There are lots of places where you can stop for a rest on the roadsides of Lesotho. The only problem, though, is that there are not many trees for shade and by lunchtime the sun was breaking through the clouds.

Seeing a place from the seat of a bicycle makes you notice things in quite a lot of detail; things that you would flash past quickly in a car.

The lack of trees is an example. Those that are there are mainly poplars on the roadsides and peach trees in people’s gardens.

It would therefore make sense that my lunch would be peaches, sold by a group of women sitting at a spot on the road just before the town of Teyateyaneng.

They looked as if they would be at that roadside for the full day. They had brought cooked “pap” in pots they were eating from; some sat with their legs were stretched out in front of them, others lay down on their stomachs, others sat with their legs crossed.

At this place, people would be waiting for rides to Maseru in mini-bus taxis.

On the opposite side of the road was a similar little market, for the people waiting to get on to taxis going in the opposite direction, to Teyateyaneng.

The peaches were juicy. They had white flesh inside as well as a bit of red colouring.

One of the women selling them picked up that I found them different to peaches I was used to. After she had spoken to her colleagues across the road, she explained to me that these were “winter peaches”.

She also sold packets of dried peach, which she called “mangangajane” in seSuthu.

Peaches, both fresh and dried, are delicious after a morning’s cycling, especially if you’re carrying not only your own weight but also your luggage and of course the ten copies of National Geographic.

Ten copies are actually quite heavy!
I closed my eyes and focussed on the wetness and the sweetness of the peaches. I threw them down my throat. One, then another and then another.

Image: Duncan Guy, CC-BY-SA

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Do you have any memories of food being extra tasty when you’re tired?