SEMONKONG, Lesotho — It took three hours of driving through the majestic, almost monotonously majestic, mountains of Lesotho, including the last 90 minutes bumping along unpaved roads. Oh, was it worth it.
Semonkong — Sesotho for “The Place of Smoke” — is best known for the Maletsunyane Falls, which at 192 meters is one of the tallest waterfalls in Africa. But more striking is the unspoilt landscape — and authenticity of Basotho village life. I was tempted to toss a Coke can to the ground, just to remind me of home.
This is no ethnographic-museum gimmick. The Basotho are a mountain folk, yesterday and today. From a nation of 2 million – perched as The Kingdom in the Sky – just one-tenth live in the capital, Maseru, as my neighbors. So it’s no exaggeration to say most Basotho live like those you’ll glimpse below. A simple life, but one filled with hardship: HIV, poverty and malnutrition.
Hope you enjoy viewing my photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.
- Basotho cowboys, home on the range — adorned in the ubiquitous “Basotho Blanket.” (Photo: mjj)
- The Basotho, a handsome people. (Photo: mjj)
- Among the asses, hauling sacks of maize meal. (Photo: mjj)
- Lesotho’s for lovers. (Photo: mjj)
- A colorful cloak signifies church laywoman. (Photo: mjj)
- Light graze before lunch. (Photo: mjj)
- A boy battens down his cargo. (Photo: mjj)
- The rondeval. I must try sleeping in one. (Photo: mjj)
- The “spiral aloe,” unique to Lesotho. (Photo: mjj)
- A stern herd-boy. (Photo: mjj)
- The Basotho BMW of travel. (Photo: mjj)
- The Trabant of Basotho travel. (Photo: mjj)
- A case for chiropracty. (Photo: mjj)
- Fetching water. (Photo: mjj)
- She got a signal out here? (Photo: mjj)
- The prized cargo are sacks of papa, or maize meal, the dietary staple. (Photo: mjj)
- As they passed, the view was even better. (Photo: mjj)
- The grassy highlands of Lesotho. (Photo: mjj)
"Khotso, Pula, Nala" 