Shepherds and Scenery

April 3

We’ll, no WiFi yesterday, so just posted yesterday’s blog. Apologies if you get two posts today. And, a heads up, I don’t think I’ll have WiFi tomorrow. Now, how Third World is that.

Today was a great day. Beautiful weather. Day breaks Down into two elements. The scenery is spectacular. There’s an amazing view around every turn. Impossible to catch it in photos, but here’s a feeble try.

The shepherds ordinarily would not want to be photographed, but our guides speak to them, tell them we’ll pay them something (small) and they readily agree. In fact, enthusiastically, with much laughing and smiling. The life of a shepherd is not an easy one. In fact, it sucks. Live in a hut in the country for four or five months, bringing all your food (generally the same meal each day), chase after sheep, or goats all day, and get up the next day and do it all over again. I’ve decided against shepherding for my next career.

Here are what may seem like a lot of photos of shepherds, but it’s not easy picking among 300 or so.

We watched the sheep being “dipped” to protect against disease. My stills pale by comparison to Stan Begley’s video, so take a look at that.http://dualartspress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/medium-2.mov

We travel over the Pass of Guns and pass the Kao Mines (a working diamond mine but we are not permitted to enter) and continue to the Katse Dam, a concrete arch dam on the Malibamat’so River in Lesotho, which is Africa’s second largest double-curvature arch dam. (The Tekezé Dam, completed in early 2009, is now Africa’s largest double curvature dam). The dam is part of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, which will eventually include five large dams in remote rural areas. The potential of the project was identified by the South African civil engineer Ninham Shand (now Aurecon) as a possible means to supplement the water supply to South Africa. The World Bank arranged for a treaty between the governments of South Africa and Lesotho, allowing execution of the project to proceed

Staying at an ordinary, but just fine, hotel, where we had a very good dinner. More Lethoso tomorrow, though you will not hear from me for a couple days, because of lack of WiFi tomorrow.