Day 55: Bloemfontein (Südafrika) – Maseru (Lesotho)

Let's go to Lesotho (pronounced Lesuddu).

At the border everything seems completely easy and the two stamps for immigration out of SA and in to Lesotho are in our passports in 5 minutes.

It seems strange to us and we specifically ask what else we need to do regarding the CdP – nothing.

On the Lesotho side, however, they don't want to stamp the CdP for us without an export stamp from SA (even though we will be entering and leaving there again). And we don't get a temporary import permit. So we walk back to SA across the border bridge. A soldier accompanies us to the customs gate. There we are sent to the counter in the barracks. The ladies there think that their colleague should stamp the car out – and now the soldier is also annoyed and stomps back to the gate at a run. A little back and forth and we get our stamp and each colleague seems to think that the other is a lazy something or other.

Across the border bridge back to Lesotho. And we get our import stamp.

We pay the road tax at the exit gate and then we are directly in Maseru.

We are not quite sure what we want to do now (visit the city or camp site) and since we are offline, we lack a little bit of a plan and orientation.

Parked, asked, and looked for the tourist information. It turns out to be more of an official counter with a "crafts" shop, consisting of two women wrapped up in recliners and a few handicrafts.

Taxis honking in the streets, idle men, beggars, a few people who look as if they are on drugs. Colorful hustle and bustle at the many small shops. Overall, a somewhat chaotic picture and more West Africa than South Africa. And somehow also a bit of a journey through time.

Back to the car to get a jacket, it is quite chilly. The car is being cleaned by three people with wipes, to whom we first have to explain that we have just paid for a wash and that a clean car does not need to be washed again and that we do not want to pay for it. The mood is somewhat confusing and so we drive to the campsite without looking any further into the city. It doesn't really matter...

The Maseru Backpackers is more of a youth hostel than a lodge and, as it turns out, is Christian-oriented. To drive onto the site we have to sign in a guest book, and we have to do this again for the campsite. We also had to sign in a book for the tourist information after parking. Always with the exact time. Hmm. It's all a bit complicated somehow.

We are in the mountains, about 1,600 m high, the sun disappears behind the horizon at around 6 p.m. and we are expecting a cold night of around 3-5 degrees. In addition to the normal blanket and ski underwear, we have to unpack the sleeping bags!

Lately we have been cooking for two days every now and then (learning from the Dutch in Xakanaxa), so today we have leftover beetroot risotto, cold drinks (brrr), hot tea, chips, chocolate and something healthy like an avocado :-)