My afternoon on the Okavango Delta was very pleasant. I had some time by myself in a chair on the open plain- birds chirping all around me, the sight of a small canal covered in broad pac-man resembling lily pads with light purple flowers, the cool breeze blowing, surrounded by hippo tracks...but today was not this good until the afternoon, in fact, maybe one of the most miserable days I have experienced. Let me share how I got to the small remote island: First, we packed up from Guma Camp onto motorboats and headed into the delta. It was super fun for the first 10 minutes until it started to rain- and it rained (see above photograph by Brandon Bair)! Everything was wet- book bags, clothes, sleeping bags (even journals, cameras, and passports we found out later). Not only was it raining but the wind was blowing which made it cold! What was supposed to be a 2 hour trip turned into 4 (maybe even 5). There were 4 boats and each had to stop often to both cool the engine down and scoop water from the floor of the boat. I was frigid and if it would not have been for Rev. Robinson putting his arms around me and our boats teamwork, I probably would have gotten hypothermia like another one of the girls on our boat. I will admit, it was humorous at first, but then became serious. Luckily, our island of destination was right around the corner when this happened. My body was shivering so much I could not even put weight on my legs- but I was definitely thankful for shivering thermogenesis and not hypothermia at this point! Thankfully the boys quickly made a fire (with wet wood- it was a miracle). Camp was assembled but I was instructed to stay by the fire. After changing clothes and having a few cups of hot tea, I became warmer. The rain ceased finally in the early afternoon and made for an enjoyable rest of the day- taking walks and boat rides on the delta- the delta redeeming itself from my morning experience.
