Lalibela

We arrived in Lalibela and immediately we headed for the rock hewn churches. We saw the first group the first day, which included 4 of the churches. They were a little disappointing because they were surrounded by scaffolding, but the insides were amazing. The next day we took another incredibly uncomfortable landcruiser ride outside the city to two more churches. The first was not rock hewn, but was a built-up church inside a cave. I can't remember the name, but it meant "The Savior of the World". The back of the cave was a place that monks go to die, and I was about 3 feet from a couple of human skulls. It was a little creepy, but not as bad as the next day when we saw a dead nun that still had some skin on her bones. That meant she was very pure of heart supposedly, seeing as she had been dead a long time. The second church of the day was rock hewn church known as Bilbala Giorghis. It was infested with Sacred Bees which proceeded to sting Lauren on the face, meaning she was blessed. Or in pain, same thing basically. The final day we saw the rest of the rock-hewn churches including Beta Giorghis, the famous one you can find pictures of if you google Lalibela. It was even more spectacular in person. We also walked up a skinny stone path that was representative of reaching heaven, so pretty much I am set. Right before hand we fumbled through a cave that is known as purgatory and was pitch black. I thought I was going to hit my head the whole time. Lalibela was a very chilly town, in the mountains with great views. My Tilley hat has been getting a lot of use, and I haven't been sunburned since the one day we played soccer a long time ago. Also, I shaved my beard off about an hour ago for anyone who cares.