Botswana

Note to travelers between Botswana and Namibia. You CAN get from Maun to Windhoek though it will take two days. Take the bus from Maun to Ghansi (47 pula) then the bus from Ghansi to the Mamuno (35 pula) then hitch to the border (15k) then walk across the border - there is a rest camp on the Namibian side where you should probably stay because it will be close to dark. You can get a ride from there. We went on to Gobabis and found a nice camp site for the night and hitched to Windhoek in the morning pretty easily.

Eric Ruben and I got from Lusaka to Maun, Botswana just hitching. And Ruben and I got all the way to Windhoek from Lusaka for something like $3 0 USD. Ama zing.

Botswana is a beautiful sun bleached place with lots of donkeys. One of the guys we hitched with bought donkeys for 50 pula (like $6.00) and sold them for a considerable mark up to Australia - who we later learned turns them into salami - allegedly. Ruben and I - in moments of self doubt and despair on the side of desolate and untraveled road- considered purchasing donkeys to travel to the border. Though we would have to buy a third to carry the bags and then would not really be affordable. We stayed at a great back packers in Botswana called the Old Bridge Backers. Kind of an ideal little place next to a lagoon. That region of Botswana is known for the Okavango Delta. Our sole reason for going was a mokoro trip through the fingers of the delta. A morkoro is a dug out canoe propelled by a poler. Like a gondola without the pomp and fuss. our boat had a woman poler named Kelly. The delta is like a river bleeding into grass land. the narrow water ways edged by tall grass and dotted with lilies. perfect lilies and lilly pads. fairy tale lilies. It also houses a wide range of birds, little white frogs, crocodiles, hippos.l I was a pretty perfect day.

The other highlight of Botswana was the craft market for crafts by the San people. Amazing baskets and ostrich egg beads. It left me ultimately dissatisfied with tourism. It is not enough. buying stuff is not enough. I want to learn how to make that stuff. I want to sit and listen to their click language all day. Being a tourist is fluff. I only have tickets to the show.

More on Namibia.

There is no tomorrow

I have moved out of my village. Rode out on my bike with my possessions packed on sticks to extend my carrier's capacity. It was hard to leave.



Two weeks ago my replacement came to my site to see her new home and get an idea of the place while she was still in training. Having to start giving my house and work to someone else was the first time leaving felt real. It was good to meet her and be able to transfer as much knowledge as I could in a week, though overwhelming for her, and strange for me. I kept feeling jealous of her for getting to live there, for getting to start fresh - envious of the opportunity to have what I had but also a chance to do it better. An opportunity which really isn't there and really isn't about her. She will make her own mistakes. She will make it her own place. All my hopes for her to be just like me only calmer, stronger, more patient, more kind, more thorough- are really just hopes for myself. I hope to be just like myself only calmer, stronger, more patient, more kind, more thorough. More sincere and more deliberate with my life.

A good friend reminded me that not only is it time for me to leave, it is time for my community to have someone new too.

She is going to care for Garbanzo which makes my heart rest a little easier. I hope she falls in love with him. I kind of took it for granted that everyone would enjoy a cat sleeping on your neck or enjoy the daily preening for ticks as loving quality time. He will be fine. He is lovable. And gets to stay in his own house.



Time to leave and let go. My last week was a perfect village week. It was everything I could have hoped for in my last days. And what I realized as I was doing everything for the last time is that my appreciation of all these experiences didn't really increase knowing they were fleeting. There can be such a desperation in last times- trying to soak it in so much that it can never leave. But it made it easier to leave knowing that I soaked it in every time. That I appreciated and loved and recognized through out. I didn't need to soak it in any more because it is there already. There is a sadness in leaving this place and life that I will probably never come back to but the desperation of regret is not there. The time I spent here was good. I like who I am though I was at times worried I would not turn out a better person.

I suppose the turning out is ongoing.




So on to other things. Unknown things. That feels exciting.