The first journal entry from my recent South Africa trip is not, oddly enough, about South Africa. “TIA. This. Is. Efffrica,” to quote Leonardo Dicaprio from the epic film, Blood Diamond. In other words, anything goes. Here’s an introduction to the amazing people and landscape of the mountain kingdom of Lesotho.
Amphitheater Backpackers
Lesotho (pronounced /lɨˈsuːtuː/) is “highest” country in the world. And by that I mean two things: 1) it sits 1,100 meters above sea level — hence the biblical tagline, “Kingdom in the Sky”; and 2) marijuana production is one of the 3 main sources of income, according to a UNESCO study — the other two are international aid and money sent home by those working abroad.
Orientation: Not Borientation.
A few kilometers short of El Chalten, the bus stopped at the Visitors Center of Parque Nacional Los Glaciares where we met, perhaps, the nicest ranger in the world. Slim, toned, approaching late-middle-age but at the same time refusing to give into time in a way only park rangers and spirited mountain men can do, Octavio entered our bus and asked our permission to step out so he could tell us a bit more about the park and what we’ll find there. The locals remained inside while we tourists gladly obliged.
