Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Travel the World - Week 47


This is the 47th week in my Travel the World personal challenge. Each week I am randomly choosing one country (there are 195 countries in the world) and doing a little research on that country. I then select one tidbit of information about the country as inspiration for the card I make.


This week's country is...



Lesotho


The terrain of Lesotho consists of highland with plateaux, hills and mountains.

Lesotho is a landlocked country: a country surrounded by land with no access to the sea. There are currently 45 such countries, the vast majority of them suffer economically due to the drawbacks caused by a lack of access to the sea.

People living in rural and mountainous regions live in huts called rondavels. Walls of these huts are made from stone and mud while the roofs are built from the grass. Those who live in towns have houses with concrete walls and roofs covered tin.

Lesotho is slightly smaller than Maryland, U.S.

It is the only independent state in the world that lies entirely above 4,593 feet in elevation.

Lesotho does not have many forests. In fact, forests cover less than 1% of the land area.


There are two national parks in Lesotho.

Maletsunyane Falls is Lesotho's 630 foot high waterfall. The plunging water of the waterfall creates a reverberating echo when it contact the basin of the falls, and local legend has it that the sound comes from the wailing of people who have drowned in the falls.

The economy of Lesotho is based on agriculture, livestock, manufacturing, hydroelectric power and mining.

The main mineral resource is diamonds from the Letseng diamond mine in the Maluti mountain range. The mine produces very few stones, but has the highest dollar ratio per carat of any diamond mine in the world.

The Sani Pass in Lesotho has been named one of the world’s most dangerous mountain passes. The hairpinned pass connects Underberg in South Africa with Mokhotlong in Lesotho.

There are known to be 339 bird species in Lesotho, including 10 globally threatened species and 2 introduced species, 17 reptile species, including geckos, snakes and lizards, and 60 mammal species endemic to Lesotho, including the endangered white-tailed rat.

The population of Lesotho is estimated to be around 90% Christian.

Lesotho is home to one of the scariest runways in the world. The Matekane Air Strip is a high elevation airstrip with a runway that extends to the edge of a 1,968 foot cliff.


The Katse Dam in Lesotho is the second largest double-curvature arch dam in Africa. 
Pap-pap or papa is the daily staple food of the people of Lesotho. This dish is a cornmeal porridge (a dish consisting of oatmeal or another meal or cereal boiled in water or milk.) The porridge is accompanied with a thick sauce made from vegetables, peas, and other chopped greens.

Funerals and weddings are an expensive occasion for a Lesotho family as they have to serve delicious food to the guests and neighbors.

Lesotho has one of the highest adult literacy rates in Africa.

Meat in Lesotho is a rare delicacy for many households. Milk too is rare for most households. Starchy diets are common for the poor households with animal sources of protein, mainly meat and milk becoming a rare prestige for those ‘rich’ few who can afford.

To avoid the cost of importing food from the neighboring South Africa, most families in Lesotho raise their own wheat, corn, cabbage, peas, pumpkins, and more.

Not many countries can say that their traditional dress is a blanket. The Basotho blanket is a very common sight in the kingdom of Lesotho, often with colorful patterns. The blanket is not only used to protect the Basotho against the cold, but is also worn as a status symbol and cultural identification. Almost entirely made of wool, they protect very well against the harsh cold winter.

Lesotho sees 300 days of sunshine every year. The rainy season falls between October and April.

I decided to let this Lesotho fact be the inspiration for this week's card... Lesotho is one of a handful of places in Africa where it’s possible to ski.




Thanks for stopping by my blog today!


Stamp: Penny Black Skiing Snowman stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Papers: Recollections Black and 110# White and SU Old Olive CS and DP from my scrap file

Embellishments: Brads from unknown vendors

3 comments:

Beth Norman-Roberts said...

Very interesting to hear you can ski in Africa. Your card sure fits the bill. Lovely DP as always and cute snowman. Nice embellishments

kiwimeskreations said...

What a fabulous compilation of facts Jeanette - and a fun card to illustrate an uncommon fact :)
Blessings
Maxine

Lynn McAuley said...

You can ski in Texas, too, if someone hauls in snow and makes a fake slope!! LOL!!! Fun card with this skiing snowman!