4am: the time we decided to leave for Lesotho. We loved the idea of going on a road trip to shoot a traditional wedding in Mafeteng and decided to leave the day before the wedding, giving us plenty of time to explore and take photos. We managed to get the car loaded and were on the road by 5:30am (luckily we stayed on the road seeing as the mist was so thick).
We were starting to look forward to the snowy mountains we were promised and breathed the cold air enthusiastically. It was only days ago, after all, that we all made sure thick, warm jackets had priority on our shopping lists. We finally arrived at the Lesotho border at Van Rooyen's gate.... alas, no snow. As the sun was beating down on us we slowly came to the realization that the money spent on sub-zero temperature clothing, may have been better spent on hats, sunglasses and perhaps a map...
After many kms, u-turns and the butchering of the “ha quobete” pronunciation, we finally find the house. Somehow we all had the idealized image of a beautiful, snowy mountain top venue, and was now confronted with a small, weather torn, green and white tent in the center of the small village. “No worries”, we think, “we'll make it work”.
The hotel was a welcome sight and we felt right at home in the cozy rooms. We scoffed down a few hearty pizzas for lunch, chatted endlessly about music that will make any 16 year old cringe and then relaxed on a blanket under the sun. If it wasn't for the icy shadows that rudely woke us up, I believe the night could have been well spent under the stars. One late afternoon chick-flick and two cups of coffee each later, we went down to the sports bar for the Ghana-Uruguay game. I have to say that their local beer is not too bad, while the locals are spirited and incredibly friendly. We shouted, cheered and cried with the other fans and went to bed shortly after midnight.
The next morning we got up bright and early, packed up and started our breakfast hunt. If we thought about it for long enough we would have realized that the hotel breakfast would have knocked russians and chips off the charts, but then we would have missed the early morning "hustle and bustle" of the Mafeteng city life as well as a brilliant cup of coffee.
With full stomachs we set off to the venue and should have been less surprised by the fact that we were the first people there. With a normal wedding this would be expected, but we were told that the proceedings will only start once all the relevant people arrived (which is usually shortly after sun-up, but because it was slightly cloudy, the sun was still technically under...) My kingdom for another hour of sleep. At least the green and white awning was now replaced with a very large, white giant of a tent and the local music man was greeting the morning, harp in hand, with an off-set bounce in his walk.
...to be continued.
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