I have to say that I was feeling happy when I left Bibs International Hostel in Saint Lucia which is actually quite sad because I think had the manager stayed my experience would have been a whole lot different but hey I met some cool people.

So onward I went destination Swaziland, strange as I would be passing out and back into South Africa in a matter of a few days. swaziland a small country with a population of approximately 860 000 bordering mozambique and South Africa. Also it is one of the few countries like us who still has a monarchy. The King himself i believe is quite an ineresting character and has a number of wives. Their culture is carried through well with many ceremonies and celebrations taking place involving a large proportion of the community. Many men are kingsmen and hold down other regular jobs too it is verinteresting t hear about it.

There are many good things about swaziland that is defiitely worth thinking about a visit and as usual as i was only there for a few days I didnt really get an opportunity to sample all this small country has to offer. It has lovely national parks and lovely home made crafts which i didnt purchase owing to the fact that I didnt have transport to the shop and getting thee things through customs is often a real pain.

So after arriving at swaziland backpackers who had very interesting staff it wasnt long until we were hiking up a hill to go for sundowners led by a guy called dave who has roots in south africa but has grown up in Luton, totally unexpected. He was an interesting character. He had a lot to say about the culture but he was also mainly interested in getting you to buy drinks plus plus maybe in the hope of getting you drunk so you would buy him some too but thats just a presumption and probably incorrect because other than that he was harmless.

Sunset was amazing, the valley sure is an amazing sight to be hold, lots of stately buildings everywhere. While we were up there dave set about telling us a little bit about the king and his servants. How he is allowed many wives and some of the stories that lay within the folds of the valley. For example there is a story that many children are buried on a hill behind the palace and you are not allowed to point at it because it is considered offensive. There were lots of stories like that it was all very interesting.

The part after the sunset was actually the most beautiful as the sky was set abalze with a myriad of pinks, reds and oranges by far one of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen so far. As the sky changed from orange to pink to red to violet and eventually black we made our way down the hill to go back for tea which was thai green curry, a very interesting version really but it was edible. we sat up and had a few beers and kirst was manically trying to change her flight so she could visit Mozambique and also half tempting me too. it was really good to see her again to catch up with her again after two weeks. I had had a few lonely days and to see a familiar face again was awesome.

The activities we did over the next two days included a visit to a local orphanage which is run by a christian society. it was a very tocuhing experience, these children ranged from the ages of 2 to 16. They had likely lost their parents to the effectsof AIDS and their grandparents will have died of old age so they had nobody left in the world. There was a story of one little girls who was taken in by people but because they had to go out to work they left her sitting under a tree all day not because they were cruel quite the opposite, they had to go out to work to survive and the services over in Swaziland are not the same as ours. Anyhow someone found this little girl who could not walk and had bowed legs from sitting in one positon all day and she was eventually taken in by this orpange and she is now walking and is a very smart little 3 year old as I had the honiur of meeting her.

So that day we just spent time reading to the children and helping them with their chores. They all grow their own vegetables and are encouraged to developevery day life skills, it is a brilliant project and although I was only there for a few hours it touched my heart and again demonstrated how we do not realise what we are lucky enough to have.

the following day Kirst and I did a cultural quad bike tour. There was only the two of us and a guide that went by the name of. It was a brilliant day out. We rode through the valleys through streams and took a dip in a waterfall and took tea with a local family. It was quite an eye opener to see the way they live. Basically the kitchen and main living area are in the same place. However there is no ventiliation and in this round hut they use an open fire so the roof is coloured black from all of the soot. we went in while the fire was burning and you had to squat to the floor because  the smoke made your eyes sting really badly.

They ground corn manually and kept chickens too. The family was made up of a um, dad and two children. We stopped by a couple of ouses, one where we bought small pieces of crystal and another where we had tea again. The third stop demonstrated that there is also a difference in the standard of living within the community. he third place we stopped at  had large crops of corn and chilli. The house was basically surrounded on four sides by these corn crops. The children looked generally helathy whilst the children at the first house looked unkempt. I suppose this happens at home too but you just dont reallyh open your eyes to it very much.

Whilst we were riding along we also were chased by children down the road waving or shouting for money. At first waving and driving a quad one handed was a bit of a dificult task but yu soon got used to it. We stopped by this local shebeen where they brew their own alcohol we were meant to try some and i literally only out my lips to the jug because it did look unclean yet i didnt want to ofend so we gave the rest to the locals who were only too happy to take it of our hands.

Overall it was a brilliant day and certainly very warm. After some traditonal african food back at the base cooked lovingly by the mum we headed back to the hostel in a taxi via the cash point which was an unerving experience as there was a strange man hanging around the cash point.

As we were the only ones at the hostel we went to the sundowners hotel to have dinner and watch the football with Dave. it was to be an early start the next day so we went to bed early.