July 13

I woke early again to shower, which was one of the worst decisions I have made in a long time. The air could not have been even at 0 degrees, and though I jaunted over to the shower rooms, and threw on the scalding water, I shivered and shivered throughout the entire time, getting even colder once I turned off the water and stood wet in the still freezing conditions. Alisa also slept poorly, so we weren’t in the best of moods this morning, but there was no time to commiserate as we had to take down our tents and get ready to pack the truck that was coming. As soon as it pulled on the sand in the lodge, I realized my luck was not getting any better as it was an open air truck with two long back to back benches running the length of the middle of the truck We pack all of our supplies, and help move all the food and kitchen equipment that is also going into the Delta underneath the seats, and then Alisa puts her big wool blanket on her lap and I break out my sleeping bag in order to give us some protection on this bitter morning. The trek out to the main road along the sand tracks wasn’t terrible, but once on the main road and cruising at 80km the wind and the cold were biting. The fact that this was a 90+ minute ride added no comfort and so I tried to sleep the ride away with Alisa and I bundled closely together. No one spoke the whole way, though the wind would have made that difficult, but it was obvious that everyone was trying to solider through. We stopped on the side of the road by a bakery for Jay to run in and get fresh loafs for our two days, and we drew the most peculiar looks from passersby. At first I thought this odd as this was the ‘Gateway to the Delta’ and locals must be used to seeing tourists and Westerners, but then I realized that we all probably looked a bit disheveled and perhaps a little migrant looking with all the blankets and apparel that we had put on to protect us from the cold. What a sight we must have been! Continue reading →