Lesotho

Lesotho Redux

Posted by 2summers on October 10, 2010
Posted in: Johannesburg, Lesotho. Tagged: , , , . 1 comment

2summers has been on hiatus for the last week, as Joe and I were holed up at the Lesotho Sun Hotel in Maseru working on a photo exhibition for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. I didn’t have much time for writing, and even when I did I had a hard time sorting out my thoughts.

The Lesotho Sun, Maseru’s only fancy hotel, sits on a big hill overlooking the city. It has a terrace where you can sit and watch the sunset, a pool, a fitness center, a spa, and a casino frequented by Chinese tourists and business people. If you’re looking for a luxurious room, a nice view, and a made-to-order omelet station, then the Lesotho Sun is for you. But if you want to get a feel for Lesotho then I would stay somewhere else. Continue Reading

Final Thoughts on Lesotho

Posted by 2summers on September 12, 2010
Posted in: Lesotho. Tagged: , , . Leave a Comment

This trip ended more than a week ago but I still have a few more things to say about it.

Driving to Mokhotlong

The drive from Maseru to Mokhotlong was about 300 kilometers (168 miles). It took six hours.

An hour after leaving Maseru, we reached a police checkpoint. Such checkpoints are common in Africa. Often they serve no apparent purpose – they’re just there. This was one such checkpoint. Continue Reading

Horse-riding for Health in Mokhotlong

Posted by 2summers on September 7, 2010
Posted in: Lesotho. Tagged: , , , , . 10 comments

Let me back-track and explain the purpose of our trip to Lesotho. Bear with me because this will take time.

On a map, Lesotho looks like a small dot in the middle of South Africa. It’s nick-named “the Kingdom in the Sky” and is one of the few places in Africa where it snows. Lesotho’s Maluti Mountains are among the highest in Southern Africa – many peaks are over 10,000 feet.

Typical mountain scene in Lesotho. Continue Reading

The Weaving Women of Teyateyaneng

Posted by 2summers on September 4, 2010
Posted in: Lesotho. Tagged: , , , . 5 comments

I’ve fallen behind and I have such a backlog of things to write about, I’m not sure where to start. I’ll tell a quick story about our trip home from Lesotho and come back to the rest later.

We were ready to leave Lesotho at 1:00 yesterday, but discovered Friday afternoon is not a good time to cross the border at Maseru. The line of cars waiting to cross stretched to the horizon. We turned around and headed for the border crossing at Peka, 80 kilometers to the north.

Joe fought the frenetic midday traffic out of the city and we made our way into rural Lesotho. Halfway to Peka we passed through a small town called Teyateyaneng. I noticed a sign for the Elelloang Basali Weaving Centre and we pulled over to check it out. Continue Reading

The Purple Onion and the Basotho Hat

Posted by 2summers on August 31, 2010
Posted in: Free State Province, Lesotho, South Africa. Tagged: , , . 7 comments

Joe and I are in Lesotho. We had an exciting day yesterday — here are a few highlights.

The Drive

It was a five-hour drive from Joburg to Maseru. It was dry and beautiful with lots of cows, windmills, and crazy rock formations. It felt like the American Southwest. We stopped at two interesting places:

1) Makiti, a quirky rest stop/restaurant/lodge/gallery/shop off an exit ramp on the N3 highway, in the middle of South Africa’s Free State. It’s a red adobe dome with giant ant sculptures climbing up the roof and life-size ostrich statues in the yard. Joe says Makiti makes the best biltong in the country but they didn’t have any yesterday. Continue Reading