After fond farewells to Christos we braced ourselves for some independent travel. Walking the streets of Woldia at dawn we blindly searched for the bus station. We had been told you can walk there…”it’s just down the road,” they said. But if there’s one thing we’ve learnt, it’s don’t trust an Ethiopian for directions. 

Eventually we got into a tuk-tuk which took us to the right place for the equivalent of 12 cents. Not so expensive really. We were immediately collected by a shady looking character who directed us towards a bus that was definitely not destined for Lalibela. Fortunately another guy approached us and took us to the right bus, pointing at the sign in Amharic saying “Lalibela, Lalibela.” We ogled at the foreign writing, asked a fellow passenger and decided to trust.

Luggage is somewhat of a challenge on these journeys. Our packs were thrown onto the roof of the minibus and secured by a single rope. The Ethiopians were very amused to see the faranji (Jason) clamber onto the roof to attempt a more secure arrangement. The bus boy made fast friends with Jason after that and gave him his Tigraian necklace, on the proviso that he email. He looked hopefully in my direction, but there’s something about handing out my contacts to strange African men that doesn’t quite sit right with me…

The tour of the countryside and villages you get with road travel in most cases balances out the hassles along the way. All manner of people get on and off the bus, crammed into seats and thrown out again before a police check. In one village there were so many bags of wheat loaded onto the vehicle that you could almost feel what was left of the suspension sag under the extra weight. After about 200kg had been hauled up top, another passenger began to protest. That was the end of the wheat and the start of a much slower journey.

Our breakfast break was in the village of Dilb where we enjoyed a cup of Ethiopian coffee as we watched the villagers walk by to the market. Donkeys, cattle, sheep, goats, hay, wheat, vegetables…women and babies, children and men, the old the young, the fit and the lame. Ethiopia has got to be the only country where you can enjoy 100% arabica coffee, prepared traditionally on the side of the road, whilst watching the local market walk by. I love it!

So that brings us to Lalibela…