skies and ponies and lesotho

it's 6:45 am, saturday. In 15 minutes, Adriann, Lindsay, Sarah and I embark on our first real southern Africa trip. We're heading to Botswana, starting with a visit to Graham in Gabarone, followed by Maun in the Okavango Delta and then through to Livingstone, Zambia, to see Victoria Falls. 

So it won't be a long entry, but before this adventure starts I wanted to quickly mention the last one, in which three FMSP students in one fairly old VW city sport drive five hours through the Free State (think Kansas) to "get out of the country." Of course, Lesotho is a tiny kingdom inside South Africa, so really you feel as though you're driving more into the country, rather than out, which is what we're about to do now. 

The Malealea Lodge, in southwest Lesotho, was a cozy, comfortable, and friendly lodge. We arrived to the starriest sky I have ever seen. We spent six hours pony trekking to a waterfall and some San (I think) rock art, and I learned to trust a horse. Specifically, I learned to trust Mistress, a beautiful black pony who, like me, ate whenever she had the chance, pretty much never lifting her head from grazing the ground. It was a perfect mini-getaway, even if the next day we were all a little sore from trekking up and down rocky mountains and trotting along riverbanks.

Pictures are posted. Enjoy, and see you in a week or two.