Although it hardly seems possible, in two weeks we will have been in Botswana for a full year. As a one year anniversary celebration, 35 of us gathered in a mining town in the north part of the country called Sowa for a two day gala get-together. We rented a car at the Botswana airport and drove North. Although it took some getting used to, with the steering wheel on the right-hand side, driving in the left lane and a left-handed stick shift, the trip was relatively uneventful, although long.
The first night was spent at PCV Jillian's home. Most of us were sleeping in tents in the backyard. However, when Maureen and I put our tent up in the dark, we didn't realize that the center flap was open. So when the rains came during the evening, our tent was soaked. Fortunately there was some space inside the house, and we slept on the floor.
The next morning, seven of us went over to the "country club” to play some golf. As you can see from the pictures below, it only vaguely resembled real golf. It was an interesting experience and played by special rules. Given that the "fairways" were choked with weeds, you could tee up the ball on every shot.
When you finally got to the "greens" (I think they're actually called "browns"), they consisted of hard packed dirt, which may or may not have been relatively smooth. The picture below shows me ironing out a roadway with a big metal rake over which you could putt.
All that was missing from the course was the windmill and the clown’s mouth.
In the afternoon, we piled into cars, and many on the back of a flatbed truck, to ride out to the Pans (the Largest Salt Flat in the World), where we pitched tents and had a barbecue (known locally as a braai).
Molly and her crew couldn't find the turn off to the lower road and decided to go over the edge--not a good move as the car got hung up until we could pull it out
If you look carefully at this picture, you will see a thin white line right at the horizon, which are thousands of flamingos. We never walked far enough to get a close-up though, since they were actually several miles away.
Initially, all was clear and bright sun.
The clouds rolled in however, and a fierce wind came up, followed by a rollicking thunderstorm. Through the rapidly developing dust storm, I saw one of the tents uprooted and rolling like tumbleweed toward the fire. I decided that I should try to track it down and rescue it. I was awfully glad I did, since it turned out to be ours! I didn't find out until the next morning, however, that much of our gear was strewn over the salt flats and soaking wet from the rain. Fortunately there was a permanent shelter in which we could pitch the tents inside, as shown below. It would have been simply miserable if that shelter had not been there, since the entire surrounding area turned into a giant lake.
The highlight of the evening was setting our "Burning Man" on fire in the tradition of the Burning Man celebration of the American Southwest.
In one year, we have come a long, long way. Our PCV colleagues, once strangers, will forever be friends. A Country once so strange and unknown to us, has become familiar and comfortable. And now, we await the arrival of fellow Americans as the new "class" of volunteers arrives. What a year!
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