Week 57 - Zambia

Hangin at Kariba Dam

Victoria Falls

Baboons near the falls

Grrrr!

Two ladies playing

Zambian trail

I'll start with the unusual - Hello, Good morning!

In Zambia they speak numerous tribal languages such as Bemba, Tonga, Ngoni and Lozi - although like India, everyone seems to just speak English as the connecting language. The papers, radio stations, and television channels are mostly in English.

The biggest thing I have learning about Zambia, is wow how different they are; and I mean in a GOOD way! Zambians are super friendly. Different to our first few weeks in Africa, when people on the street talk to us (I mean bothered or harrassed us); in Zambia its hello, how are you. Lusaka is especially a great place to visit, we freely walked around the leafy green streets (in the day) and people couldn't have been nicer!

The main topic now is the presidential election coming up next month. I thought Peru's election was crazy with six candidates, here they have 20 and all real competition! From the rallys we have seen and conversations had, Zambians are very passionate about politics and certainly about change! With fuel at nearly $2/liter (almost $8/gallon) in a country where a waiter in a restaurant earns $50/month, life is not easy!

Zambia is one of the most Christian countries I have ever been to. Before any long bus ride, you will be lead by a preacher who says a good 10 minutes of prayers and gospel. Most of the passengers participate with an "AMEN" or a few other words. Of course all of this is in English. However the strange contrast to this religious society is witchcraft! With even the educated members of society believing in witches flying on broomsticks and other bizzare occurances, this is not a boring place to visit!

Our path: Nakonde > Lusaka > Siavonga > Lusaka > Livingstone

Tuesday - Welcome to Zambia: Since I wrote you last time we boarded our long bus ride to Lusaka, ending 2 straight full days of bus travel! What a journey, but we made it!

Wednesday - Zambeef Steak: Just on the drive into Lusaka (Zambia's capital) I knew this place would be different. Firstly its green and normal looking; secondly we exited the bus and were not being pulled in all directions; and lastly, people say hello and aren't looking for something. Yes, I was going to like Lusaka and I haven't even told you the good parts yet. The best part is the nightlife. We hadn't been out one night yet in Africa! Partially because of safety, but also because there wasn't much going on in any of the places. Welcome to Lusaka; the city is full of excellent restaurants. We went to a steak house called Marlin and this dinner would give Argentina some competition! Well, we had Moshi beer rather than delicious wine, but the food was superb. That's not all, afterwards we went to a bar! Yes, a nice bar which could have been out of any posh outdoor area! We even had martini's - now that is living!

Thursday - Lake Kariba: Lusaka does have a manic bus station, but its not too bad, its the minibus terminal where the central market is located. Different to our experience on this trip, it was busy and chaotic, but people were very friendly and pointed us in the right direction. We boarded a mini-bus (normally an 11 seater, filled with 20 people and about the same size worth of baggage - which was mostly grain and produce - no live chickens on this one! We arrived at the lake which was more of a holiday for us. The lake has nice hotels and we were lucky enough to secure a room just 15 feet from the water's edge where we relaxed and I swam a bit. Although you need to be on your guard around here as Hippos are seen and if you get to close, well I don't know if they would even need a box to send me home!

Friday - Kariba Dam: We made a few friends with a just married Zambian couple who were staying next door to our room. We spent the day with Chardley and Faith, first going to the Kariba dam which built many decades ago and now we have Kariba lake to enjoy. Unfortunately the project displaced many people who practiced witchcraft causing the builders many misfortunes (two floods, one draught, and a few small natural disasters)- still don't believe? Our new friends were fantastic and taught us many things about Zambian life.

Saturday - Premier League: Africa is wild about football (soccer) and especially the English Premier League. Most east African men will have a team, Arsenal, Man U, Chelsea, or Liverpool - that's pretty much it. I'm not sure, but are there any other teams?? :D haha. We made it back from the lake to go shopping at a local craft village and then headed out to watch the Arsenal. That night we enjoyed the delicious food at Marlin again and went out for a few drinks to take advantage of NIGHTLIFE, which we might not see for a while after Zambia.

Sunday - The town of David Livingstone: We arrived by 3:30pm and started planning our strategy for this event filled town. Our hostel, what a hostel, had a pool, Irish Bar attached, pool table - not too bad if you were wondering how hostels are in Africa. The best part of this place is the name - Faulty Towers! How could we not stay here! That night we went out for Indian food which would have been good even in London!

Monday - Victoria Falls: We woke in the morning and made our way to what may be Africa's most beautiful sight! David Livingstone commented: "No one can imagine the beauty of the view from anything witnessed in England. It had never been seen before by European eyes, but scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight" (Livingstone 1857) The trails around the falls offer very different views and we enjoyed the area for a good few hours. At one point even stepping in the river on top of the falls - I joked with Marina about falling in the water would be a long way down. The falls as you will see from the picture are very wide, I would say certainly almost 2km (over 1 mile). The falls drop into the Zambezi river and further downstream is the Kariba Dam and Kariba lake, the quick, but painful way back to our cottage next to the water.

Tuesday - Lion Encounter: This morning we played with baby lions! Need I say more, ok I will. We went to a Lion sanctuary where they raise lions and release them into the wild and were able to play with the cubs, pet them and watch them (as close as we wanted). They were very much like domestic cats, however as they were just six months of age, so they wouldn't eat us yet.

Now we have crossed the boarder and are writing you from the comforts of Mugabe's empire - the land of Zimbabwe!!

What's next, we are planning on heading south to Bulawayo and then to the Great Zimbabwe National Monument.

Talk to you next week,

Dan and Marina