We drove to Awassa yesterday after Seminary.  It took us about 3 hours and 10 minutes.  We were VERY surprised to see the HUGE difference in the scenery on the way during dry season, compared to what we saw when we went to Awassa at the end of September when it was still the rainy season.  It was SO GREEN and beautiful ALL the way there and this time it was VERY dry and brown and things looked COMPLETELY different!! : O  Here are some photos we took...

VERY young boys drive donkey carts down the highway ~
sometimes right in the middle of the lane!

We couldn't get over how DRY it was all the way to
Shashamene.  It was a little greener there and in Awassa.

Many donkey carts are REALLY loaded down!

These are very typical of the homes we see on the way to
Awassa.  They are called tukuls.

This shows the age of the kids who drive cattle, sheep and
goats across the highway!! It also shows how DUSTY it
is! It was REALLY dirty and dusty all the way.

We saw these haystacks, shaped like pyramids on the way down
just about 45 min. from Debre Zeyit but I missed getting a picture
so we got this on our way home.  They were SO cool!

Monkeys were all over in the trees! 
It was fun to watch them.

We stayed at the LEWI HOTEL AND RESORT in Awassa again and THIS time we had
monkeys around our car before we even got out! They were all over the place! When we
were eating breakfast INSIDE the round restaurant, the door was open and a monkey came
in, hopped up on the buffet table and stole a roll !  I got a picture of him when he came back
for more!

There were THREE monkeys right
by our car after we parked.

           

This shows how small they are.

This is the naughty one that stole a roll from the
breakfast buffet! 

They didn't seem afraid of us at all.

The naughty monkey is in the tree above my
shoulder...

Just after we had our picture taken, he jumped
on the railing by the door to the restaurant
to get seconds from the buffet!


Here are a few more photos from our trip to Awassa....

In Awassa (there they call it Hawassa) we saw these HUGE
birds in the tops of the trees all down the street coming from
the LEWI

We LOVE how they display their potatoes for sale along the road!

These hills are termite hills. There are MUCH bigger ones but
these were all I was able to get.

A little "market place" by the lake on the way home

There were LOTS of melons, potatoes, purple onions and tomatoes

The view from the balcony of our room!

Lake Awassa

LOTS of birds and ducks were around the lake.

We got a kick out of watching the catfish all
jump out of the water at the SAME time!

We stopped by a gift shop and this Christmas tree
caught my eye.  It was COVERED with ribbons
and bows!

After looking at photos online (mormon newsroom) of the NEW
Gilbert Temple last night.... These tiles in the LEWI Reception
Area reminded me a little of the design in the skylights, etc.... Ü

Our "fancy" bed covering

Our mosquito net (that we didn't use)....