Last days in Gaborone and flight home

In the last days in Gaborone I didn't do much. I just did a little shopping and walked from the River Walk Mall towards the Gaborone Dam. I thought the River Walk would be a nice hiking trail to the dam, but apart from dusty sandy paths and lots of garbage along the way, the trail was rather disappointing... 😒 In addition, you have to pass some company premises and constantly check where to go because you end up in a dead end again. And the view from the dam over the lake is not that beautiful... What I don't understand is that there is only wasteland around the lake. You could turn it into a beautiful residential area with a view of the lake. I don't know why it's not being used. 🤷‍♂️🤔
Since not much else happened in the last few days, here is some information about Botswana. Botswana means 'Land of the Tswana' in German, the people in plural are called Batswana and an individual is called a Motswana, and the national language, along with the official language English, is Setswana. The people here in Botswana are (almost) all super nice and friendly! We always felt well taken care of! 😊 You are regularly asked how you are doing on the street, in stores or elsewhere, and you are wished a nice day! That seems to be the polite thing to do here! 😃 Only in Kasane in my guesthouse, the receptionist seemed constantly annoyed or bored. 🙈😅 Many people also walk around in flip-flops or slippers, and it is often very difficult to lift your feet while walking! It's easier to shuffle half on the ground! 🙈 Something funny, there is a Botswana news channel, Btv, where both English and Setswana are spoken. Sometimes it's all in English and you understand everything, then suddenly it's only Setswana and you don't understand anything anymore, and then there is a mix of English and Setswana and you understand half of what is being said! 😅 It looks something like this, 'Blah blah blah, so they did that! Blah blah blah, that's 85%! Blah blah, you know, that means blah blah blah!' 😄
What was also noticeable was that in Namibia and Botswana there is the latest technology in terms of internet speed and reception, like 56k modems! Germany is not that far... yet... 30 years ago... 🐢🐌🥱😅 Also, when it comes to construction, they don't seem to be very precise! The doors are constantly getting stuck, they are difficult to open or close, or they don't close at all if you don't lock them. Everything is always somehow broken or simply missing. Especially often the lock on the toilet doors, the toilet paper, and something to dry your hands after washing them! 🙈😅
On Saturday, it was already departure day... 😪
The airport is tiny! There is only one big hall where everything is processed and there are only 5 flights per day! 3 to Jo'burg, one to Kasane, and one to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, that's it! 😅
The flight from Gaborone to Jo'burg takes just under 30 minutes. As soon as you are in the air, you start descending again! 😅 The flight from Jo'burg to Frankfurt usually takes just over 10 hours. But because a no-fly zone was established over Niger due to the coup, we had to fly around Niger, and the flight was scheduled for about 12 hours. However, we made it in 'only' 11 hours! 😄 Unfortunately, on the flight I once again saw how people can be disgusting! 😝 I sat on the aisle and next to me, on the other side of the aisle, there was a woman with a toddler on her lap. And in front of her, there was an older lady who reclined her seat. Normally, that's not a problem, everyone does it, but the woman with the child was already a bit cramped because of it. So she asked the lady if she could fold her seat back a little. No, she's staying like this now! But when the man in front of her reclined his seat shortly afterwards, she freaked out! She started hitting and even kicking the seat, and tried to push it back with brute force. She even stood up, hit the man on the shoulder, and cursed him! First, she does it to the woman behind her, and then she freaks out when the man in front of her does it... 🙈😅
I watched 3 movies, tried to nap in between, and apparently actually fell asleep. Because when I eventually opened my eyes, everyone around me was already having breakfast and the steward was already 5 meters away. So I sprinted back and got myself breakfast too! 😅 Soon after, we landed in Frankfurt and went to the baggage claim, to pick up our suitcases. But one by one, the other suitcases arrived, mine just didn't and the crowds around the baggage claim gradually thinned out, but I remained alone without my suitcase... When the belt suddenly stopped and my suitcase still wasn't there, I went to the baggage claim counter to complain. Yeah, according to the code, my luggage is there, it might not have gone through yet and will come with the next batch. Great, so back to the belt and waited... After what felt like an eternity, the belt started moving again, and it didn't take 5 seconds for my suitcase to appear! It had just been stopped in front of the last curve, which is why I had to wait another half an hour for it! 😝
Well, now I'm back home and my Namibia-Botswana trip has ended way too quickly! 😪