Boabob #2

​Our Thursday ended with a demonstration of making African peanut butter — a long and labor-intensive process. 

The women received the gift of a “chitenga” which is a multi-purpose cloth used as a skirt, a head covering, and/or a baby carrier.

In the evening we had a “cultural exchange” which consisted of the staff singing a few African songs, and all of our group singing some American songs as arranged by music teacher Mary

Yesterday was a travel day We left the camp in Zambia, flying in the same Cessna Caravan aircraft in which we came. No security checks!

A mini bus picked us up at the airport and drove us to a market where the poorest of the poor do their shopping. It was one of the worst markets we’ve encountered in a 3rd world country — even worse than India.

The piles of garbage next to the raw fish for sale were equally covered with flies. However, the people were exceptionally friendly, and aside from one man standing outside our bus as we departed, no one tried giving us a hard sell or hassled us in any way.

At the Botswana border we had to go through some gymnastics of stepping in disinfectant to be sure we weren’t carrying any diseases on our shoes, and getting our temperature taken to be sure we didn’t have fevers. Otherwise, the process was fairly painless. The border facility was new and spotlessly clean, and our new mini-bus (we had to change to a Botswanan one) was also new. Unlike Zimbabwe and Zambia, the highways here really are highways, and the bus traveled at highway speed withou having to slow to go around potholes or missing pavement. It was like we suddenly landed on a different continent.

Baobob Camp #2, our home for the next few days, is much like the others in which we’be stayed, except that we are in thatched-roofed cabins rather than in tents. Everything is built on the side of a hill, and everywhere has stunning views of the river that separates Botswana from Namibia. Even though the river is swollen with the summer rains, we clearly see Namibia on the other side.

We also clearly see elephants and impala coming down the hill to the river to drink. Even the toilet next to the main lodge features a “loo with a view.” There is no window and no screen, so when seated on the throne one has a spectacular view!

After “high tea” (an obvious carryover from British colonial times) we went out for an evening game drive. Unlike the last two lodges, this camp is not actually inside the national park. Botswana does not permit this. Instead, we are just outside the park, and our drive was, as well.

Nevertheless, on our trek over unimproved roads along the river we saw more different species of animals in a couple of hours than we’be seen in the past week. In addition to elephants and impala, we encountered giraffes, zebra, spring bock, buffalo, and many birds.

At the river’s edge (just far enough away from the water to be safe from hippos and crocodiles) we enjoyed our “sundowner” drinks and watched the sun set over Namibia, across the water. The sunset was nice, but after it was below the horizon we were treated to rare “blue rays” which are the precursor to a brief “green flash” in the twilight sky. We were not familiar with these phenomena or what causes them, but they were certainly pretty!

At dinner, we were surprised to discover that the food here is a cut above what we’ve been having, even though this camp is owned and operated by the exact same contractor. Mosquito netting surrounds our bed here, as it did at the last camp. But with a flooded river just down the hill, the mosquitoes are abundant. And just like at home, they find me no matter what.