African Adventure Installment TWO

African Adventure Installment TWO

So....I know you're wondering if we did any crazy stuff while "sleeping" on the flight to Johannesburg. Neither of us remembers anything wild, but the fellow to my left did seem a bit grumpy when, for the first time in 9 HOURS I asked him to let me out so I could use the restroom. I mean, if somebody only troubled me ONCE to use the "facilities" during a 9-hour stretch I'd be more than happy to comply. He wasn't too pleased.

That means one of two things - 1) Ryan and I were wacky on Ambien or 2) This guy needed a hug. Probably the latter because I made certain that when I dozed off to sleep, certain things were in an "order" that would indicate if I had gotten up during my sleep. All was in order as I awoke to the scent of scrambled eggs, danish, and hot tea. Lufthansa is the best. We were both really well-rested and amazed that we didn't feel groggy. Just, well normal. Normal is nice.

So...we landed in Johannesburg. We had purchased some baby wipes in Frankfurt which we used to "bathe" ourselves. But the bottom line is that we'd been wearing the same clothing From Friday 5:00 AM until Sunday 2:00 AM as we walked through two major cities, two nights of sleeping and too many adventures. I don't think anyone would have used the word "fresh" to describe either of us. So the Jo-burg airport was our first opportunity to really get into different clothes. Remember, we have limited options for clothing so it actually was important to wear that first set of clothes as long as possible.

After changing (chaco sandals being the most welcome difference) we waited in the Jo-burg airport for several hours until our regional flight to Maseru, Lesotho was ready to depart. This gave us an opportunity to work on our souvenir strategies. I was checking airport prices on items I would try to buy at a local market...trying to memorize the prices so I paid a fair price at a local market. This was hard to do. After so much travel and being really tired, about the only price I managed to store in my head was that of a pair of salad servers. We also looked at wine prices at the duty free store. Well, Ryan looked and I spent my time in the perfume section. I should have put some on - that would have been smart.

We finally made our way to Gate 27 where we boarded an airport shuttle which at first looked suspiciously like a minibus (the minibus is a regular form of transportation.....you can read some of Paul's wild minibus adventures if you like. Not for the weary of heart!) We took the shuttle to a small airplane that I thought was guaranteed to provide a terrifying ride. We handed our luggage to a few men and watched as they loaded it onto the plane. This being the first and only time our luggage had been out of our hands....but it seemed pretty safe, unless someone was hiding in the cargo hull. And you just never know.

We boarded the plane, settled in and prepared to bump around. It turned out that this flight served beverages and snacks....the local favorite snack being biltong. For reasons I cannot explain, I took the biltong (a dried meat generally resembling jerky) and gulped it down. It wasn't as dry as jerky (seem image I stole from the internet),



















I had no idea what KIND of meat it was, but I just ate it, slurped my Coke and enjoyed the scenery. We also got pita chips. Ryan had, surprisingly, lost his appetite, again. I almost ate his biltong too, but then we started to hit turbulence and more biltong seemed like a bad idea.

How do I describe the scenery out the window...well, for those Montanans reading, imagine Monte Dolack painting something from a John Wayne film...plateus, but with greens bright like a lizard and rusty rocks and incredibly blue skies. Big clouds puffy and white. It was amazing.

Our plane landed and a very sketchy man with the longest pinky fingernail I've seen flicked a bug off of Ryan's neck. That made him seem nicer, but since I identify the long nail with drug users, I was still a little nervous. We walked off the plane using the small metal stairs, across an old and very worn (but paved) tarmac to a pretty pathetic looking airport. Again, the sky surrounding us was huge - it reminded me of MT. And in spite of the pathetic building in front of us I felt so relieved to have finally ARRIVED. We went through a very painless immigration process and customs was a joke. Out a tinted glass door and into a lobby full of people. But the most important part was that there were finally two faces we recognized! Paul and JoAnna gave us a hearty greeting and we loaded into their bright blue Volkswagen Jetta and headed into Maseru. We were full of questions - as were they, but somehow at 4:00 on a Sunday we made it to their apartment, greeted Lizzy and Lucy, their two VERY excited pups and settled in to what would be two great weeks in Southern Africa.

That night after a very fun grilling experience and the first of many wonderful Maseru sunsets,
Paul and JoAnna introduced us to a REALLY fun board game. Last year it was Settlers of Catan and this year it was "Ticket to Ride" - a game where you build trains across America trying to connect different routes and also trying to keep other players from being able to reach their destinations.

I should have seen at that point what the future would hold. Hours upon hours of what was finally called "the train game" - one such game between Paul and Ryan involved an entire bottle of the local's favorite "Amarula" that you'll get to see later. Well you'll see the carnage *after* the game.

That first night Ryan and I learned the value of two things that many people here in the US either don't think about, or simply take for granted.

1) window and door screens
2) mosquito nets

Paul and JoAnna had done a very good job preparing us for our stay in Lesotho. In fact, I should also point out here that they live in a very nice place. They have a wonderful apartment, wonderful dogs and as many of you know, they are wonderful people!

BUT...there are things about Africa that for many of us who have never been, simply don't think about until we pack our bags. Bugs are one thing to think about. Bugs in America stay outside, for the most part. But the bugs in other countries are often able to wander indoors and this is because none of the windows - even in a really nice place like Paul and JoAnna have, don't have screens. Therefore, if you want to enjoy the cool night breeze (and you do) you need to be willing to let the bugs in. Fortunately we came at the very end of the rainy season so the bugs weren't too bad. But, it only takes one mosquito to buzz in your ear while you're falling asleep to completely annoy you.

Ryan, being the ultimate planner and preparer had purchased mosquito head nets (you'll see one of these on Paul in a later post) to take with us on our honeymoon to Belize. We didn't need them there (which is good or I'd have had a fit - who wants to wear a headnet on their honeymoon?) but we did need them in Lesotho as we learned our very first night.

Most nights I started without a headnet - preferring to take my chances. (See promotional photo of headnet below...now imagine trying to fall asleep with that thing on your head) Then at some point, that lonely mosquito would come looking for my company and buzz in my ear. My usual response was (and mind you this is at 2:00 AM or s0) "Headnet Please." and Ryan would grab it off the nightstand and pass it over. I'd put on the headnet and fall asleep until the heat trapped inside the net was too much to stand.

We woke up on Monday morning around 10:30 (headnets on) and planned on a leisurely "recovery" day that Paul had wisely recommended. We expected to see Paul around lunch time and we did...but he had new plans for us.

It seems that the trip we would be taking the next day to a very rural village called Semonkong would be pushed up by one day so that we could arrange to ride with the owner of the Semonkong lodge where we'd be staying. Our options were limited and the decision was clear:

1) Go to Semonkong on Monday afternoon, riding up with the owner of the lodge
2) Go to Semonkong on Tuesday morning using a local bus, riding with many people we didn't know
3) Go to Semonkong on Tuesday morning using Paul and JoAnna's car, riding with each other, but little clue about the road conditions, necessary turns, and potentially flooded roads

We decided to ride up with the owner. So during Paul's lunch hour we made our first trip to the grocery store trying to find food to take with us. One of the great lodging options we found during this trip was "self-catering" - this basically means that the lodge/hostel/hotel provides a kitchen with cooking utensils and you provide the food.

It works quite well, especially when rumor had it that Paul & JoAnna and several of their friends had all gotten mysteriously ill after a trip to Semonkong. We decided not to take chances and purchased a number of "dinner in a box" options - you know - the kind of Lipton dinner you can find here in the States neatly packaged requiring only boiled water and butter to make it edible.

Paul dropped us at the famous tourist information center called the "Basotho Hat" where we would be waiting for Jonathan to pick us up. The woman at the lodge had described him as looking "like a hillbilly".....yes, should be easy to spot him at the Basotho hat as there aren't many hillbillies roaming around Maseru these days.

Jonathan arrived in a Toyota truck that has seen a lot of action...it was loaded with produce for the lodge's restaurant and covered in mud. Sign number 1 that we were smart to ride in this truck rather than drive Paul and JoAnna's small Jetta.

Turns out that Jonathan had grown up in Lesotho, attended university in South Africa (Durban) and then purchased the Semonkong lodge round about 1997. As we drove, we learned that Jonathan was a quite sort of fellow - but very gentle, well informed and able to contribute a new perspective on the modernization of Lesotho and its people. We listened to some BBC or NPR broadcast out of Jo-burg and stopped at a small roadside store to buy cokes. Jonathan had Fanta. As we climbed back into the truck, he offered us some biltong. This time the biltong was different, perhaps more like a dried sausage. And again I just started eating.
Ryan was in the backseat of the truck, also eating biltong, but I could tell he was losing his appetite. Too bad that store didn't sell Kit-kats. Sigh.

We continued our drive over rugged roads, winding through the mountain peaks. We drove past shepherds with cattle, past their temporary rondavels where they pass the night herding the animals far from home. After a while I stopped waving at the children perched on the sides of the road - I felt badly about it, but you can only wave for so long. Then a 1/2 mile goes by and you have to wave again.


Just before dark we arrived in the town of Semonkong and Jonathan drove us over the bridge that led to the lodge. It was quaint! Both Ryan and I were surprised at how much this lodge actually LOOKED like a lodge surrounded by cottages with thatched rooftops.

EXTERIOR VIEW

INTERIOR VIEW

We settled in that night with books and looked forward to the next day when we would go pony trekking to Semonkong's famous waterfall. Now, how scary or daunting could THAT be?