Xmas came early

To the villages around Mantsonyane in the Thaba-Tseka District Xmas came early this year!

2km left to go and we would have been there, uneventfully, after having negotiated our driving through 1000 sheep and 200 cows on the way... But it just wasn't meant to be.

As we turn around one of the last bends a this "booze" truck just lay there tipped on it's side (the driver got away with only a scratch but I guess this accident was only the beggining of many incidents which will take place today) with bottles and bottles of beer and cider falling of it, into the river, the peoples' pockets, cars... you name it!

Honestly an unbelievable scene, every Man, Woman and Child had at least one case!

We wish you a MERRY Xmas and a happy new year!

the size of golf balls... well marbles at least!

Never seen anything quite like this!

Yesterday at about 5pm we witnessed one of the most unbelievable events I've ever lived through... The sky went dark as night with clouds and for about 5 minutes it pelted down hail stone the size of huge marbles!

Unbelievable....

Lesotho from the sky.

Lesotho might be a really small country, but it will take you a day to go from one side to the other. We had to visit three different sites on Friday; Manšonyane Shcool, Mokholong TTL and Pulane Children's Centre. So to avoid driving through the mountains and spend a day on sinuous roads, we took a helicopter.

The sky was really dark in the morning and we all knew that it was not going to get any better. Despite the pilot's warnings and recommendations, we all insisted on flying off. Although we managed to reach the destination, it was impossible to return to Maseru. We then had to drive back with a local taxi for three hours to Buta-Buthe where Pedro and another colleague came and picked us up so that we did not have to drive the two last hours at night with local transport. Safety measures...

At the end, the pilot had to stay a night at Mokhotlong, waiting for the sky to clear up and Pedro had to cancel his Friday rugby session...but from my part, I had a great experience !

The traditional rural houses; the rondavel built with thatches and stone or rendered bricks/hollow concrete blocks. The courtyard in stone adjacent to the house is called Lappa.

The enclosure next to the house is for the herds.

Mantsonyane school.

Just married!

Saturday, 19th of September; Pedro and I were invited to a Basotho wedding. The ceremony was held at the Bride's (one of our collegues) hometown, Thalinyane, which is a small place about 1h00 away from Maseru.

We tried to dress ourselves in the traditional way by using the colours and patterns of Lesotho, Seshoeshoe. But it ended up having the opposite effect....I guess it just made us stand out even more!

We were happy to share this moment with them and to see how weddings are celebrated in Lesotho.

Early morning; looking for the church.

Harper and Pedro.

The bride's maids...

Before the church ceremony, there were a serie of dances and confrontations betweeen the groom and the bride's family. The men in white sang for the groom. The others for the bride.

Yes! We wore matching outfits!

Me and some of my collegues.

On the road heading off to the photo session. Look closer...yes the cars are not aligned. They are all dancing together!

a bit more Namibia...

A few more shots and moments from our trip to Namibia... Camille has told most of the story so I will just let the photos do the talking!


nightfall over the dunes...

not quite sure what Cam found there?

a desert beetle! These amazing creatures do a hand-stand to allow the mist to condense on their backs and then drip down to their mouths!

Not quite sure you can see it but there's a sidewinder snake in there...

They bite and they don't let go!

another type of desert animals...

not really proud of it... but it's fun! and we were reassured that on this part of the dunes it was OK!

Only wish we could get our own private lift on the snow as well!


Sand....
sand...
and more sand!
even more sand!
walking on the dunes top... early morning is great, but...

has its consequences!


Dead Pan... Unbelievable!

Kolmanskop the architects house... wonder if he's planned it?

You've got to admire the stupidy of some People! All the way from the other side of the atlantic to destroy a piece of heritage! Well done idiots!

as mentioned before, the architect's house... On millionaires' avenue! True he was one of the 4 richests people in town! those were the days...

you can't really beat nature.