Crossing the Border into Botswana . . .
turns out to be far more time - consuming than we had envisioned.
We are hot and tired . . and haven't eaten yet today.
When driver, Jeff, is asked his driver's license number . .
he inadvertently reverses a Z and an R . .
Which triggers his being taken to another building for a computer search
of his background and lots of questioning. They think he has a stolen vehicle.
He, of course, is embarrassed . frustrated . impatient . insulted . and innocent !
Two or more hours pass and we start the motor and . . begin to pull away
when alas . . he is flagged to pull over . . They now accuse him of . . speeding
( We have barely pulled out of parking ) . . Is this "Black - on - Black" harassment ??
It seems now that they are embarrassed . . detaining us for . . no reason
so to save face . . they want a 300 PULA fine . . to be paid in Pula . . We have none.
Now 'we' are questioned. Fortunately we have Susan's email giving us son Jeff's phone number. The officer insists he be the one to dial. No Answer . . Later he dials again . . No Answer.
We find Susan's email on our iPad. He is satisfied we do have a legitimate reason for crossing into Botswana.
But the officer in the other car wants money . . now willing to accept RAND.
We pay him Rand ( about $30 ) . . since Jeff would not be here except on our behalf.
At last we're IN Botswana . . headed for the capital city of "GABS" . . as locals call "Gaborone".
Interestingly, Fred's and Susan's son is, we think, the Press Secretary for the current president of Botswana . . ( So we feel like 'name droppers!' at the border )
Those of us who have enjoyed the fictional book series about 'PRECIOUS' ( daughter of the beloved earlier president Sir Seretse Khama ) may get a kick out of road signs reminding us all of the story
. . and this photo which might be . . ' the SON of ' Sir Seretse himself . .
Ian Khama
( His Excellency Lieutenant General . . President of the Republic of Botswana )
As we drive by the Mass Media Complex . . we wonder if Jeff R. gives interviews
in this building . . ( red spots . . looking directly into the sun )
Seeing 'Tlokweng' we can't help but think of ' Speedy Motors ' . . belonging to Precious' husband
. . and where Precious and her secretary, Grace, set up their office . .
for ' The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency '
Many of these fun names . . from the series . . bring smiles to our faces
We drive around town thinking about 'Precious' . . and her bewilderment
watching her little town grow into a "city of considerable size"
Cranes are in the air every direction you look . . .
Just one shot of the terrain in Botswana . . some hills . . lots of grass land.
Further inland there are miles of . . . desert
Exiting at a border south of the capital . . closer to Lobatse . . is painless . . even humorous.
The agent behind the counter is silly . . He'll be off work in a few minutes . .
and we smell liquor on his breath.
On the way out the door . .
we notice NO Southern African countries . . are on this list
with those who have . . Yellow Fever issues.
Leaving Boswana . . via this crossing . . back into South Africa . . .
We overnight in . . Rustenburg.
Jeff is relieved . . and we are relieved for him !!
Rusty and Wrinkles think about how different tomorrow will be . . Let's go 'play' . . .
____________________
No comments:
Post a Comment