Odds and Ends

In this, my second last post about our trip to Ethiopia, I wanted simply to highlight a few of the things that captured our interest, beyond what I have already written about.

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There was much construction going on throughout Addis, and all of it featured this precarious-looking scaffolding...apparently quite strong.  Though I initially thought that the wood being used was bamboo, I learned part way through our trip that the wood is actually eucalyptus, which is significantly stronger than bamboo.

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Not the greatest picture, but it highlights the endless dirt roads that lead into small communities packed full of ramshackle homes:

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Our driver, Marcos, with his 30+ year old car, for which he paid over $3,000.  The car was in terrible shape: it had to be hot-wired to start; the seats were caving in on each other for a not-terribly-comfortable ride; it had a hard time making it up even the slightest of inclines; and several times during our day trips it conked out all together...at which points, Marcos would cheerfully and confidently hop out, push the car to the side of the road and go tinker under the hood for a few minutes!  But we wouldn't have traded our experience with Marcos for anything; he was a highlight of our trip.

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Geoff and me, at the Safari Lodge in Adama, where we stopped for lunch (along with the couple we were traveling with) after meeting our children at the orphanage:

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Such a typical scene: markets and homes, row after row of them.

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One of my favourite pictures:

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Everywhere...people, and little shops:

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Another of my favourites:

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This is about all I saw of Geoff the two days he was sick...he was either here or in the bathroom!

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Matthew after we arrived home...modelling the traditional outfit we brought back for him.