In March 2011, my husband and I embarked on an adventure we will surely not forget anytime soon. Our destination – Ethiopia. We met up with 9 wonderful people and volunteered with Habitat for Humanity for 2 weeks in a city of Kombolcha. We met very wonderful people and had a simply amazing time. After returning to Addis we (Harv, myself and Ravi, a friend from our HFH team) went on a seven day Northern Historical tour, which was so well planned by Abeba Tours. Ethiopian Airlines does a great job getting us to our destinations. Our first stop was Bahir Dar, where we went on a boat ride on Lake Tana and visited a monastery, men only so I bought some bananas from the monks and shared them with another lady and had a chat by the lake. Then off to the Blue Nile Falls, the road was a bit to be desired but the hike and the falls were well worth the ride getting there.

The next day off to Gondar, we absolutely love this town. We could see the castle from our hotel patio. The castle is simply amazing and our tour guide was so engaging, what a wonderful young man. We also visited a church in Gondar. Then we took a day trip up the Simien Mountains, the view is spectacular, the baboons, friendly but keep their distance.

Then off to Axum, took in the historical sites, the stellae’s, the churches, met up with a caravan of camels on the way to a market, and explored the local restaurants.

Our last stop on the tour was Lalibela, where we stayed 2 nights. We visited the rock-hewn churches. We have been to Petra in Jordan, which are very impressive, however these churches are even more of an architectural display. It is so amazing how these are as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside. We also took a drive the next day to visit a church built in a cave.

Then back to Addis where we were greeted by an Abeba Tours driver who was so amazing, he took us around Addis and did some shopping with us. All I can say is I would highly recommend Abeba Tours to anyone who asks. The guides are very knowledgeable, the hotels where new and comfortable and most of all, they took care of every detail of our tour.