When Bianca showed us our little octagonal cottage she told Alex he could sleep on the rooftop terrace if he wished. He was warned it might be very cold. A mattress was put up there, and made up for him with a duvet and two extra blankets.
At bed time we all lay up on the roof for a while, talking and watching the stars. We aren’t familiar with the constellations of the southern hemisphere, but we could easily find the southern cross. There were thousands, and thousands of stars. Such a beautiful, clear night. The sky looked vaulted. It was truly amazing!
Alex stayed up there, determined to sleep under the stars. He dressed in everything warm he had, a long sleeves t-shirt, another long sleeves shirt, a thin wool sweater, a rain jacket (he needed the hood since he didn’t have a good hat to sleep in), and a thin down jacket. He said he watched the stars for a bit, then fell asleep. He dreamed that he was so cold he went downstairs and went to bed. When we woke him up at 7.25 am on the roof, he thought he was indoors.
Temperatures were down to about 2 C during the night, but his hands were warm when he came down . Only his nose was a bit cold!
I think he was rather brave to sleep out there on his own under the African sky.