Maun

I’ve arranged for a taxi to take me to the airport at 6:30 this morning to fly from Gaborone to Maun.  I had a sneaky suspicion that he wouldn’t show up, as he was ½ hour late to pick up Richard and I last night for our dinner arrangement.  So when I called him at 6:30 am, I wasn’t surprised to hear that he was still sleeping.

The great thing about being in this continent is that when one plan fails, someone else is usually happy to help out.  As I was asking the hotel receptionist to help me, her boss overheard the conversation and decided to drive me to the airport himself for a reduced rate.

Upon check-in, I was told to go pay an excess baggage fee.  My bags were not THAT heavy!  Secretly, I’ve always made fun of people who pay excess baggage fees.  I peg them for mostly women who have no control over what they pack.  Have I turned into one of those?

Mpho, the director at WAR, who would be my boss for the next 3 weeks, happened to be on the same flight going back to Maun.  I met up with her at the airport.  When we landed in Maun, Mpho took me to the WAR office across the street from the airport.  The blinding sunlight felt so great on my back.  The heat is intense and dry, which reminded me of my trip to Joshua Tree last summer.

The WAR office is made up of two buildings on the same plot of land.  Between the two buildings is a flat, sandy courtyard.  The sand is fine and grey, as Maun sits on the edge of the Kalahari Desert.  Under the blazing sun, the inside of the buildings are actually cool.  From the front yard of the office, one can see the planes land on the landing strip.

The front office door:

WAR reception area:

The front of the building:

Front of building again:

After a quick visit to the WAR office, Mpho took me to Jump Street, which would be my home for the next 4 weeks.  Jump Street is an accommodation complex made up of individual huts with thatch roofs.  Each hut is a standalone unit.  My hut has a bed in the middle of the room with tiled floor.  There is a small 3-piece bathroom with a stand-up shower.  I also have a small kitchen, which has a sink, a bar fridge, and a toaster oven with two heating elements on top.  The walls are painted an earthy orange.

I quite like my new home.  Aside from having no internet access, I believe I will enjoy it here immensely.  At this moment, I am feeling like an addict in need of a fix.  I keep clicking on my browser, only to be reminded that I am not connected to the internet here.  Adriaan, a previous WAR volunteer from Vancouver, had advised me to bring lots of books to read.

Tomorrow I will set out to explore the surrounding area, and promise to post more pictures.