Dira Dawa (on our way to Harar)

After hours of driving...we made the decision to go to Dira Dawa first before heading to our final destination of Harar. It was 4am by the time we found a hotel...

 

Horse drawn carriage in the Muslim Quarter of Dira Dawa.. Love the colours...

 

Colourful baskets for sale...

Heading towards the market area...

Somali Sweets!! Leaving town..on our way to Harar   A woman with firewood walking on the start of a very high mountain road Mini van ~ the main mode of travel for Ethiopia between towns
Coca-Cola trucks are EVERYWHERE!! Random mountain top house...   Goats are also EVERYWHERE!! As are donkeys...    

After spending a few days in Dira Dawa, we made our way back up the mountain road towards Harar.

     

Our drive to Harar..

Last July we stayed in Ethiopia for the summer / rainy season...the highlight of this holiday was our drive to the walled city of Harar in East Ethiopia, near the Somaliland border.

Now, we were told it is 517kms from Addis Ababa...so we set out mid morning expecting it to take about 6-8hrs with stops.

17 hrs later, after sleeping in the car on the side of a mountain with hyenas howling nearby, we checked into our hotel, in Dira Dawa which is Oromo for "Place of Remedy"...which it was because by 4am we were done driving. We would see Harar in a few more days!

It was an amazing journey...

Happy travelers about to set off from home... The Acacia is an indigenous tree to Ethiopia Camels by the road... A green tukul The landscape kept on changing... The open road... What a legend...it was an insane drive especially once the sunset, rain beat down and lorry trucks started speeding by on the twisty mountain roads ~ but he dealt with it like a pro! My third son, Taliesin is the one who loves Ethiopia the most... put him next to a car window and he bliss-es out Coming into a small town... The town's Mosque Leaving twon behind a slow Bajaj ~ a three wheeler auto rickshaw 
Pitstop - Ethiopia style! Dancing on the car roof in the middle of 'Nowhere, Africa'...Why not??
Camel traffic...at one point the car was surrounded by camels on all sides ~ the kids loved it! Losing light as the sun goes down...    

Life in Ethiopia - Early Days Part # 1...

We moved to Ethiopia last January, 2013 to live and teach in Addis Ababa for 18 months. It has been an amazingly humble jounry on all levels: mentally, physically, emotionally, financially, and spiritually.  As we prepare to move on from this land and its story - I find myself reflecting on the adventures we have had as a family so far.

This collection of photos was from our first mini road trip north east of the city, our first taste of life outside of the crammed capital city. And as you can see - farm land was transformed into a football pitch by my three sons who were craving SPACE to run and play.