A little voice woke me at 6:20: "Mommy, can we go swimming?"
Well, sleep had been good while it lasted. "Sure. Let's get our swimsuits on and you can go see if Laolao and Laoye are up – but if they're not DON'T WAKE THEM."
Laoye was not inclined to go for another swim, so the ladies headed off. The morning air was crisp, here up in the hills, and we were glad of our jackets. At the poolside, we quickly stripped off our outerwear and slipped into the lovely warm water. The pools had filled more overnight (or had not yet partially emptied from a day's worth of swimmers) so the mid-dept grownup pool was too deep to be comfortable for me. (I can swim, but wanted to sit or even stand and relax, not swim and overheat.) Even at that early hour a fair number of swimmers were out enjoying a relaxing start to the day – including our guide, Paulos, who hadn't joined us the previous afternoon.
Breakfast was at 8:00, then we again climbed into the van and began the final leg of our journey, back to Addis Ababa. On the smooth highway surface, the miles passed more quickly and easily. We stopped for lunch around noon, and shortly thereafter rejoined the major east-west highway. To my surprise, we stopped again for tea at around 2:30, at the town of Debre Zeit (which means Mount of Olives). The restaurant was called Dreamland, and once we entered we saw why. The terrace behind it was a little dreamland, made up of cascading patios down a steep hill with a lovely view over a striking, round and shining volcanic lake. We found a spot in the shade of a canopy and proceeded to order. They didn't have 7-Up. They didn't have Sprite. They didn't even have tea! We ended up getting a few bottles of Mirinda (orange pop) and a beer for Laoye. Giggles once again chased after the restaurant cat, and this one actually let her pet it.
From Debre Zeit to our house in Addis was a short hour's drive. I had barely settled down for quick nap when we were there! It felt good to be home.
After unpacking and organizing, I called the Weygoss and made arrangements to meet K&M for supper again. They were leaving for Canada later that evening; they'd had their little Elsha for five days now.
While we ate and chatted at the restaurant, Elsha wasn't as smiling and cheery as I recalled her being on the 24th, which wasn't a huge surprise. K said she was starting to open up and smile for them. We wished them safe travels and good luck getting through immigration in the 100 minutes they had to catch their connecting flight after landing in Canada
Then it was back home, some reading and into bed for a deep and restful sleep in a now familiar place.
(Continue to 31 December: Family Day!)
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