And the rains came, and the floodwaters rose

Weather like this needs a Biblical reference. Here we are on day three of our journey, and it is the third day of substantial downpours. Never in any of our travels has it rained as much as it is now. Not even southeast Asia. There is serious flooding. Already, we have been diverted twice on the roads because either a bridge has been wiped out or it is unpassable. Ok, we are not in a rush nor on a schedule, so we have been taking our time.

First stop was Kimberly, where Cecil Rhodes started his diamond empire and DeBeers still rules. I am not impressed. There is nothing romantic about a history of pillaging the land and slaving the locals for sparkling stones. The Big Hole was truly amazing to see though, as the largest manmade hole in the world. We actually did not pay the R75 to go in legally through the museum. We went through the schmancy hotel next door and looked out over their garden view point.

We did not overnight at the schmancy hotel, rather at the Gumtree Lodge located outside of town. It is a renovated former prison, the notorious "place of last return" for workers suspected of swallowing diamonds. They were fed a pretty nasty laxative cocktail in order to retrieve the stones, and many people died in the process. Nice history. We booked into the bunkroom, in which we slept surprisingly well. There was just one other couple in there. Good enough place to stay.

Gabs seems a long time ago. Russ and I shed a few tears after saying goodbye to our friends Helen, Zane, Rosemary, and Rafa. Bill left on Wednesday as well. We talked about possibly hooking up in Namibia during the next holiday, but we'll see. There are many variables and I hope it works out.

We are now in Bloemfontein, the heart of the Orange Free State, the birthplace of the African National Congress (99 years ago this month), and the home of Elaine and Zack. These are friends of mine from Mariental and Zack married us in Luderitz. We probably caught them at the worst possible time. Deurmekaar does not describe it. They are in the middle of moving: one house does not have water; the other has no furniture or food. So we are staying with a friend of theirs for the overnights, which is fine if not a bit awkward. Zack is the pastor of a viabrant church, which means that he is very very busy. They have had meetings every night and we have not seen too much of them. However this morning, they brought us to perhaps the best farmers market (boermark, as this is a strong Afrikaans speaking area) I have ever been to. Amazing fruits, vegetables, cut flowers, nursery plants, cooked foods, jarred preserves, biltong, handcrafts, and other delights. We ate well and found a few things.

So far in our short time on the road, we have managed to leave one towel and a flashlight behind. We are still trying to get comfortable in our traveling skins and keep the car organized. I think we will be ready to move on soon.