Lesotho, The Kingdom in the Sky, is perhaps the best place John and I could have spent the last four days. My liking for it has grown through the visit to the point that I'm very sad to leave.

Although it's completely inside of, highly influenced by and dependent on South Africa, Lesotho seems to exist in a hidden dimension. It's like South Africa minus 300 years. South Africa's history of apartheid and the bedeviling hangover that lingers from it doesn't exist in Lesotho. It's still riddled with troubles but the kind of wealth that comes from strong communities and traditions remains in tact.

"Everything seems to proceed at a hypnotic pace."
Like their South African neighbors, the average Basotho (Lesotho native) knows all about capitalism and dollars--Coke, Nike, The Gap (which actually has a factory here)--but day to day life here proceeds with little noticeable relation to the Western world.

Herd boys still head out with their cows and sheep at the break of day, women still spend most days washing things and children, and most everyone else seems to be piddling with something, though rarely with any haste. Everything seems to proceed at a hypnotic pace. It's more about what might get done than what must get done in a day.

"One of the world's largest ongoing public works projects."
After visiting my Peace Corps friend Siiri for a couple of days in Teyateyaneng, we drove to visit another of Siiri's PC friends in Khatse, a town now known for its enormous dam that supplies Johannesburg's water and generates electricity, mostly for South Africa but also for the small percentage of the Lesotho population that can afford it. Khatse Dam is one of if not the world's largest ongoing public works projects.

It has transformed the surrounding landscape and required the relocation of several villages. We took the dam tour and the best part was a visit to the control room, complete with a wall to wall computer covered with lights and buttons, just like in the movies. When the guide once has his back to me I could have easily pushed enough buttons to make lots of water shift around (imagine leaning against the main control panel at Hoover Dam).

"A fairly new pit toilet out back."
From Khatse we drove a short way to where another of Siiri's PC friends, Andrea, lives and works. Andrea's set up seemed the most intimate of any of the volunteers we visited. She's the only white person in the mostly isolated village and lives in her own rondavel like everyone else there. There's no electricity, only a tabletop gas range, lots of candles, and a fairly new pit toilet out back. We spent 3 days at Andrea's.

During the days we'd walk around visiting villagers--Andrea's Sesotho is quite good and listening to her carry on with the locals was very impressive. The demeanor of the language is the most calm and peaceful I've ever heard (think of an elderly Italian, sedated). We met some of the women Andrea works with, in much the same capacity as Siiri's work with the weavers. We even met and were welcomed by the chief. Afterward we hiked a nearby ridge--the landscape of Lesotho is one ridge after another.

"You can pick your mountain to climb."
The Basotho have no particular system of private property ownership, so if you're into hiking, you can pick your mountain to climb. From the top of the ridge we had a better view of the ubiquitous grass fires that herd boys light across the country this time of year. I guess they do it to renourish the soil though I'm not sure they don't do it to excess. Whichever, it can't be good for the country's air quality.

From Andrea's village we planned to exit Lesotho via Sani Pass, the gap in the Drakensberg Mountains legendary for its treacherous switchback dirt road leading down and back into South Africa. Before the long drive we returned to Khatse to search for fuel, not knowing whether we could find any in the even more remote eastern part of the country. Along the way, villages became farther and farther apart and we met only the occasional passerby. It was what I'd imagine driving into central Mongolia might be like. And the road got a bit rougher. I would have believed we were the only car to pass this area in 3 days or more though I know we weren't. I felt like we had the country to ourselves.

"Don't worry. It's a rental."
The whole way we wondered whether Sani Pass would be passable in our little 2-wheel drive Toyota after all we'd heard about how bad the road could get. "You'll bottom out a lot but don't worry, it's a rental," is what everyone kept telling us. The Lesotho border guards will let you go down the pass in a 2-wheel drive, but the South Africans will not let you do the same in reverse, a 4X4 is required.

Finally after about six increasingly surreal hours along the dirt road we spotted where the mountains drop off a cliff--Sani Pass. It felt like we were canoing downriver just above Niagara Falls. We holed up at Sani Top Lodge to wait till morning to descend.

"The edge of the world."
The view from the edge of the pass at sunset was the spectacular I've seen so far in Africa. Somewhere near here is where a scene from The Gods Must Be Crazy was filmed. The scene was of someone throwing a Coke bottle off the edge of the world. This was definitely the best site a director could have wanted for such a scene. Below the edge is a roughly 100m cliff below which the landscape simply falls away from the plateau and tumbles wildly and quickly into the Drakensburg foothills of South Africa. Lesotho really was like being close to the clouds for several days. I'd go back tomorrow.

"The South Africans forbid by law..."
OK... it's John again for our trip down from Lesotho. The Sani Pass is Africa's highest mountain pass at around 10,000 feet. The South Africans forbid by law the entry of anyone in a non-four wheel drive vehicle at the bottom of the pass. The Besotho, however, will let you plummet down it in just about anything that moves.

As such we arrived at the gate just as the border opened in our 2002 Toyota Corolla rental car. It has about 10 inches of groud clearance and front wheel drive when you're lucky.

"The future of Lesotho tourism was resting on us."
The border guard calmly stamped us out of Lesotho and told us to be very very careful on the ice we'd encounter on our trip down.

Decending Sani Pass

He said if we messed up and crashed or got stuck he'd stop allowing tourists to enter the Pass in cars. The future of Lesotho tourism was resting on us.

It was very steep, windy and in places, icy. But that's not what threatens to do you in. In many places the road is washed out and could easily beach a car that's close to the ground.

"Building rock bridges out of stones."
Many times I had to jump out of the car and guide Matt over the puddles and rocks to keep from getting stuck. Twice we even had to build rock bridges out of stones from the road and then keep the car tires exactly on target to keep from dropping the underbody onto a rock it could never get off of.

But after over an hour, including a rest break to cool the brakes, we made it to the bottom with only minor dragging of the bottom. In fact, the worst shot we'd give the underbody was yet to come in rural South Africa.

"We knew we had to spend a little more time there."
We'd planned to head straight for Kruger National Park, but one look at the Drakensburg mountains and we knew we had to spend a little more time there. We headed for a hostel in the foothills and did a day hike the following morning. A very good idea. I've never seen a mountain chain that looks like this.