Monday, January 23. On the road to Gondar.

After visiting with the baboon families, we headed back down the mountain towards Gondar. Along the way, we were able to experience the agricultural lifestyle of the northern Ethiopian farmers. We first stopped off at a veterinary clinic. While we were there, the doctor inoculated a lamb (I'll spare you that photo :-).


Then we came across the grain mill where the farmers bring their grain...they weigh their bags on the large scale in the foreground here...


...then they pay, and take it into this open air warehouse, where the grain is processed through a milling machine...


...then they save it for the family's personal use, or take it to the market for sale, right up the road...


Our guide indicated that this person was probably on their way to the medical clinic for treatment...


We later stopped by to watch the threshing process...


...the son showed us how the horses stomp around to make the grain, which falls to the bottom of the pile of wheat (we also saw cattle and oxen being used for this)...


....it will take this father and son one week to process this pile into grain...


...while the little sisters watch...


There was also plowing going on..


..as well as harvesting by hand (Jane H.--I'm sure you can even appreciate your huge machine even more now!)...


Outside of Gondar, we stopped at a Jewish settlement...


...there used to be about 30,000 black Ethiopian Jews in this area, who did not convert to Christianity, but maintained their commitment to Judaism. Many of them immigrated to Israel under an open immigration policy in 1991. The policy has now been tightened, so there are still about 7,800 Jews remaining in Ethiopia, all of whom would love to be able to go to what they consider their homeland, Israel. This building represents their synagogue...


There were many children hanging on to us as we visited their village. I met a young girl named Promise who was in sixth grade and wanted to be a doctor...she is able to attend school in Gondar and also hopes to go to university there. Gina, below, also hung onto me throughout our visit...their main purpose is to sell you things, so I bought the little gourd from her....ok...sucker!!! She gave me a huge hug and kiss when we left. So adorable!


More to come as we arrive in Gondar....

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Location:Gondar, Ethiopia