Eswatini AKA Swaziland

         

                We arrived at Foresters Arms in the afternoon along with the rain, after a 4 hour drive from White river. The lodge, surrounded by trees is nestled in the forest and offers views of multitudes of flowers and fauna. Dennis was really taken with the huge platter of green leafed plants. The pool was also very green since the rain had washed in mud and plants. Three days later when we left, the efforts of the grounds crew were paying off and both transparency and blue were returning to the water. 

        At dinner that night we spoke to Ruth, the owner and arranged for a driver to take us to the Mantegna Cultural Village and the Sugar Snap Cafe. Both of these were recommendations from Matt Perry. Ruth suggested that we put off our excursion for a day due to rain. So we spent a quiet day reading and for me, painting. It was the first time I had actually had an opportunity to get out the art supplies and go to work. It was a good day for both of us.

Impressions of Namibia

Beginning to envision Windhoek

                Our excursion day dawned bright and sunny. I had one little tiny glitch. Something has happened to the LCD screen of my camera. It looks like it’s cracked but there’s no actual crack. It looks like the fingerprint of a witch so the left hand side doesn’t show what the left side actually is. I contacted Canon but they no longer have the great tech support they had. I can call but it will cost a fortune, especially if I have to wait on hold. I sent two emails but have gotten no response. When I’m home, I’ll start shopping for a new one but I doubt that it will be a Canon. Grrr. 

        At Mantegna we were there in time to enjoy the music of the traditional dancers. I think the dances are kept alive in much the same way as Folkloric dances. 

        After the singing and dancing we took a tour of the traditional village. The grandmother has a special house. As the men can have more than one wife the husband’s mother has a special role. This grandmother becomes the negotiator and the judge should conflict arise between wives or between a wife and a husband. I asked our guide, Thulani if such traditional villages still exist. He said they have not existed in this way since the times of his great-grandparents or not for about 100 years. Though it is still possible to have more than one wife. King Mswati III had 15. Two left and two died. He has 36 children and 11 grand children. Younger people are less likely to follow this tradition.

        Near the village there is also a very pretty waterfall. We took the rough challenging drive to see it. It is a lovely spot for a picnic though it has signs warning about crocodiles. Our guide Thulani told us that in 7 years he has never seen one.

        From here we went to the Sugarsnap Cafe where the 4 of us had lunch and got to meet Cynthia Coozi, the owner. This was another recommendation from Matt. She was a delight as is her cafe.

        Back at the lodge we finished packing. After the generous lunch at Sugarsnap we couldn’t even think of eating dinner. We went to the bar to share a bottle of wine. While there we began talking to a couple sitting at the bar. We had seen them around the lodge before, working on computers and internet service. They lived in Johannesburg but come to Foresters Arms several times a year to provide tech support. It seems they’re animal lovers and have rescued 4 dogs. They also have a 300 pound pig. They got the pig as a gift for her young son who had been traumatized by the loss of 2 Pekinese dogs. The woman who sold it to them assured them that it would NOT get larger than 45 pounds. It turns out that many of her customers also ended up with very large pigs. When they complained on her Facebook page she simply defriended them and the complaints disappeared.

        This pig, Harold is about 14 years old now. He’s completely housebroken and sleeps in the kitchen. As he’s getting up there in age, they’re beginning to worry about what will happen to his body when he dies. To have him cremated will cost a fortune, plus can you imagine the smell coming from the crematorium? BBQ!  Currently their vet bills are about $500.00 a month. They were very entertaining to talk to. They talked over each other explaining their lives and telling tales on each other. What a fun evening.

        Saturday—South Africa!

Good bye Swaziland! 

        A final word from Dennis:

        I too enjoyed the cultural village, the dancing and especially the talk given by the village elder. As we toured the reconstructed village. But life here in Africa (as it has in many other places in the world we’ve visited) has and is evolving. Accessing the internet and cell phones is changing people and cultures. Everyone has a cellphone. As an example, our driver Selo asked if we would mind if he picked up his son while returning us to the Foresters Arms. No problem. The boy is a beautiful three year old attending pre-school. Selo stopped and came back to the vehicle with a bright eyed, smiling boy. “He’s learning English in school.” Selo told us.   

        We talked to him a bit and then Selo got a phone call from his wife. His son knew it was mom and wanted to talk to her so Dad passed the phone to him. He was sitting in the back seat between Cindy and me. After taking and laughing with mom, he disconnected and started searching the photos. with two thumbs he maneuvered  like a pro to things he was interested in seeing while the 79 year old grandpa sitting next to him sat sucking his thumb. 😋 I found it fascinating. Where am I going with this? Good question. When we travel, we hope we provide jobs and money to those needing to feed their families as well as adding new experiences and adventures to ours. That’s what we hope. Oh, and the waterfall at Mantegna? It was beautiful. Comments? Go easy on me. Remember I’m old. 😲