Aug 4:  Sorry for the lack of posts, but internet access has not been readily available.  Below is a long post . . . covering Ethiopia, Uganda, and other matters.  Right now, we are in Arusha, Tanzania (at Buck Tilley's house).  Tomorrow, we depart for our 10 day safari.  We'll post about that later.  For now . . .

1) A tentative wedding plan is set.  Although we do not have an exact date yet, we are shooting for Capetown, SA -- in early October.  Since you would want to come for at least 2 weeks anyway, plan on coming in late September and staying through the 1st week of Oct.  Please email asap if you can come.  More details will follow.

2) Ethiopia:  We spent a little over 2 weeks traveling around Et.  Our route was:  Addis . . . same day fly to Bahir Dar (2 days) . . . bus to Gonder (2 days) . . . fly to Lalibela (3 days) . . . fly to Axum (2 days) . . . drive to Adigrat and then the next day to Mekele . . . fly to Addis . . . hole up in the Addis Sheraton for 5 days.

Et was . . . well, it really depends on who you ask.  Jenn now claims she actively disliked Et.  However, she also says she is glad she went and that she saw some very interesting things.  Personally, I don't think the girardia infection helped (she was laid up for a couple of days in Addis).  Moreover, I think Et was a rough intro to sub-saharan Africa.  On the whole, though, she is glad she went and she saw some incredible sites.  CHG will tell you that Et is, culturally and historically, one of (if not) the most fascinating places he has ever been.  The scenery was also fantastic -- a far cry from most people's ideas (myself included) about what Et would look like.  Far from being a barren desert, we saw big mountains (up to 3500 meters), fertile plains, huge valleys, and a lot of green countryside.  In fact, the N Highlands around which we traveled are the largest contiguous fertile area in Sub-Saharan Africa.  The scenery was, at times, awe-inspiring.  And those italians really know how to build roads through the mountains.

Culturally, Et is an amazing place.  Et is a sub-saharan african country, and yet it converted to christianity before Rome.  Since that time, in the 4th century, the church has dominated all aspects of life in Et -- amazing how much it dominates.  Moreover, the practices today are virtually unchanged since the 4th century.  Et is not coptic, but is the Et Orthodox Church.  Finally, the jewish influences are astounding (Ets believe the Ark of the Covenant is in Axum, and the role the Ark plays in their lives is significant).  I could go on for hours here, but I will not.

Highlights:  Bahir Dar -- Lake Tana (Africa's 2nd largest lake and the source of the Blue Nile) and its ancient, yet still operating monasteries; we spent the day on the lake, visiting some of these monasteries, with their reliquaries, manuscr ipts, and amazing medieval paintings; we also rode bikes through a village and saw hippos in the Nile.

Gonder -- 17th Century castles in the royal compound; better than most european castles; understand that, in sub-saharan Africa, these types of things simply do not exist.

Lalibela -- the rock hewn churches are, along with Angkor Wat, Macchu Pichu and the Pyramids, the most incredible sites I have ever seen.  How these 12th C churches were completed, no one can say for sure.  They are, literally, carved out of the turfa stone . . . and they are huge, I mean like cathedrals.  We also saw a mass -- these churches are not ruins.  I felt as though I was watching a scene out of the bible and that I had been transported back in time by about 2000 years.  Go to Lalibela.

Axum -- the ruins of one of the greatest, yet least known, ancient empires (1-7th C AD).  A good museum, tombs, and an unexplainable stele (obelisk) field.  I simply cannot understand why more people, historians included, do not know about this empire.

Axum - Adigrat - Mekele (2 days by car):  amazing mountains and incredible scenery, although a very rough ride.  We visited Yeha's moon temple (at 2500 BC, the oldest building in sub-sah African), Debre Damos Monastery (men only -- I had to be raised & later lowered 45 feet by a goat-skin rope), and several rock-hewn churches (not like Lalibela's monolithic structures, but small churches carved into the cliffs of N Tigray).

Addis:  we watched about 400 movies and countless hours of tv while Jenn convalesced, but at least we made it to the museum to see The Lucy.  That was truly fantastic (the Lucy, that is).

I could ramble on for hours about Et and its culture, people, history, etc.  I won't however, but I would be happy to talk more when we get home.

    & nbsp;