Medie, off the main route

Winding out of Gaborone early morning involved a series of dirt roads reminiscent of the central asian, think Uzbek, Turkmen or Tajik, neighborhoods nestled around the metropolitan centre's, falling outside the central district. Sealed arterials stretch towards onwards destinations, with predominantly poor roading fpr the final kilometres as houses become more simple and the neighborhoods poorer. At least electricity and water seem to extend outward for a greater distance. The outskirts gradually blend into plots, some with livestock or small cropping areas. I discover this because my routing tool, Bikemap, wanders the more obscure options. Even when selecting smooth or roadbike preferences. Some deviations span kms to skip a 250m stretch of multilane road.
The town of Lentsweletau arrived in time for lunch. A nearby food shack was recommended by the local pool sharks, potting balls furiously in an outdoor lean to. Pool has remained a keenly spent pastime with tables in most neighborhoods. Many next to the local bar.
Next stop Medie. This took me almost equidistant between the 2 sealed road options through to Boatlaname and then the much larger Serowe. Medie is one of the smaller settlements, more rural and with basic services. It was a mine support settlement with a substantial open pit mine just to the north. This resulted in a pretty dusty last few hours as the large coal carriers rumbled the mixed gravel and sand roads towards Gabs and then to South Africa or elsewhere. Water and electricity supplied by 1 or 2 , sometimes 4, wire overhead lines and 50 - 100 m3 elevated water towers shrouded in square metallic paneling, presumably offering some critter protection as well as reflecting the strong sunlight.
Stopping at the local bar I wandered across to a nearby multi dwelling property to ask about camping on their fenced plot. After some discussion with an early 20s young man, over wandered his older sister who offered a quiet spot outside or the option to sleep on the tiled floor of her brother's house, largely complete but needing interior work. It included working shower and toilet. As a mine worker the brother was on day 4 of a 4 x 4 rotation. Departing as I unpacked, he would be home at 6am the next morning from his nightshift. Indoor camping is always a come option and as the rowdy bar music drifted across the road I burrowed into my sleeping bag.Lue lisää