We headed out of the lodge today on a long meander to a river. Along the way we picked up 8 children who were delighted to see us and show us around their village. They accompanied us down a steep cliff to a huge valley below. Along the way we met a sheep and goat herder dressed in native attire. Eventually we reached the bottom of the valley and the river. It was wasn’t the cleanest water in the world – but it was running and most of the kids stripped down and jumped in.
We sat by watching them and then all of the sudden the kids started screaming and pointing. One of the smaller guys had wondered a bit upstream and apparently got caught by the current and was sucked under. It became clear that he did not know how to swim and he was unable to reach the surface. He was obviously drowning. I jumped in and reached him just in time to see his panicked face well below the surface. I snatched up his little body and quickly deposited him on one of the dry rocks on the riverbank. He was so scared, gasping in air and did not go back in the water for the rest of the day.
One of the girls was so full of energy – as tough as nails. She was the first one to jump into the water despite the water being quite cold. She was the only one without shoes and walked the entire distance – and the valley was covered with thorny plants. We asked her if she was ok and she just smiled.
We watched the sun go down and took a bunch of pictures with the children on the edge of the cliff overlooking the entire valley and mountains in the distance. One of the girls was full of energy – We bought the children several large drinks to share. I told them to take care of the little guy who almost drowned.
Lesotho is a special place; it is unknown, underrated, unbelievable – remote, rugged and rural.
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