Lesotho!

Early thursday morning my Human Growth and Development class left for our field trip to the country of Lesotho! (which is in South Africa, but still its own country) We drove for about 2 hours and then stopped for breakfast then got into our ride to drive another hour and a half up the Sani Pass, which is basically driving on the edge of a cliff in beautiful scenery! AND we were in an open air truck with the wind blowing and feeling even closer to the edge! it was so much fun (even if we got scared at points!) we kept reminding ourselves our driver had done this MANY times before (its his job-so dont worry mom i was safe!)

The view was INCREDIBLE and the pictures do not capture the beauty! we kept taking more and more pictures trying to capture it, but none of them do it justice! we were driving up the mountain into Lesotho, which has the highest elevation point in South Africa, so it was definitely cold! (which was a nice change from the hot weather in Pietermaritzburg!)

Once we got into Lesotho (and got another stamp on our passports!) we got right onto our horses for our day of horseback riding!!!! it was incredible! My horse's name was "Rob" and was beautiful! we had two Lesotho guides, one in back and one leading the way. we started out on the open field next to the lodge and made our way up many hills, some VERY steep and rocky, to the highest elevation there! it was breath-taking! the whole way there we saw lots of yellow flowers everywhere, along with flocks of sheep and their shepherds in their traditional Lesotho clothes, which consisted of rain boots, a face mask to keep warm, and a blanket wrapped around them! The view from the very top was gorgeous and completely worth the COLD weather and sore butt from riding from so long! :)

As we started heading back down (and had stopped a few times for lunch and snacks/ the horses would EAT SO MUCH!!) the horses were A LOT more comfortable than us going down the steep hills! but it was a fun adventure! the horses were also going alot faster on the flat parts, instead of trotting they would canter, which was scary at first but SO MUCH FUN! and a lot smoother than trotting!

After we got back we put our stuff in the lodge and went to dinner at the highest pub in africa! it was adorable and the people there were so nice :) the food was good (especially the soup which was DELICIOUS probably because we were all so cold!) and we all sat around the fire on couches afterwards and hung out :) it was so much fun to all be together there!

The next morning we had breakfast there again (after sleeping in our lodge without electricity, so we had to use candles and gas lights-which was fun!) and then got to have a tour of the town with Edward, a local, who showed us the inside of one of the houses and we also got to meet 3 of the women there who performed some of their traditional dances for us in their house. their houses are made of stone with a layer of mud inside and branches as the roof, and usually cement or mud floors, they were SO warm compared to outside and they build fires inside their houses, so the tops have ash all over them, but it keeps them warmer especially in the winter when it gets even colder there! it was an incredible experience to be there in their house with them, and meeting the people there. We were amazed at how they dealt with the cold (especially because it is summer here right now, and it was still soooo cold!) and how they used the resources they had to survive. the children walking around were adorable and so fun to play with also!

Driving back down the mountain on friday morning was another experience! we were in the open air truck again, and it was even colder AND so much fog! we were basically driving through a cloud, down the mountain on the edge, CRAZY! we unzipped the sleeping bags and used them as blankets, which came in handy because it started RAINING so we used them to make a fort in the back to "stay dry"! we were all laughing at the situation and making it fun :) the group was the perfect group for the trip, we all embraced the experience and enjoyed it! all together the two days was incredible and i loved it!!