Thaba Bosiu

I did it. I slept from 11 p.m. - 7 a.m. Could life be any sweeter?

I made eggs for breakfast and had some yogurt and and apple, too. Suzanna's parents came over around 9 and after having Suzanna's fantastic pancakes, we all headed out to Thaba Bosiu. (I should mention that you can't get maple syrup here, so most people either use jam or a honey/butter conconction.)

Thaba Bosiu is the old capital of Lesotho in the time of the first king, Moshoeshoe I. You can read more about the history of it here. It was a pretty decent hike in terms of scenery and plant life. There is a lot of aloe along the trail, there are what look like prickly pear cacti, and we came across some type of mint plant that smelled amazing. Also, there was a local plant that you grind between your fingers and then smell to clear congestion. It was really powerful!

Then the coolest thing happened. We were sitting in the shade by the grave of Moshoeshoe II (who died in 1996 because he drove over a cliff), and there were about 6 horses grazing sort of near us. One was a baby, and he was galloping around, having fun, when he noticed us. He stood a little distance away and just stared, then, when we didn't move, he decided to come closer...and closer...and closer...until he was standing with his face in mine. It was terrifying and amazing all at the same time. He was so curious and so were we. He stared at us, we stared at him. Eventually, he started stamping with his front foot, and we decided to move away. We just weren't sure what he was going to do. And then as soon as we left, he put himself right under the tree where we had just been sitting, and began to scratch his next against it. He then turned himself around, and rubbed his butt against the tree longer than you can even imagine! It was hilarious. The whole time, we thought he was interested in us, but really, he was just trying to get us to move out of his spot...

Oh, to get to Thaba Bosiu, 6 of us took Phil and Sandy's 5 passenger truck. So on the out Sarah rode in the back with Suzanna. Then I took a turn on the way back. The kids here all wave to you if you're white, and if you wave back they get really excited. Oh, and walking past them, they assume that you have money or candy to hand out just because you're white.

We stopped at a lodge for cold drinks on the way back. We tried to order french fries for the table (which were called french fries in one place on the menu and chips in another). The waiter spoke English perfectly well, yet he just could not understand why we would only want two order of fries instead of six. So instead of ordering for the table, two of us just ordered individually, and that was perfectly reasonable to the waiter.

I was so hot, I barely ate anything anyway, but the juice spritzer I had was absolutely perfect after being in the sun.

Sarah got pretty burnt by the sun, but somehow I've avoided it. I guess my theory is correct, I just don't change color ever.

I didn't notice the elevation nearly at all on the hike up. It's basically a short, very steep trail for the first fifteen minutes, then it's flat on top of a plateau, a mesa basically. And on the way up, I thought I would be huffing and puffing, but I wasn't. I guess I was a bit light-headed, but that may still be from the tiredness factor.

Tonight, we are going to dinner with Lauren to discuss work stuff. All next week, we'll be visiting the district hospitals, but beyond that, we definitely need more defined tasks, etc.

Tomorrow, I'll probably go the the Hash with Lauren and maybe Sarah depending on her sun burn. Seems like a good way to meet some people.

I'll leave you with this. I'm sitting on our veranda right now, with the dark clouds beginning to roll in, though I don't think it's going to rain. Flies are landing on me, but quickly flying away. The sound of soca music is seeping over from the neighbors house, and I am content.

I'll upload some pictures now, and provide a link to flickr when I get them up.