Spring Break- Maun

Hello Everyone!

I am back from my trip and it was absolutely amazing!!!  I’m going to try and give you as many details as possible!  The scenery was breathtaking, my traveling group was amazing, and the memories I gained will last a lifetime.  

Friday the 22^nd I spent my day at the vet clinic as usual.  But this was the FIRST TIME IT RAINED!  Yes, indeed!  RAIN!  I was helping enter records into the computer and I heard it.  I had to run to a window to actually believe that it was raining.  After the vet clinic, Nora and I went to a jazz bar in main mall that is located above spar.  It was a lot of fun.  We had one drink and then met a group of girls to go get Indian food at African mall.  It was a great way to celebrate being half way done with the semester. 

I spent Saturday preparing for my trip.  I walked to Riverwalk Mall in the morning with two other girls and bought a 40Liter light backpack for my trip for 450 pula (around $60)  I have been eyeing them and really thinking about getting one, so I was super excited to have an excuse to buy one.  I knew I would need it for break and for my month long trip after school.  I was unsure of what size to get but I went with something smaller.  Traveling by bus/combi/taxi/hitchhiking is hard enough with a small pack, never less something huge.  The key is just to pack light.  Really, how many clothes do you need? 

After Riverwalk, I met Nora at the dorms and we walked to the vet clinic where we chained our laptops behind a desk.  Since, we know that someone can break into a dorm quite easily we felt uneasy about leaving our laptops in our rooms.  We figured at the vet there was less chance of theft.   We walked back to school and met a few people to walk to railpark mall.  At Railpark we bought groceries for our trip.  We also went to Food Lovers Market and raided their wall of nuts and dried fruits.  We each filled up several bags which made for delicious snacks on the road.  While at railpark we got milkshakes.  Peanut butter, banana, and honey.  Hello heaven.   Ready to leave, we sent Rebecca off in a taxi to pick up her mom and sister and we all loaded into a combi.  That night, I finished reading my new book and packed my backpack.  I packed:  (Including what I wore the first day)

• ·         4 shirts
• ·         1 long sleeve shirt
• ·         4 shorts
• ·         1 sweatshirt
• ·         Socks and underwear
• ·         3 pairs of shoes
• ·         1 towel
• ·         1 small shampoo, deodorant, small lotion, toothbrush, toilet paper
• ·         plastic bags
• ·         Bug spray and sunscreen – super necessity
• ·         Shot records, passport, debit card, 3,000 pula
• ·         Two books, crossword puzzle, camera,/charger, deck of cards
• ·         Water bottle, bowl, spoon, knife
• ·         Food

 Sunday morning, I woke up bright and early and met  Nora, Audrey, Rebecca, and her mom and sister.  We walked out to the combi stop and realized we probably should have called a taxi to take us.  We waited and finally decided to call a cab.  Luckily, a combi came by and swooped us up.  We made it to the bus stop at 5:30.  We left around six and hunkered down for a 9hr bus ride to Maun.  At each stop the bus made, there were people selling food, water, and snacks.  In Serowe, we ran around the bus stop trying to find the bathroom.  Finally, we found it.  It was none to sanitary and shared between men and women.  But hey, when you have to go you have to go.   The bus ride really wasn’t too bad.  The best part was that we had elephants cross our path!  It was my first sighting of elephants in the wild!  WOOO HOO.  This is Africa.

We got off the bus in Maun and were instantly surrounded by taxi drivers and combi drivers offering us “special deals.”  Unfortunately for them, we knew the system and knew what prices should be and that we could catch a combi out to our hostel for 3.30 pula.  Our combi dropped us 1km from Old Bridge Backpackers and we walked the rest of the way.   I loved the place!!!  It was amazing!  The atmosphere was great.  It was right on the water, open bar, hammocks, hot showers, good music, and great company.  We walked around and then made pasta for dinner in their kitchen.  It was delicious.  We woofed it down quickly!  We made our way to the bar area to socialize and have a few drinks.  That night, sleep was pretty uncomfortable.  The place we set up our tent was rock hard and I tossed and turned quite a bit.  But by the end of our camping trip, I was pretty much sleeping through the night!  

Monday morning we woke up and ate breakfast.  I had some dried fruit and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  We walked down the road and saw the “old bridge” It was pretty neat and the view was beautiful.  It was great to be surrounded by water after many months in dry Gaborone.  The group came to the consensus to visit the crocodile farm.  We caught a combi into town and tried to catch a bus there.  We couldn’t find a bus or a fair taxi price so we decided to hitch.  We hitched a ride to the end of town and then started walking the 14km.  Nobody picked us up.  We finally passed a house where two men were working on a combi.  They agreed to take us to the farm for 30 pula.   When we got there they tried to haggle more money out of us, but we held firm and walked way. We arrived at the camp that supposedly had the farm, only to find that the place was closed down.   The lady working there told us that there was nothing to do there except camp and that they could not drive us back to the main road.  We turned around and walked the 1 or 2 miles down this sandy path and back to the main road.  Luck smiled on us and within a few minutes we got picked up by this police van and driven back into town!  Woo hoo!  We ran by the grocery store and then headed back to our hostel.  We swam in the pool, hung in the hammocks, and played cards.  I also went for a quick run, which was the only run I managed to get in the whole trip.  Fail. That night we fixed veggie burgers, steak, potatoes, onion, green pepper, and cabbage over hot coals.  It was DELICOUS, maybe the best meal I had the whole trip.  We ate around the bar area, at a picnic table lit by a lantern.  For desert, we roasted marshmallows over the fire.  We  pumped out fresh water and packed our lunch for the following day.  Before we went to bed, Patella arrived to join our group.  She is Motswana, goes to UB, and knows the other girls through the rugby team.  She had to arrive late because she had to take a test Monday.  She made our group 7. 

Tuesday morning we were up, packed, and ready to go by 7:45.  We ate dried fruit and granola for breakfast and also had some complementary tea.  We took a quick drive across the road to catch a boat that would take us to the mokoros.  The boat ride was a lot of fun. We flew through one of the many channels in the delta.  The view was breathtaking.  We arrived at “the station” where there were tons mokoros and many people loading up.  Our group consisted of the seven of us plus a guy named Sergio.  Little did we know that he would become part of our family and travel the rest of the time with us. Our four mokoros started the trip to our island.  It took 1.5 hours.  We snaked through little paths in the reeds.  I was in the mokoro with Sergio and learned that he was is Spain and is traveling through Africa for six months. Then he is headed to South America.  He plans to travel for about 2 years. Epic.  I’m jealous.  

We arrived at the island and set up camp.  Our guides then showed us to the “swimming hole.”  He pointed to a small opening in the reeds and stated it was “safe” to swim.  We asked “aren’t there hippos and crocs in this water?”   Well sure there are, but people swim here all the time.  It’s perfectly safe.  Now really not my smartest moment, but it was so hot that I agreed to swim.  The water was very refreshing.  On the way back from the swimming hole we saw elephants!!!  YES ELEPHANTS.  They were SO CLOSE!!!  We stood and watched them for a bit and of course took pictures.   We played cards during the afternoon and then the guides let us practice steering the mokoros.  Moving a small wooden canoe with a wooden pole is no easy job!  At four, we jumped in the mokoros and headed to the hippo pool.  We got to see a bunch of hippos in the water and hear them “talking”.  It was quite experience and a bit of a rush knowing that you were in a tiny little boat and could easily be tipped over.  Eke.  This is Africa.  We arrived back at camp to see the sunset.  It was beautiful.  I took a picture of it and I think it’s my favorite picture of the trip.  (Even though it doesn’t have an elephant in it…. Shocker right?)  That night, after making pasta, we sat around the fire with our guides and shared stories.   

Wednesday morning we woke up, grabbed some breakfast, and set out on the mokoros by 6:15.  We made a short trip to another island/piece of land thing and did a 4 hour walking safari.  We saw giraffes, zebra, wildebeests, and other things.  This was one of my least favorite things we did.  There were a ton of people also taking walking safaris and I felt like I was at some amusement park or something.  Oh well.  It was a nice walk.  After our walk, we went back to camp and had free time until we left at 2.  We again went swimming, although this time I only got in up to my knees.   I had seen how close we were to the hippo pool and realized that we were indeed not really safe there.  Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me.  I took a nap and then got up to help break down the tents.  We arrived back at the station, jumped on our boat, and enjoyed a cold beer.  Perfection.  As soon as I got to the hostel I took a long, hot shower.  HEAVEN.   We ate at the restaurant.  I broke down and had a burger.  It was amazing. Gah.  So good.  That night we played cards and hit the bed pretty early.