and run myself ragged with a have-to-
do list.
The next big push was in the direc-
tion of Lalibela for the very unique
rock-hewn monolithic churches. It
is considered one of the holiest cities
in the country, second only to Axum
where the Ark of the Covenant is pro-
tected, in secrecy, in the Church of
Our Lady Mary of Zion. The popula-
tion of Lalibela has a strong history of
Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity and
adopted Christianity in the 4th Centu-
ry. Having paper maps in hand as well
as GPS, we left a nearby city for a 100
kilometre ride, mixed paved road and
some dirt, to the famed city. Little did
we know that the 100 kilometre ride
would take us more than 15 hours in
the saddle and create a situation that I
never like – riding in the dark for sev-
eral hours.
As we entered the Highlands, the
scenery was spectacular, and the
roads abandoned of any cars, motor-
cycles, or trucks. This should have
been a clue – but there were actual
signs that pointed in the direction
of Lalibela. The road narrowed, the
rocks turned into boulders the size of
basketballs at times, but we pressed
on. About 12 hours into the journey,
we crested the summit and dropped
into a small village where people from
TRAVERSE 65
all around were there to greet us – like
Olympians mounting the winner’s
podium for the gold medal – we cer-
tainly felt we had earned it after the
very challenging two-up ride through
the roughest terrain I had ever taken
my motorcycle. The last part was rid-
den with no moonlight to guide us, no
street lights, a dirt path, no signs, no
people, and no more villages ahead.
The dead of night awaited us as we en-
tered Lalibela around midnight – very
happy indeed to make it finally to our
bed for the night.
The worry of the safety of the mo-
torcycle was a real concern as I need-
ed to be cautious on where I parked