 40 minutes.
The drive was stunning.
It was the sunrise and the morning glow that made the view that much more exciting.
The mountains were full with “lion king” trees-acacia and every once in a while we saw goats, cows, and people walking bare foot.
So far… I like Lalibela the most. The driver informed us that it is considered Ethiopia’s Jerusalem.
And when we said that we are from Israel the tour guide said that he is jealous.
He said that we are the chosen people, and can’t wait to visit Israel.
So… yes… we need to learn to appreciate what we have, and where we are from.
After the short drive we arrived to the stunning Tukul village hotel.
It was beautiful and crazy romantic.
Each room is a small hut with huge windows that face the sunrise and the view all facing the same direction.
I got to room with awesome Allie. After a short rest, we started the tour around Lalibela.
Our tour guide’s name was Shamble.
He showed us the churches and explained us the symbolism of each church. Lalibela has 11 churches that were built around the 16th century.
What makes them so special is that they are built into the ground from digging their way through the mountains.
The part that I liked the most was the tunnel from hell to paradise.
Shamble told us that it would be a better experience if we went through the tunnel in complete darkness.
And that’s what we did J
We started walking in. It was a five minute walk.
My eyes were wide open and I didn’t see a thing at the beginning, but after two minutes, I had a pretty scary experience.
I started seeing faces looking at me with mad expression. I was terrified, so I hugged the person in front of me and closed my eyes really really tight, until someone screamed: I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
So although it was a short walk, a lot happened in it.
When I came out Shaun asked me: how was it?
And I told him what I saw, and he said: I’m jealous.
- Talia M., January 9, 2012
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