Monkey Town/Sodere

We took a nice 1 1/2 hour drive outside of Addis to Sodere, also referred to as Monkey Town, where several monkeys live. The drive itself was incredible, observing the beautiful countryside, the everyday lifestyle, soaking up everything! There was so much to see in such a short amount of time.

 Here are some pictures that were taken during our drive.

Sodere was a wonderful place, it seems to be a local hangout. It was so fun to watch all the monkeys playing and chasing each other around! The best part was watching a dad groom the mom while she was holding her baby monkey.

After we left the monkeys, we decided to go to the local swimming pool! Since it was the weekend it was packed with locals. There was beautiful Ethiopian music playing and everyone was enjoying the refreshing pool. Pete decided to not only swim, but jump off the high diving board, doing a huge cannonball which the locals loved it. It was nice to experience what the locals enjoy. This beautiful place is in the middle of nowhere it seems, but the experience was unforgettable. After we took a refreshing swim we decided to play football with the guard there, the guard really enjoyed himself and so did we!

On the way back we stopped by a true Toukoul and met a lovely family. They were so proud and invited us into their home. They were a very beautiful family and we felt honored to have met them and to see their way of life.

On the way back to Addis we stopped by Debre Zeyit to see a beautiful lake. It was gorgeous, and again a local hangout, a holy place of the Oromo people. What a wonderful way to end the day!

"Photography records the gamut of feelings written on the human face, the beauty of the earth and skies that man has inherited, and the wealth and confusion man has created. It is a major force in explaining man to man." ~ Edward Steichen