Axum

The next day, our driver retrieved the car. We left that little village sometime after lunch. The paved road proved to be quite a contrast to the roads we had experienced up to now. We made good time to Axum. Or what we thought was Axum...

The next morning, we dismissed our driver and went outside for the quick walk to the principal site of Axum, the stone monoliths. We asked at the hotel reception. "You go this way" they said. We started to walk. "No no no! Very far" they yelled after us. Turns out we didn't quite make it to Axum as we had thought. Indeed, we were about an hour away still. We waited for the bus.

The stellas of Axum are amazing 70ft tall monolithic stones. They have carvings on them and seem to reach into the heavens. After a brief camel ride, we had plenty of time to enjoy the sites and drink in the huge pieces of stone.

Our stay in Ethiopia was complete. I could, if I could stomach the horrors of reliving the experience, give you a brief glimpse into the 14 hours it took to clear customs into neighboring Eritrea, but I'm afraid I've tried to block it out of my mind. Perhaps sometime over a few beers...