Day 1: My dad got into Gaborone on the 15th. Now before I went to pick him up; I ended up having a major freak out. Prior to my dad’s arrival I had budgeted just enough money to get me through the week and saved some money for some groceries for when he got here. However, the morning of, I remembered that Id need P70 to get a taxi to the airport!! I had P30 in cash and knew I only had about P43 in my bank account. I had to go to the rank first and figured I could get cash out at the ATM. WRONG! I went to 6 different ATMs and not a single one of them would let me get out P40!! I started to freak out. I had about 45 minutes until he landed and there was NO way a taxi driver was going to take me for P30! So I finally ended up going into 2 stores; and the 2nd one let me swipe my card for P40 and gave me cash back! I was SOOO thankful!
So anyways, I met my dad at the airport and we picked up the rental car right there. We drove back to my place, got some groceries, and then had an appointment with one of my teen clubs in the afternoon. My students were very excited to get to meet my dad and I told them we’d have a question and answer session. They got to ask all kinds of questions about the United States. They asked: what the heart meant on his driver’s license; what activities do you do in the winter; what are the best colleges in the US; what kinds of landscapes are in the US; etc.
And they told him a little about Botswana. Unfortunately the school head and head guidance teacher were no where to be found; but he met a few other teachers. One of them asked if he would adopt her ha. And another didn’t believe he was my dad. (I mean we look so much alike right?) She made us pull out our licenses for proof! That night, I made Madombi (kind of like dumplings and stew). I had just had a cooking session with my M&E officer the day before, in which she taught me how to make Madombi and I taught her how to make rice krispie treats! Day 2: The next morning I took my dad over to Baobab school. I had decided that we wouldn’t use the car; so that he could get an idea of what it was like to ride in a combi and walk through the bus rank. I showed him the World Map that my students had worked so hard on. We met with Rose (the teacher) and all of the Standard 5 students that I had worked with the entire year. One of my students was cute and said to my dad “thank you for giving us Teacher Caitlin.” Ha. After that we came back to have lunch and stopped by several offices so that my dad could meet some of the people I work with. Unfortunately, just about everyone was out and about.
The night before, my dad looked at the map and decided we should probably split the drive between Gabs and Kasane. Luckily, my friend Heather so graciously agreed to let us stay with her. So we drove about 5 hours (and crossed the Tropic of Capricorn) and got into Francistown around 5:30pm and met with Heather to have dinner.
Day 3: We got up early and went towards the bus rank so that I could find us some breakfast. I was looking for these big diphaphata (kind of like English muffins) with eggs…but no one was selling them. So finally I went into spar and got something similar. We drove from Francistown to Kasane, which was about 6 hours total. And once we got past Nata, the road was either partially paved or bumpy and full of pot holes! There were several times when the road narrowed and of course, we were passing a semi-truck! And I kept reminding my dad to take it easy because there was no Triple A in this country!! We got to the Old House Inn/Backpackers; which turned out to be a very nice place and not too badly priced! I jumped into the pool at the first chance, but then of course, it decided to rain! And we had dinner at Old House.
Day 4: I had set up a 6 hour game drive; and 3 hour boat cruise for the day. We were picked up early in the morning and met our driver, Walter. He took us into the Chobe National Park and we drove all around for 6 hours. We saw: lots of different birds (sorry I cant remember the names of all of them—but I do remember seeing the kind of bird that “zazu” is in the lion king ha.), elephants, giraffes, lioness and 2 sleeping cubs, warthogs, impala, kudu, antelope, buffalo, zebras, etc. I think my favorite part was seeing all the elephants!! At one point, we got so close that it was pretty much right next to our car! We also saw a day or 2 old baby elephant! Botswana has one of the largest elephant herds in Africa. After our game drive, we went to Spar (grocery store) and got take away food from the counter. Ha. My dad learned about the large portions of carbs in Botswana. Neither of us could finish our meals!
Then in the afternoon, we went on a 3 hour boat cruise on the Chobe River. Unfortunately, the boat cruise (for me) was not as relaxing and pleasant as I would have liked it to be. There were probably only supposed to be about 4 of us total; but the captain of our boat said he was picking up some locals that we could “mingle and learn more about the culture.” Ha. So we ended up with a full boat and most of them had never been on a boat before; or seen the animals. Several of the ladies were grabbing onto me, asking me why I wasn’t scared. Then they found out I was living in Botswana and one woman asked if she could propose to me on behalf of her brother. And several of them kept referring to my dad as “daddy.” Ha. At one point they saw something sticking out of the water close to the boat and swore that it was a crocodile. (It was a stick.) And our captain was like next time look around, assess the situation, and THEN ask me. He goes “Freaking Motswana don’t know anything.” I just started cracking up!! Way to call your fellow Motswana out dude!! And a lady at the end of the trip asked for my phone number. Haha…So much for vacation. I was quickly reminded that even though I was on vacation…I was still in Botswana. But we did get to see some hippos, crocodiles, and buffalo pretty up close and personal!
Day 5: Went to Zimbabwe for the day. I had booked a private transfer but had not heard from the guy. So the morning of, I called him and he said I hadn’t confirmed (even though I had) but would come pick us up right away. So he drove us to the border, we stood in line (raced to get in front of the large tourist bus) and then met Innocent-our driver in Zimbabwe. We ended up with 4 other people from Germany as well.
He took us to the falls, where we walked on the path and stopped at the 16 viewing points. At one of the viewing spots, we could see people jumping into the Devils Pool on the other side of the falls!! It was so cool!! (I will explain the Devils pool later…) 
After the falls, my dad and I went to do the zipline! We ended up meeting 2 other people who were doing the flying fox, the zipline, and the gorge swing! I went first on the zipline and thought it was funny I wasn’t really nervous as we got ready…but ended up screaming as I went down ha! As im down there, I realized there was no extra pully or something that I could tell would pull me back up. I was like HEY! Wait a second! Haha but then I saw a guy coming down after me to bring me back up! Then dad went and we saw the other 2 people go down as well. We decided to stick around to watch the 2 people do the gorge swing! Ah! SOOO scary!! It was pretty much just a free fall drop and it would swing at the bottom! After ziplining, my dad and I had lunch in town and then it was back to Botswana for us.
Day 6: Got up and dropped the car off at a fellow PCVs house. We took a taxi to the Botswana-Zambia border. In order to get to Zambia, we had to take a ferry. And it was interesting because there are 2 ferries. One for passenger cars and passengers; and one for the semi trucks. And the one for the semi-trucks can only take ONE at a time. The cue for the trucks was like 10k long…they had apparently been waiting for like a week! From the border, I negotiated with a guy for a taxi and finally we were on our way to Livingstone. We stayed at a place called Jollyboys Backpackers; which was a great place with a pool, dorm rooms, shop, travel desk, and restaurant/bar.
Day 7: In the morning we were picked up and taken to do a lion walk. We met 2 sister cubs, who were 11 months old. We got to pet and walk with them through the bush. Most of the money went to a conservation project for the lions. I was first up to pet the lions and at one point she kind of looked at me and swatted at me! Ha time for me to get up! Dad purchased a film, so when I get back to the states, I can show you all ha. Until then…pictures will have to do!
After the lion encounter, we went back to JollyBoys for lunch and then got picked up again for our elephant back safari! My dad rode on Marula and got up on him using a ramp. I decided to ride Bop, who didn’t like to use the ramp. So with the help of 3 guys, climbed my way to the top of him! Bop was over 50 years old; and they said elephants can live up to around 100 years…maybe longer.
So we walked around the Mosi-oa-Tunya park for a bit and there was also a small baby elephant that walked with us. We got to go into the water and it came up to about our feet. The bigger elephants could just walk on the bottom; but the baby elephant had to swim! So cute!!
Day 8: We didn’t have anything planned until the afternoon, so we went to a little market in town and bought a few things. (While I was in South Africa, I had wanted to get a custom made skirt with patchwork print using all the different fabrics. There was a guy who was willing to do it; but it was kind of expensive, so I opted not to do it. And I was going to be beating myself up if I didn’t get another chance. I haven’t gotten the skirt made; but I bought a bunch of different fabric so that I can make it!! Im very excited to get it done!)
In the afternoon we made our way to the Royal Livingstone Hotel to go on the Livingstone Island Tour and High tea. The Royal Livingstone Hotel was super nice and along the lines of a Ritz Carlton! We waited for the jet boat to pick us up and bring us over to the island. We saw a nice tent that was set up for us for when it was time for our “high tea.” And a guy brought us over to the ledge so we could take a few pictures and see the Livingstone monument. We saw a double rainbow off the falls.
Then it was time for the Devils Pool!! This was something I had been wanting to do for a long time and I was NOT nervous at all!! The devils pool is a natural pool of water that you can jump into…right at the edge of the falls!!! Its about a 360ft drop!! I was surprised to hear that dad was hesitant, even though he’s usually the adrenaline seeking one! But he did end up doing it with me! We had to swim across and swam upstream; but don’t worry…there was a rope there in case we needed it ha. Then we got to some rocks and the guides briefly talked to us. They pointed and said jump there and you will be fine. They pointed again…Jump there and theres no coming back.
Ha. They said little fish may bite our toes but to not freak out because we could loose our balance and fall. They also said they would take pictures of us leaning over if we wanted to. So dad was the 1st one in and then me!! AHHH so exciting!! I jumped, came up for air, and then there was a little ledge for me to sit on! We sat there, took a few pictures and then I got to lean over!!
I leaned over the 360ft drop…but again no worries, there was 1 guy holding onto my ankles. No worries. And then unfortunately…it was time to go! That was one thing I didn’t like…it was too rushed!! So we swam back and over and then had drinks. We were waiting for another group (who we passed on our way back)…and the whole time I was thinking I should’ve stayed so that I could do it again! But we came back to the tent, had some drinks and then once everyone was there; we had some very nice food! We had chicken curry tarts, mini beef sandwiches, veggie tarts and then a variety of desserts. I had asked if I could go jump again…but they said no! :( So once we were done with our food; we waited till it was our turn to get back on the boat and head back to the hotel. That night there were some volunteers who were hosting a trivia night to raise money for the organization they worked for. So dad and I joined in with my 2 friends (we bumped into a fellow PCV and her friend) and 2 girls from Norway. And we came in 2nd place! We lost by 2 points! But they raised I think a little less than $200.
Day 9: So this was our “nothing” day. And we pretty much just spent the day lounging by the pool. Except in the morning we took a combi to another more “local” marimba market and walked around for a bit. I found some more fabric and it reminded me a lot of Vilanculos, Mozambique. I stopped to take a picture of the massive cow heart hanging in a butchers shop; and the guy later told me I needed to pay since I took the picture! Hehe whoops!
That night we went to the “Mexican” restaurant and got Margaritas. And although the food wasn’t exactly “Mexican”…it also wasn’t bad at all! It was funny because we were the only people in the entire restaurant. I guess the locals don’t fancy Mexican?
Day 10: So since I ran into my friend, we offered her a ride back with us to
Botswana; especially since we were both heading to Phikwe for Thanksgiving. So that morning we got up and crossed the border back to Botswana. We picked up the car and dropped Kelli at the Thebe lodge where she was staying. Dad decided to get his tires rotated; since we had had such a rough ride on the way up. We went back to Old House and stayed there for another night to help split up the drive some more. And this was Thanksgiving…so naturally dad and I had Indian food for dinner. :)
Day 11: Got up the next morning, picked up Kelli and made our way to Phikwe. It took us a total of about 8 hours, including a stop in Francistown to exchange money. And we hit the worst possible time to go to the bank in Francistown. 1pm=Lunchtime, Friday, and end of the month. (aka everyones at the bank trying to cash their paychecks). Dad couldn’t cash his traveler’s checks (and note to anyone coming here…don’t bring travelers checks…theyre more of a hassle than a convenience). Anyways, we stayed at Chuck and Marys (a PCV couple) with several other volunteers. And everyone else stayed with another American living in Phikwe. We hung out for a bit; and then went over to see everyone else for a braii (bbq).
Day 12: Thanksgiving day (not really…but its when we were celebrating it). So dad got the chance to go golfing with Chuck! Ha apparently there was a tournament going on…so they played! While they went golfing, I hung around and made broccoli casserole! Then we all went over to where the big feast was being held! We deep fried 9 turkeys and only ended up eating 4 of them!! But there was a huge feast of mashed potatoes, turkeys, casseroles, salads, and desserts! We got to hang out and swim too! It was a really nice day!
Day 13: Dad and I hit the road around 9am and took 2 other volunteers with us. We dropped them off in Mahalapye and then we continued onto Gabs. Dad got a chance to come back to my place to change and re-pack before his 30+ hour flight back to the US. So took dad back to the airport, figured out car rental stuff, and met with the sister of a lady that dad knows in Seattle. Dad had brought some stuff over to her; and then she was going to give him some things to bring back to her sister. She was very nice and even gave me a ride back! She even offered to have me come over to stay at her place on the weekends if I was looking for a pool and TV at anytime! Ha I just might have to take her up on that!
Alrighty well that's our trip in a nutshell!!
Next up: the SIX Month countdown. This is going to mean several things for me. 1-I am officially allowing myself to start counting down till the days I’m allowed to go home. 2- I’m about to get my butt back into shape (aka not eating a chocolate cake whenever im craving something sweet and running/biking again). 3- Photo-A-Day.
Starting December 9th I will no longer be typing/writing much! I plan to just do more of a photo journal, in which I will hopefully post ONE photo each day! I figured there are a lot of things I haven't captured and since pictures are worth a thousand words...I thought this might be the perfect way to round out of my service and blog!
There are also 3 albums of pictures (I took about 400+ pictures...whoops!) on facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100299457361919.2571362.7813917&type=1&l=e5545581ff
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100309312043059.2572708.7813917&type=1&l=4dccdbe766
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100309374368159.2572713.7813917&type=1&l=9558613bcb
