Kodak moments

Years ago I used to have a great camera with all the cool lenses and attachments and I would lug it around when I thought I might see something worth shooting.  Then along came digital cameras and lots of traveling, and now I say the best camera is the one that fits in my purse.  I carry it everywhere because the day to day sights are still some of the most captivating scenes for me.

Here are some of this week's Kodak moments...

Horse and chariots are common ways to get around Mek'ele

The robes...the staffs...the beautifully chiseled faces....

Roger's truck at the warehouse

December 2nd was our 33rd anniversary.   

Ahh...so young!

We laughed that there is no chance on earth that when we got married --- 33 years later we would be having dinner in Ethiopia!

To celebrate, we went to the 100 year old Abreha Castle that overlooks Mek'ele, and is now a government run hotel. 

We thought the dining room could have looked more "castle-like", but we had a great evening

When we walked in the door, we saw a gentleman that works at another restaurant in town, and while he served us our dinner, he shared that he works two jobs (for $150 a month) to support his 4 children.  Two of the children go to private school which costs about $25 for each child but amounts to 1/3 of his monthly salary.  It was humbling to see that the bottle of wine we enjoyed would have paid a month's tuition.

Number of years since we met - 36

Number of years we’ve been married - 33

Number of countries we’ve traveled to - 19

Number of children - 1 son who has made us so proud and 1 daughter-in-law who is loved like a daughter

Number of rocking chair stories and adventures - countless

So many friends think that I'm crazy to follow Roger to some of these wacky places.  All I can say is he is worth following and we get each other through the days where we want to pack it all in and go home.

Here's to another 33 years.

Going to the market inevitably gives me more blog worthy photos.

Gebrai (left) picks out the best mandarin oranges from the young man with the barrel on a street corner

I never get tired of seeing camels and I probably resemble tourists gawking at beers and elk in Banff.  We stopped to take some photos, and little school kids (they were all wearing the same colored uniform which designates schools) ran up to the bajaj and wanted to shake my hand.

Check out the way the camels are tethered together --- chin to tail.  Can you imagine traveling 200 kms  like this?  No wonder camels are known to be cantankerous.

Roger and I tried out a new restaurant, the Hilltop Hotel, which has a great view of the city. 

A view of Mek'ele from the Hilltop Hotel

Since I've butchered a few languages myself, I am both grateful and empathetic to restaurants that translate their menus....but  #5 on the menu caught our eye....

Roger flew to Djibouti this week in the hopes to be able to re-enter Ethiopia on a business visa.  As usual, there was a mix up, but he got to see another country and as it turns out, he spent a day at a beautiful resort eating fabulous food.  I wasn't jealous.  Really.

Djibouti is famous for its beautiful beaches and proximity to whale sharks

Roger said the city of Djibouti consists of tin shack houses and some beautiful hotels like this that charge $400+ a night

We hope to come here for a long weekend so we can swim with the whale sharks

Roger is spending the week visiting the 2 projects that are underway.  One is in Shire to the north, and the other is in the Danakil Desert.  I hope he has his camera ready to capture his Kodak moments.

“If you see something that moves you, and then snap it, you keep a moment.” – Linda McCartney