レソト王国へは、ブルームフォンテーンからミニバスで向かう。興味深かったのが、レソトと南アの国境についたころから、急に人々がフレンドリーになったこと。レソトは南アフリカの国土に囲まれた、ソト族の住む山の上の王国。人口は200万人程度。正直、田舎の国なのだけれど、南アのどこか殺伐とした雰囲気と比べて、穏やかな気がする。国土の標高が最低で1000mを越えるこの国は、"Kingsdom in the Sky"とお土産Tシャツに書かれるほど雲が近くて、ちょっといいじゃんとワクワクする。これは楽しい旅の予感。
We took a minivan to Kingdom of Lesotho from Bloemfontein. Interestingly, people were much more friendly right after we crossed the border. Lesotho is landlocked country, completely surrounded by South Africa, with Basotho(Sotho people). It has a population of approximately 2,000,000. Compared to South Africa, Lesotho seems rural and calm. This country lies entirely above 1,000 metres in elevation and close to clouds as it's depicted as "Kingdom in the Sky" on the souvenir t-shirts. We are very excited.
translated by Mizue Kawamura