100 day ceremony

Just trying this post. Having not had wifi/phone/electricity for days in Lesotho, were back in SA in a charming Inn but the wifi is impossible.  Photos to follow.

I haven't been this disconnected from the world for a very long time.  At first, I felt slightly panicky, but after a couple of days I'm really not that bothered. Of course, when we do get some wifi again, probably tomorrow night, I will be thrilled, but for now, writing this in the most beautiful, serene and remote valley you could ever imagine it's really not a problem. The days are drifting into each other I have no idea if it's Friday or Sunday and it just doesn't matter.

   
As I write, surrounded by cows and sheep with the odd herder passing by, next to a deep blue lake and on slightly boggy ground with cranes flying overhead in the deep blue sky, all is well with the world. Camp life is very comfortable, the food, cooked by our lovely chef, Tim, is outstanding.  We have ice, beer, wine and good company.  The only drawback with this particular camp compared to others is the total lack of trees, bushes or big rocks for a ladies lavatory necessitating using the pit loos. Enough said.

 
You would have to go along way to find friendlier people than the Basotho.  Everywhere we go we are greeted with spontaneous eruptions of waving and broad smiles.  I'm sure that a part of that must be because Lesotho never had apartheid and so there is no lingering resentment or 'them and us'. There are some tarmac roads, but mainly we are on rough tracks going up and down dale in this mountainous kingdom.

My oh my it is beautiful though. There are very few trees, fabulous rock formations, steep canyons, molten chocolate rivers full of silt, the clearest streams you could ever see and maize growing everywhere.  We are being lucky with the weather, we had one short, but fairly dramatic storm in camp one night but it soon cleared and we were able to be outside for dinner.  It's a happy group that has gelled very well and camp nights have a tremendous atmosphere.
 
Some highlights of the last week:

  

We climbed the mountain of Thaba  Bosiu - a fortress established by the King in the early part of the 19th century and which was never conquered, despite numerous attempts and fierce battles.

We stayed one night in a delightful lodge in Semonkong.  We had our own little rondevals dotted on the hillside. That was the night some of us went on a donkey pub crawl before dinner. Probably the most fun you can ever have on a donkey. I think I was 7 the last time I rode one.

Our waitress, the beautiful Elizabeth, invited some of us to her pristine little house to tell us all about the symbolism of the Lesotho blanket, which everyone wears.  She was a most charismatic storyteller and wove the significance of the blanket into tales of all the major life events of the Basotho people. I have to tell you that the beauty of her stories, her engaging manner and her wonderful delivery moved many of us, of both genders, to weep, softly.  None of us who went will ever forget that day.

Yesterday, we had another encounter with with an inspirational person. Ivan a Ukrainian/ Canadian, has lived in a remote valley in Southern Lesotho for 30 years.  He came over to teach at Bethel High School, which he did for 5 years.  He became disillusioned with the outcomes and thought there was a better way to create opportunities for young people whilst using natural resources.  He started the Bethel and Community Development Centre . He uses solar power to create to provide energy for cooking, lighting, heating and his welding and carpentry workshops. He teaches his students self sufficiency, how to build a house, how to create productive gardens, food technology - all essential skills to ease the burden of the difficult life here.


His garden, not that large, was a sight to behold.  A cornucopia of vegetables and fruits were thriving with an irrigation system he had rigged up from the nearby river. He had a parabola with an 'oven' - actually a cylinder in which he placed some bread, and, half an hour later he pulled out all the loaves perfectly cooked just using the power of the sun.  Another solar oven had a pot of potatoes cookit. He had made spiral structures for the solar panels that could be moved around with the sun. He was even experimenting building a house with a movable roof for the same reason. He has demonstrated that a variety of trees will actually grow in Lesotho and there were several pecan trees laden with nuts, for instance. His talk on permaculture and what is his life's work was so inspiring. We all left wondering how we could put some of his ideas into practise at home.  If I'm ever stranded on a desert island I want Ivan to be there to sort it all out. He'd have us all housed, fed and watered in no time at all and would make it all so comfortable we'd never want to leave.


He said his main aim was for his students to leave the centre with the skills to get a better job and I'm sure they do. A perfect lunch was made for us in the pristine kitchen, all with vegetables from the garden. An unforgettable day.

It's hard to imagine that we re-enter South Africa tomorrow and leave this enchanting, tiny country behind and move on to the next stage of our adventure. Our last camp night has had the usual electric atmosphere, complete with singing around the camp fire.  Our lovely Lesotho guides, Pekani, Bumba and Bernard serenaded us with traditional Lesotho songs and the national anthem.  They said they had been looking forward to having us in their country for so long and wanted to thank us. Too touching.