Botswana

01.02.2014

• Woke up and no internet - got ready and headed out to catch a bus into town so I could find wifi at a cafe - a car coming out of my neighborhood stopped - Willem and Manie offered me a ride - they own the cafe I was heading to - bought me breakfast and talked for a long time - greeting everyone who came by - very popular local business owners - been here for more than 20 years
• Stayed and had coffee - worked on email, logistics, and trying to connect with contacts here in Gaborone - Erin had been PeaceCorps - finished and went to store for some snacks and home again on mini-bus taxi
• Relaxed at home for a while where I was able to steal more internet from somewhere in the neighborhood - Manie and Willem invited me to dinner - joined Manie for a run in our neighborhood up to the reserve park at the end of the road - stopped by their house - beautiful home with outdoor living space, outdoor bedroom, outdoor bathtub - pretty much a magazine - swam and talked and met all the critters - a veritable zoo
• Drove into town to meet Willem for dinner at Saffron - again, popular boys - great meal - drove home and sat on in their outdoor living space talking the night away - met their baby antelope they adopted two weeks ago - took a ride home and peaceful sleep - funny that I still get nervous about showing up in new places when I make friends easily

02.02.2014

• Today I have plans to meet Matilda - friend of Erin's from her Peace Corps days - took at taxi into town and met her at the National Museum and Art Gallery - she was there already and so happy to meet - sadly, museum closed between exhibits - took a walk through downtown - past parliment - went to a few of the shopping areas downtown - talked about our lives and families - were both a bit nervous to meet one another - no real context besides a shared friend - but we were like old pals right away - 
• Took a minibus taxi toward my side of town and the Game City shopping center - had lunch at Nando's - my first time - talked for a while longer before being picked up by Richard - he is the husband of another of Erin's friends who was going to join us today but had something come up she needed to attend to - was kind enough to send her husband to show me around a bit and he was kind enough to agree
• Drove out to Gaborone Game Reserve - talked on the way - Richard studied civil engeineering in Canada so we had lots of North America stuff to catch up on - drove through the park - zebras, antelope, wild hogs, monkeys, etc. - super hot but found some nice shady spots too - 
• Driving tour around town - president's house - neighborhoods - dropped us off at spot to get bus out of town - Matilda and I hitched a ride - common practice here - informal way to get around and for the driver to pay for petrol - ride out past home and to _____ Restaurant - owned by Richard's uncle who has been informed of our pending arrival - ran into Matilda's business partner - they are opening a business soon and looking for office spaces this week! Logistics and marketing - had a cider with lemon - jazz music - rain came down - 
• Talked for a long while - time to head home - Matilda helped me get a cab back toward home - hugged goodbye hoping to connect again - drive home with quiet car of people, soothing gospel music on the radio, and big skies with big clouds - back home I made dinner and met James, traveling often - dirt bike around the world - came from the pans - covered in mud, etc - ate and stayed up playing on the internet - chatted with Kevin for a long time which, lately, makes me very happy when we are talking but with a rather deep low for a bit after we sign off - relaxed for a bit and went to bed

03.02.2014

• Didn't sleep well - lazy day - got a LOT of logistics planning done - planned a good bit of the next two weeks including lodging, activities, transportation - all coming together and now with an impromptu trip to Zambia. 
• Talked with other guests - caught up on notes - did very little and loved it - I needed a chill day after the pace of travel recently
• Tried to see boys - walk in the evening - lightning - home, dinner - chatted with James and couple moving to Portland - lovely night in

04.02.2014

• Up at 4:30 for a 5am cab to bus rink - man helped me find my bus to Maun - long day driving through the pans - rain and lightning - people on and off - met a guy from Maun going home to help family farm
• Arrived in town - English man who used to live here shared a cab with me - dropped him off and went to Old Bridge Backpackers - lovely space with an open bar - nestled along the delta near an old walking bridge into town -
• Settled in and found a seat to read for a bit - joined by a group of Brits who had been getting a game guide certificate in two parks in Botswana and South Africa, now traveling - joined later by Jose, a would-be bush pilot who has had trouble finding work this season and is about to go home to Spain - joined by Jo who was initially somewhat confrontational: Why Botswana? She works for the government - sees how many foreign nationals get jobs over Botswanans who are trained by government - hard on us all but with good wisdom and ended up being an ally for Jose in his job hunt - pays to listen openly to those who would agitate us - off to bed

05.02.2014

• Another early morning - breakfast and the off for a day on the delta - met Julia and Stephen, my fellow tourists - boat through delta to a drop point where we met two new guides - loaded up in to two mokoros, narrow dug out boats (traditionally wood but now often made with fiberglass) - propelled by someone standing at the back and pushing against the shallow bottom of the delta with a long pole - 
• took us out into delta through reeds - hitting our faces it was so dense at some points - saw birds and plants - - stopped to see zebras along the way - so quiet - closed my eyes and listened to the wind in the grass - arrived at large island and walked into a shady grove of trees - set out on walk - wildebeest - long walk but didn't see much - heat of the day
• walked back to camp - ate lunch - talked under the trees - Julia an engineering student in Sweden who has been volunteering at a park in Botswana with a man who raised a lion cub - Stephen a medical resident at the University of San Diego Medical Center who has been working on an exchange in Mosambique - back in the mokoros for our return trip - clouds coming in - caught a bit of rain just at the end as we pulled into the drop off site - sat in the front with my umbrella open while Stephen laughed at me - ran under a tree until in slowed and then into the motor boat - picked up family on the way home to help them cross the river - rain a bit but it was so beautiful and refreshing - was smiling ear to ear
• Home and took a quick shower and then a cab into town for good internet at a fast food joint, Wimpys - had a salad and booked a ticket for a flight tomorrow with Stephen which will save 6 hours of travel and give me 3 more hours sleep! Win! Cab home and chatted with some guests before going to bed early