The urgent need to pee woke me at 5:30 a.m. I swung my legs over the side of my bamboo cot and gingerly tested my right ankle, which I’d twisted the previous day on a loose rock. It was much better, but I wasn’t taking any chances in the rock-strewn landscape. Carefully, I picked my … Read more
I LOVE Ethiopian cuisine. I was first introduced to it 12 years ago, in Tanzania. I took one bite of Injera, the spongy, sourdough flatbread that Ethiopians use to scoop up everything on their plate, and was immediately hooked. Not only is Injera delicious, it’s made with fermented teff flour, which is milled from a … Read more
Imagine being a slave in Ethiopia during the 12th and 13th century reign of King Lalibela. Now imagine being handed a chisel, hammer, and an axe, and told to carve a three-story high church out of solid rock. Inconceivable, certainly. But when you consider that the King actually completed construction of the 11 magnificent rock-hewn … Read more
A fat bumble bee lumbered across the stern of our boat. He circled a few times before realizing the yellow rope and orange life preserver weren’t flowers, then turned and headed back to the island where we were anchored. A black and white Kingfisher crossed his path, gliding impossibly close to the blue-green water of … Read more
I looked up from my yogurt and fresh fruit just as a wonderfully strange bird landed on the low wall around the rooftop of Beit Sabee Guest House. The Hoopoe is a fairly common bird in Egypt, but I’d never seen anything like it. His red-crested head swept backward to a perfect point, while his … Read more
