In what now seems like another life, I worked at a bank.  Soon after I started there a client called and said that he needed us to settle a trade he’d made in Botswana.  Being new to the job, I said what I normally said, “Sure, no problem.”  Of course I had no idea what to do after that so I simply did what I always did in the situation and moseyed over to my boss and asked what to do next.

“What?  Botswana?  Where the hell is Botswana?”

“In Africa.”

“Oh jeez thanks.”  Apparently it had been a rhetorical question.

“So what should I do now?”

“How the hell should I know?  Who trades in Botswana?  Why would you agree to that?”

Years later, having long moved on, I returned to visit my old co-workers one day.  Turns out they still hadn’t figured out what to do with that trade in Botswana.

While the trade may never have settled, I now know a little about Botswana.  A large, landlocked country, largely covered by the Kalahari Desert, it is located in the far south of Africa.  Despite being a difficult place to do business, it is renowned for its wildlife.  Unfortunately I still haven’t been there to visit, but this week’s reader photo comes from someone who has: Thibaut Astic.

Photo by Thibaut Astic.

A gifted photographer, Thibaut captured this photo last summer (or winter in Botswana terms) in Chobe National Park.  Aside from over 10,000 square kilometers and the largest elephant population in Africa, the park also has the densest populations of wildlife in the country.  Thibaut certainly captured that in this photo where all the “vegetarian” animals had gathered near one of the rare supplies of water.  He said he chose this photo for the feeling of serenity and peace it provokes, a feeling that he said is far too little associated with Africa, a continent of contrasts.