Adventures off the Boat
Hello again! Since it's been so long since the last time we posted we've decided to get you up to date....Brian has posted on our boat adventures and I'll get bring you up to speed on what we're doing now. We haven't had computer access until now which is why we didn't post sooner.
After getting of the boat in Mpulungu, Zambia we did the normal customs procedures, money changing and then attempted to find a bus ride into Kasama (a town a bit bigger than Mpulungu). We were at once greeted by very helpful Zambians who really enjoyed having their pictures taken. Brian ended up giving them a mini photo shoot. It was hilarious! They were also very helpful and helped us arrange our bus ride quickly. The waiting however, wasn't so quick. We waited for 5 hours before our bus was full enough to leave (23 peolpe in a 15 seater, with smelly fish, a live chicken and a rooster)! After leaving, our "2 hour" bus ride turned into a 5 hour bus ride. Surprise, surprise! It was a fairly typical ride; slow, many stops, hot, smelly, and crammed. To make it even more interesting the lady sitting beside/on top of me spilled 1/2 a bottle of her water onto my lap halfway through the trip. The best part was that it didn't even phase her. She didn't say a thing, or even look at me.
After arriving in Kasama we booked our "luxury" bus tickets to Zambia's capital, Lusaka, and then proceeded to find a place to stay for the night. It turned out that the bar across the street was pumping music all night and continued to do so until 5 am when we got up to catch our bus. Needless to say we didn't get a lot of sleep. Especially because all the bar patrons turned up at our hotel in the middle of the night....they weren't very quiet.
Anyway, we boarded our big coach bus the next morning and proceeded on towards Lusaka. It was a much nicer ride than our minibus ride the day before. It was fairly uneventful until I was just about asleep and I felt the bus swerve. Brian said to me, "Oh no, I think someone just commited suicide". The busdriver had swerved to miss a lady and she had tried to jump back underneath the wheel of the bus. Immediately the bus stopped and 3 guys got off the bus, grabbed some sticks and ran to the side of the road where the lady was lying. To my shock/horror/disbelief they started to hit her with the sticks. I thought they were trying to "finish her off" to take her out of pain and I was really surprised to see her get up and run back to her house. It turns out she wasn't hit at all and the girls in front of us on the bus told us she was demon possessed. I still haven't been able to wrap my head around that one. I was stunned for about an hour after that.
However, we did arrive safely in Lusaka in the late afternoon. We're really thankful to be here and have a break from our 5 consecutive days of just travelling. It's nice to eat food other than fish and rice as well. We can even get icecream here!
My first impressions of Zambia are really great! From what we've seen so far the country seems to be doing fairly well. Things appear to be a bit more organized than some of the other places we've been. People take more pride in their houses and even in the poorest villages people have planted flowers to decorate their homes. Gardens are planted in organized fashion rather than just a mish-mash of everything all together. We've even seen some huge feilds of corn, like you'd see in Canada, with tractors, and irrigation systems. I've been pretty impressed. That doesn't mean there is not poverty though. There are many street kids here, more than we've seen in any other part of Africa. As long as we're here poverty will continue to confront us everyday. It's such a reality in this part of the world.
After spending a day in the big city today we're heading on to Livingstone to see Victoria Falls. We plan to hit the rapids there and do some white water rafting. From there we will head down to Namibia. Only one short month left!
After getting of the boat in Mpulungu, Zambia we did the normal customs procedures, money changing and then attempted to find a bus ride into Kasama (a town a bit bigger than Mpulungu). We were at once greeted by very helpful Zambians who really enjoyed having their pictures taken. Brian ended up giving them a mini photo shoot. It was hilarious! They were also very helpful and helped us arrange our bus ride quickly. The waiting however, wasn't so quick. We waited for 5 hours before our bus was full enough to leave (23 peolpe in a 15 seater, with smelly fish, a live chicken and a rooster)! After leaving, our "2 hour" bus ride turned into a 5 hour bus ride. Surprise, surprise! It was a fairly typical ride; slow, many stops, hot, smelly, and crammed. To make it even more interesting the lady sitting beside/on top of me spilled 1/2 a bottle of her water onto my lap halfway through the trip. The best part was that it didn't even phase her. She didn't say a thing, or even look at me.
After arriving in Kasama we booked our "luxury" bus tickets to Zambia's capital, Lusaka, and then proceeded to find a place to stay for the night. It turned out that the bar across the street was pumping music all night and continued to do so until 5 am when we got up to catch our bus. Needless to say we didn't get a lot of sleep. Especially because all the bar patrons turned up at our hotel in the middle of the night....they weren't very quiet.
Anyway, we boarded our big coach bus the next morning and proceeded on towards Lusaka. It was a much nicer ride than our minibus ride the day before. It was fairly uneventful until I was just about asleep and I felt the bus swerve. Brian said to me, "Oh no, I think someone just commited suicide". The busdriver had swerved to miss a lady and she had tried to jump back underneath the wheel of the bus. Immediately the bus stopped and 3 guys got off the bus, grabbed some sticks and ran to the side of the road where the lady was lying. To my shock/horror/disbelief they started to hit her with the sticks. I thought they were trying to "finish her off" to take her out of pain and I was really surprised to see her get up and run back to her house. It turns out she wasn't hit at all and the girls in front of us on the bus told us she was demon possessed. I still haven't been able to wrap my head around that one. I was stunned for about an hour after that.
However, we did arrive safely in Lusaka in the late afternoon. We're really thankful to be here and have a break from our 5 consecutive days of just travelling. It's nice to eat food other than fish and rice as well. We can even get icecream here!
My first impressions of Zambia are really great! From what we've seen so far the country seems to be doing fairly well. Things appear to be a bit more organized than some of the other places we've been. People take more pride in their houses and even in the poorest villages people have planted flowers to decorate their homes. Gardens are planted in organized fashion rather than just a mish-mash of everything all together. We've even seen some huge feilds of corn, like you'd see in Canada, with tractors, and irrigation systems. I've been pretty impressed. That doesn't mean there is not poverty though. There are many street kids here, more than we've seen in any other part of Africa. As long as we're here poverty will continue to confront us everyday. It's such a reality in this part of the world.
After spending a day in the big city today we're heading on to Livingstone to see Victoria Falls. We plan to hit the rapids there and do some white water rafting. From there we will head down to Namibia. Only one short month left!
posted by Brian and Erin at 5:45 AM
3 Comments:
What another world! Can just imagine the smells and sounds of live (and dead!) cargo mingled with the crush of people on some of those trips. Virgil will probably seem weird to you -- too orderly! Thanks for the post and the pics!
hey guys- wow, you've indeed had your share of african adventures. it was fun meeting you in bujumbura and i look forward to reading the rest of your story. have fun!
I can't imagine the boat ride but would have looked to see all the villages and the little children along the way.
Make sure you show us pictures of Victoria Falls....and anything about Livingston.
Enjoy every minute during the next month...Niagara will welcome you back in no time....
Love Aunt Mary Anne
Post a Comment
<< Home