Tim_Day 180 - 186 (Zambia)

Day 180
We woke around 3:30am to catch our bus to Zambia. We pretty much just had a little 3.5 hour cat nap. I was tired but excited to get out of Tanzania and especially out of Dar Es Salam. Man we have spent WAY to much time in that city.

We got to the bus station and there was only one other person. I was hoping everything was ok and that we were in the right place at the right time. Luckily more people arrived slowly and eventually the doors opened and we all went to the bus. The bus looked pretty decent and that was nice to see. We had paid for the better bus and it was nice to see it was an ok bus. Actually was really nice for Africa.

We headed out in the morning and both Ana and I fell asleep shortly after getting on the road and pretty much sleep off and on the whole day. We drove all day and into the night. The drive was pretty bland and we passed allot of dry bland desert scenery. We passed a ton of villages that by this time were nothing to really look at since we have seen so many before. We did see some wildlife every once in a while but nothing to get real excited about. Just vrrroooomm, vrooooooooooom, errrrrrrrrrrrrr, pssst, vrrrooom…..

The food we ate thorough out the day sucked and I was glad we ate allot the previous day. For breakfast we had some crackers, for lunch we had the usual greasy chicken and chips from the nasty roadside restaurant. Then for dinner I though we were going to stop but no such luck. So for dinner we had some crackers, coke, and a metro bar. Yummy and oh so healthy.

In the evening just before dark we made it to the border of Tanzania and Zambia. The process of getting across the border was the usual hassle. First the bus comes up to the border and all the large trucks and small vehicles are wedged in a wade of chaos and confusion. No one can get through and there are literally inches between these massive trucks and buses. Our driver tries his best to get through some of the confusion with some really skillful and damn tight driving. But at one point no matter how many times he tried to get through it was just impossible. He keep yelling and revving the engine but to no avail. We were stuck till someone or a few different trucks backed up.

So like a good driver he opened the door and motioned to get out. We had no idea where to go or what to do but this was the usual African process. We tried to follow the mass of people and finally we found the right booth to get stamped out of Tanzania. We then walked to the Zambia border and it was chaos as usual.

We tried to keep an eye on our bus because I’m sure he’d leave us without even thinking about it. It was our responsibility to watch him not the other way around. There’s always a nervous feeling in your stomach when you don’t know what’s going on and where everyone is. But in the end we made it fine.

Eventually after moving a bunch semi trucks and barely squeezing through our bus made it to us. I was happy to see it since the whole time vendors and beggars were driving us nuts. We did though manage to talk with a local lady that helped us exchange money at the right rate. The guy we were talking to was as usual trying to scam us. Little punks.

We had to carry our bags across the border to the other side and then they inspected them. Not really but they wanted you to think they did. It was about dark when we finally loaded our bags onto the bus and headed out. It’s funny in those moments surrounded by local African beggars and crazy different people you wonder “What the hell am I doing her?”. It’s really funny just to look at your situation like why am I here in the middle of now where with all these crazy people. No one looks like me or even really understands my language. I actually worked really hard and sacrificed allot to be here. But in the end I really love it and it’s in those moments you can look at yourself and the world so differently than ever before. Crazy yet good times.

With no real dinner or substantial food in our stomach we tried to relax and the let our fatigue and tired eyes overtake us. Man I hate spending the nights on buses. But here I was on another overnight bus trip. Poor sleep and a sore neck and back were in my future. I took a Dramamine pill to try and force myself to fall asleep. It worked pretty well and I seemed to dose off pretty quick.








Day 181
Not soon after falling asleep with the use of medication I was awoken by the feeling that my feet and fingers were no longer able to move since they were frozen. The damn driver and someone else had the windows cracked all night long. You could actually feel a breeze in the bus. I didn’t prepare enough with the clothing and we pretty much froze all night. Bastard’s with the windows. I don’t understand why they can’t put the heat on in the buses at night. It had to be about 35 degrees outside but no heat for the passengers. I just don’t understand. But there are some many things I don’t understand about this country. This was just another.

The night was really rough and Ana and I tried to use our body heat to stay alive. Finally the sun started to rise and I started to feel some of body parts that I hadn’t felt since the previous day. Man that night SUCKED and I’m getting to old for this stuff.

We arrived to Lasaka at 9:00 in the morning. We happily jumped off the fridge bus and sucked up the rays of the sun. After Ana hit the toilet we headed to find out how we were going to get to our next city Livingston which was the city we would see the falls from.

We walked around and tried to avoid the scam artist that were everywhere. They were all saying you have to leave now on this bus it’s the last one to Livingston. I said yeah right and took my time to figure things out. That’s the best thing you can do in those situations. I tried to take my time and see what different people had to say. We eventually found an information center. There was couple of girls inside and I asked them where the bus was for Livingston. They didn’t really even look my way and the guy on the outside who looked like he was part of the information center said come with me there is only small buses now going to Livingstone. I believed him and didn’t find out till later that the Bastard was lying to us and was running his own small bus. FUCKER!! Sorry for the foul language but that’s exactly how I felt. He lied straight to our faces. We got to his small bus that held about 15 people and he was pressuring us to pay and get a ticket. I was trying t

o slow things down and see if there was another option. He said that he was leaving right now and that when we bought the tickets we would be heading out. Lying Bastard. Sorry again for the language. We gave him the money and he got us inside the bus. He then said were leaving in a couple minutes. Of course that was a lie and we found out later there were two large direct buses to Livingstone that left before we did. URRRRRRRR!

We ended up waiting 2 hours in the bus stop before we finally left. We were waiting for more customers. The local buses didn’t leave till they were full. We were lucky we only had to wait 2 hours. That bastard! I wanted to punch him straight in the face. He keep looking away when I looked at him and then walking away. He knew he was a liar and I was pissed.

This ride to Livingstone proved to be one of the toughest rides in Africa but also very rewarding because I felt like we got really close to the locals and how life is for them. We were riding on a local bus and were treated the same as any other local. I pretty much felt as important as a sack of grain. They treat you more like cargo than like a human If you were carrying a bus load of grain you would cram as many bags as you could before you broke the suspension on the vehicle. They did the same thing with us. As many as possible before you couldn't breath or the bus broke.

The good thing was that people in Zambia seemed more educated and cleaner. They didn’t smell as bad as the people in Tanzania. I actually really enjoyed the people in Zambia and it was a refreshing change from the people in Tanzania which I really didn’t like.

As we got underway way the bus only got more crowded and full. It was impressive how many people were crammed into that little bus. It was like the fire trucks at a circus when all the clowns keep jumping out and there seems like there's millions in that little truck. I can’t even tell you how much that 7-hour ride sucked. To top everything off we had just come off a 30-hour bus ride from Tanzania. We only had 3 hours sleep the night before the trip, the next night we were frozen to death and we hadn’t really eaten anything nutritious since we got on the bus. Mostly we had eaten sugar snacks. That all added to the “Suckyness” of the ride.

When we originally headed out of the bus station we weren’t too packed. It seemed ok and manageable. It was tight but manageable for seven hours. As we continued the fun got better. They keep picking up people and cramming them into the bus. What was really funny was that you had to fit four people into the seats that were really meant for three people. Then in the final back seat they had to fit five people? I don’t know why they think the back seat is larger than the other seat but they do. I was glad we weren't in the back seat. Those guys were literally sideways and all over each other. The good thing was that they had four rows in front of them as well that were completely full. So when the bus stopped and someone in the back row had to get out it was a feat to get out. Usually they would start by handing one of there large bags filled with fruit, grains, cloths, you name it. Then next would come the kids over the top of everyone like they were at a concert and just staged dived. Then the people would come. They would pretty much have to climb on top of and over everyone. Man it SUCKED! And of course they got in and out from the back about every mile the bus traveled.

The other fabulous detail was that babies and luggage don't count. If there's room for 5 people in each row (which was the case at the end of the trip when it got crowded) then the babies went on your lap as well as the mountains of bags with oats, shoes, candy, corn, etc. It was ridiculous the shit that was on top of everyone. A couple of people would come with 3 babies and bags and it there were 2 spots open in the back of the bus they had to climb over 4 full rows of people to the back and put the bags and even babies on other peoples laps.

About half way through it was getting ridiculous. The guys who owned the bus obviously made more money by cramming more people in the bus. They keep saying in English "Squeezing...Squeezing". Ana was getting pissed and said "No more Squeezing". Little punks were also starting to pick up local short distance traffic. So what that meant was the people would get on for about 5 minutes then get off. Of course it always seemed like it those people were from the back seat and had to crawl over everyone to get out. Then the next guy we would pick up took there place in the back and 5 minutes later we would repeat the same thing.

The whole time we were weren't sure where exactly our bags were in the bus. They stated out in the front and keep moving till they were ender everyone’s feet being stepped on and crushed. That pissed me off since I had some clay mouth plates from the Moursi tribes in Ethiopia. I was sure they were broken. Then in the end someone grabbed them and put them in the back. It seemed like every time they would open the door the bags would fall on the ground. Then they would pick them off the dirt push them back in and slam the door before they fell out again. Shit our bags were a “goners” and I gave up on them after a couple hours. If our bags were there when we got there I would be surprised. If not oh well I was to busy surviving the ride to care.

Ana is claustrophobic and did actually really well on the ride. I gave her the window seat and she had to keep the window open the whole time. I guess she felt better that if thing got to crazy she could always jump out the window.

Oh yeah there's one last lovely detail I forgot. See the way the local buses work they only leave when they are full. Or should I say when they have so many people in the bus they people on the bottom start turning blue. So a couple times during out wonderful 7-hour journey in hell we had to wait up to an hour for some suckers to come up to the bus and join us.

In the beginning of the ride we were pretty pissed but as some point you start to just laugh at how silly the whole thing is. The disorder and the danger is just dumb and unnecessary. But this is Africa and this is the way things are done.

We did meet some interesting people on the trip. There were a couple local drunks that sat near us and started talking. They were pretty funny. The first guy asked for money and I said no. He said that we should live in a world that everyone shares. At least I think that's what he was saying. He was drunk and had really poor English. Everyone laughed and ignored him including me. When he got off another guy quickly replaced him. He was a local drunk as well and was much nicer. We started talking and he told me that he had a wife and kid and that he went to the market to get some stuff for dinner. He said it was hard and that his wife didn't work very hard. It was funny to hear the drunken perspective of a man in Africa. He talked about his wife and kids in a way that you would never hear in the states. They were almost like an investment or something like that. He was strategic in the way he talked about them almost like a businessman. It seemed inhuman and sad to me but that was the way people see each other. It's a different world and who am I to say it's wrong.

Anyway finally after 7 painful hours and a total of 37 hours after the time we left Tanzania we were in Livingstone. It was wonderful. The bus driver was actually really nice in the end and took us to our hostel free of charge. That act of kindness keep me from punching him in the "snowzer". By that time I was broken and I didn't have any strength to be pissed off at the guy who lied to us and got us on the bus. We were there and that's all that mattered. I wanted a bed that was horizontal and so rest. That was priority numeral uno.

Of course when we got out of the bus the place he dropped us was the wrong place. When I knocked on the gate a guy painting opened the door and looked at me funny. A younger guy said that the hostel had moved and was about a 10 minutes walk down the street. Great it was night and the streets looked a little rough. Especially walking with all of our money, camera, etc. But luckily the nice guy came with us to guide us all the way. Of course the hand came out at the end for a tip. I paid him only the minimum since we had no local money.

We finally got to the hostel and it looked great. It had a pool, couches, bar, Jacuzzi, etc. You name it they had it. It was like a little paradise in the middle of Africa. I couldn't believe it. Man the owner had to be from Europe. We headed to the desk and asked for a dorm bed. Of course they had nothing available and only had one expensive double room for a US $35.00. That was ridiculous for the middle of Africa. But in the end it was that or walk to another place and try to find a better dorm. We sucked it up and decided we needed a good room after the last few nights we've got through. I paid the room in my precious American cash. Giving them 35 dollars in American money hurt even more since we couldn't get more American in all of Africa. It was a limited supply and was a lifeline in case of emergencies like this.

We dropped our bags and I turned on the ac to check it out. It was cold but I had to turn in on since I hadn't seen one in so long and we had one in our own little room. After dropping the bags we headed to the town to try and pull some money, which we desperately needed. Of course all the banks were closed and we only had a tiny amount of local currency. So with all the paper money and change we had we headed to the local chicken place called "Hungry Lion”. Sure enough with all the money we had we could only get 4 pieces of chicken and 2 buns. We devoured that food and in moments all that was left was a few pieces of chicken carcass and a couple smiling faces. We licked our paws and headed back to the hostel for a warm shower and a horizontal bed. It felt so great just lying there under the 2 thick blankets and one mosquito net. I don’t remember falling asleep.








Day 182
We ripped ourselves away from our warm bed in the morning to go and try and pull money from the banks. We were fresh out of local currency and in dire need of money. Of course it was Sunday so all the banks were closed and the ATM’s outside only took VISA.

FFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK! I can’t tell you how frustrating it’s been to try and get money in Africa. I was so pissed. I stomped all the way back to the hostel kicking poor little defenseless rocks all over the place. We had to pay for our room again with our precious American money. No one in the city accepted American money so we couldn’t even get food.

We had to double exchange money to get that so it cost us about 10% of the value of the money to get it. Here we were spending it on some stupid room. Man what a day I was having. It’s supposed to be God’s day and I’m acting like satin’s got a hold of me. People better watch out cause I’m about to spin my head and puck green vomit all over the place.

I started to calm down once I heard from a local guy that we could use our credit card to buy groceries at the local supermarket called “ShopRite”. I couldn’t believe it. That was so advanced. I ran to the store to see if it was true. Sure enough it was. I don’t know how they could accomplish something so advanced but they were able to. We ran through the store like kids grabbing different funky food and putting them in our basket. It was great. We decided to only buy enough food to cook breakfast and then head back and eat. Later we would come back to the store to get food for dinner.

Back at the hostel we cooked up some wonderful eggs and fried potatoes. Man it tasted like home and it really sat nice on our stomachs. We sat around relaxing and smiling at each other for the next few hours. We read a little then smiled again at each other. Man we were in heaven.

At around 2:30 we tried to go back to the ShopRite to get some more groceries. Of course that damn place was closed. For a moment we though things were like in the US. That was our mistake. Of course the only grocery place in town closed at 12:00pm. I was back to being pissed again. We were having good old peanut butter and jelly for dinner. Man that was just what I wanted. Could anything else go wrong? Murphy’s Laws even apply to Africa. Man I thought we were out of reach for those laws to apply?

In the evening I sat watching the final world cup soccer game ready for something bad to happen. Maybe I would be struck by lightning or break out in some weird skin disease. Luckily though that didn’t happen and the final game was really fun to watch. France lost to Italy and I was glad. I didn’t really want France to win anyways.

Murphy came back toward the end of the night to visit my stomach and me. I had to run to the bathroom yelling “Fire in the hole!” Man I can’t wait for this trip to end and my stomach to be back to normal.

We retired back to our new room with 16 other friends. It was a massive dorm room and in some ways was nice. In those rooms you have no privacy, it’s always noisy, and the lights always on. In those rooms I just put the earplugs in and the eye cover on and jump under my sleeping bag.

It was pretty cold that night and sleeping under my warm sleeping bag made things really nice. I slept like a baby.








Day 183
We woke up in the morning and there were a couple people up. They hadn’t slept with the bear of a guy snoring right across the way. I was able to tune him out with my earplugs but he did a good job of keeping the room up pretty much all night. Man they shouldn’t let people like that sleep in dorms.

Anyway we got up and headed to the banks to be at the door when they opened. Sure enough once we got inside we were able to make a cash advance. It was wonderful to have money again. I felt so free. The one thing that was really funny was that the money value was US 300.00 = Quatra 1,000,000. So basically we got a huge wad of money for the US 300 that we pulled out. I felt like a gangster with a fresh wad of cash.

After getting money we headed to the local ShopRite to grab a couple quick things before we headed to the falls on the free shuttle bus. Of course there were huge lines at the store and we were under pressure to make the bus. This environment was fertile ground for the little verbal boxing match we had which had Ana leaving me in the store standing with all the food. In those moments you think things like “I actually wanted this marriage and worked really hard for it?” Just kidding Ana I still love you Honey Bunny. There are just moments when I want to leave you in the African jungle that’s all.

We ended up making up and getting to the free shuttle on time. I think Ana is getting feisty because her birthday is coming up. I don’t blame her. I’m probably going to feel the same way around my birthday.

We arrived at the falls and like usual they just give you a ticket with no map or no idea how to see the falls. When you ask them they just point to the trail that immediately splits into 4 directions. All you say is thanks and you chose a path. That’s Africa for you.

We chose to do the left trail first since I had a hunch the best trail to the falls was the one on the right. Sure enough we started down a pretty steep trail that eventually turned to a dirt trail and by the end we were boulder hoping across wet slippery rocks. Nice. I wonder where the 20 dollars we paid to goes? It probably buys a nice tiger jacket for some government guy’s wife. Whatever.

The great thing was after all that downhill climbing, bush whacking, and slippery boulder hopping we couldn’t even see the falls. All we could see was the waters edge and the bridge. Yeah. At least we did have a good view of the bungee jumpers jumping from the bridge. That was pretty cool to see.

We headed back up the hill and eventually made it to the top out of air and our quads burning. We decided to head to the other branches of the trail that looked easier and actually had a view of the falls rather than the river after the falls.

Sure enough when we headed to the other trail we had a great view of the falls. It was really amazing and the size was impressive. It spanned what looked like a couple miles long and had cut a huge ravine into the rocks. I was happy to be standing in-front of the falls and in my head I checked off another one on the “Got to do before I die list”. It was wonderful and the power of the water was really amazing. We sat there for a while memorized by the water and the massive amounts of mist that were being created.

After a while we decided to go down to the part of the trail that was the most impressive. Why it was so impressive was because you actually got to walk right on the opposite side of the falls. This meant that all the spray from the falls was going to hit you. I was pretty sure we would get wet so we put on our rain jackets and headed down the trail.

Once we got out on the ledge the mist was incredible! It was more of a downpour than a mist. We got COMPLETLY drenched. We walked for about a half mile down the wet and slippery trail. The entire time we were being pounded by mist and it was a really magical experience. The spectacular falls in front of you, the cold fresh mist pouring down on us, and the deep roar of the falls. This was one of the most beautiful experiences in my life.

I tried to shelter my camera to take some photos but it was tough and I was really worried about getting the camera to wet. We spent about half an hour on that trail just enjoying the experience of the falls. It was magical and I wish everyone could feel the emotions I felt standing out there. Wonderful!

Eventually Ana started getting pretty cold and the conditions were a bit miserable so we decided to head for the sun and dry off. Once we were out of the rain we tried to dry off and warm up. We ate a little lunch and sat watching the falls for a while.

Eventually we were ready to leave and we headed to the front to grab a taxi back to our hostel. Of course we got the weird taxi (I wonder if there is a normal taxi in Africa?) with another girl in front. These situations are always funny because I immediately have a heightened sense of fear. I know 99 percent of the time these people are just good people but the situation is so weird I can’t help but be a little freaked out and running different scenarios of them taking our money or killing us in my head.

Sure enough as soon as we rolled out of the park the driver took out a large bag filled with phones. I’m pretty sure they were stolen and the girl in the front was looking through them. He offered them to us and we said we weren’t interested. He then proceeded to take out some computer speakers and offer them as well. Whatever. As long as we get to town with no fingers missing I’ll be happy.

Sure enough we rolled into town and the nice taxi driver took us right to the front door of our place. He seemed really cool and was friends with the guy at the gate and started talking and joking. My initial fear was for nothing but in the end it’s that fear that I think has contributed to our safe travels so far. That and allot of luck.

After a little bit we headed to the local ShopRite to get some food for dinner. While Ana was burning dinner I was burning some CD’s of our photos. Of course the computer broke while I was using it and I spent about 2 hours trying to help the guy fix the computer.

Dinner ended up being really good and we pretty much chilled by the fire in the evening till we went to bed. We were pretty tired that evening and overall we were feeling like the pace we had been running was too fast. We decided that night that we were going to spend Ana’s birthday in town and not travel down to Botswana.








Day 184
Ana woke up on the wrong side of the bed that day and was acting pretty feisty. I knew she was going to be that way since we were having her birthday in the middle of nowhere and there was no real way to call her family. The computers sucked and calling on a land line was ridiculously priced. I think international calls were $5.00 a minute.

For breakfast we cooked some really good omelets with toast. Man those breakfast are heaven and my expanding stomach was proof my body was enjoying them as well.

After a great breakfast we headed to the store to do another grocery run and get some food for dinner. We should have left the groceries we bought in the store and ate some local weeds or something. The dinner we cooked that night was really bad and I don’t even think starving Ethiopians would have ate it.

After dinner we met up with Maya and Alesh to see if they were interested in going to that falls at night. Once a month during the full moon they let you go out there and we were lucky enough to be there during this time. They were game to head to the falls and we grabbed a taxi together and headed to the falls.

Once we got to the falls we headed out to the part where we could see the overall view of the falls. It was really magical walking in the park at night under the glow of a full moon and the roar of the falls in the distance. Reaching the viewpoint on the ledge of the falls was amazing. The falls thundered below drenched in the purple grey color of night. A large lunar white rainbow floated over the mist created by the falls. The usual colors of the rainbow were faintly visible. It was really magical and was the first lunar rainbow I had ever seen. How lucky I was to be there experiencing on of the most beautiful things on earth. No one can ever take those memories from me.

We sat there for a while talking, joking, and admiring the falls for about half and hour. Afterwards we headed to the trail that ran along the falls and right through all the mist. Ana wasn’t too excited to go out there and get soaked at night but I told her we had to. It was going to be AMAZING! There was no way I was going to miss that chance. So with a little convincing (basically me threatening to leave her in the dark for about 20 minutes) we put all our rain gear on and headed out to get soaked.

We started walking and soon enough we were crossing the bridge and starting to get soaked. We were both wearing our flip flops which were tough to walk with. Especially on the curved and poorly built trail to the end of the ledge. But with a little patience we made it to the end of the trail. It was amazing and I loved it! Being out there at night was even more amazing than the day time.

Walking down the trail at night was a magical experience. Under the full moon and stars you could see millions of gallons of purple grey paint flowing over the edge down to the canyon below. Little bushes sway violently back and forth while hundreds of black rocks hold tight to the sides trying not to fall. The thunder in the canyon filled the air and made it hard to speak to each other. In the mist small diamond water droplets floating upward past you pushed by the strong upward winds. Once the droplets got about thirty feet over our head they begin to loose energy and fall down to kiss you on the face. Wide eyed I tried to suck in the moment and lock it in my heart forever.

I spent as long as Ana would let me just watching the falls and the many lunar rainbows that were being in different areas. One rainbow that was really amazing was the rainbow that was created around the bridge we had to cross. The rainbow started on top like a traditional rainbow but they continued in its circular shape to meet again at the bottom. It was beautiful. The rainbow was a complete circle and it was great to see.

A t the end of the trail it was really romantic just to sit and absorb all of it. I was so inspired that I made out with Ana for a while. After Ana gave me a few hicky’s we headed back to get out of the cold rain to catch a taxi back to the hostel. The falls were so amazing and I’m so glad we took full advantage of them.

Of course when we got to the front all the taxis were gone and we were all alone. The guard at the hostel said the border didn’t close till 10:00pm and there should be tons of taxis till then. But of course he was wrong. So there we were in the dark streets in the middle of nowhere Zambia Africa. Not the place that I wanted to be. We were pretty screwed.

Walking back to town wasn’t really an option so we tried to go to the border and see if we could find someone to take us back. There were a few cars and people that looked pretty shady. We then walked back to the park to see if we could find someone else. There was no one in the park and we decided we had to go back and try to talk to the shady guys in the cars. It ended up one of the guys was really helpful. We couldn’t tell if he was being nice or if he was trying to get us in a car to go and take our money and kill us. At night in the middle of Africa your imagination is a strong adversary.

Eventually we were hooked up with a local guy who agreed to a fair price to take us back to town. We jumped in his dark scary car and headed down the African back roads. He seemed like an ok guy and the good thing was he wasn’t too big. If he tried to kill us at least I had chance. I always laugh in those situations since this guy most likely is a church going guy with a nice family. But in that situation I couldn’t tell him apart from Charles Manson.

While we driving down the road we came upon a huge guy running down the road. Of course we pulled over and he jumped in without even saying anything. I thought man were “goners”. But after talking with the guy we found out he was in the same position we were in and decided that he was going to jog back to town. It was so strange. You only run into these situations when you’re traveling.

We were dropped off at our hostel and by that time the once axe murderers had turned into our friends. We even got some good restaurant recommendations for the Ana’s birthday. We paid them and said good-bye.

We headed to our cave to go to sleep. Just previous day we were in a hostel but it turned into cave since we had a hibernating bear sleeping in the corner. He was snoring so loud it was ridiculous. I don’t think they should let people like that into a dorm. When he would inhale I could feel my sheets being pulled. Luckily I had a good set of ear plugs and was really tired. Alesh on the other hand was right next to the guy and I was pretty sure he was going to have a bad night.







Day 185
My prediction that Alesh would have a rough time sleeping was right. He looked like a truck ran him over in the morning. Poor guy. On the other hand I slept great and even had a few weird dreams. On dream was of a guy who did a double flip off the roof of my mom’s house. He was trying to make the pool but missed and hit the concrete. It was a rough dream and left me with a disturbing feeling in the morning.

It was Ana’s Birthday and I gave her a birthday kiss followed by some spankings. She was pretty upbeat and usually is more moody the days before something rather than the day of. I like that quality about her.

In the morning we cooked an egg sandwich for breakfast and then headed to the bank to get a cash advance. We were lucky and all went smooth and we got our money. Money in the hand was a wonderful feeling in the pain in butt country.

Since we couldn’t really do much in that little dirt town for Ana’s birthday we decided we would go on a tour of a local village. Ana had been interested in seeing the people closer and seeing what life was like for a modern African living in a village.

We met up with our guide “Nadan” in the morning and headed out in a taxi to see the village. The village was about 20 minutes away and once we arrived we were met by one of the heads of the village. He was a young guy and seemed to be smarter than allot of the people around him.

The village was really poor and dirty. It seemed like no one really cared about anything and overall I got the impression that most people are pretty lazy. It seemed like once the day’s chores were done it was time to sit under a tree. I got the sense that they just get by. I’ve seen allot of poor people in the world and these seemed to be very lazy in my opinion.

The first part of the tour took us on a walk to the edge of the Zambezi River. Once there we were shown the carved out boats they used to go fishing on the river. They were basically hug trees carved out to float. Pretty simple idea and seemed to work well for them.

We went out on the boats for a short trip on the river. It was pretty fun and only lasted about 5 minutes. We had just enough to get us on the water and get a feel for the boats.

After the boats we headed back toward the village. On our way we met up with a couple guys with two dogs hunting for these little beaver like animals in the four foot tall grass. When we caught up to them I was surprised to see that they had already caught three of the beavers. They were in a small cage bleeding from cuts that were made in them by the dog’s teeth and the men’s spears. It was kind of gruesome to see but at the same time very real. This was there meat and they seemed proud of there kills.

While we were looking at the carcasses and talking the dogs picked up a forth beaver in the bushes. I was so surprised there were so many animals there. I would have thought they would have over hunted the area a long time ago. But the sharp squealing sound coming form the rustling bushes was proof it wasn’t that way.

The hunters ran to catch up with the dog. I followed out of curiosity and told Ana to stay behind. I’m sure she wouldn’t want to see the kill. Sure enough when the hunter pushed the tall grass away the dog had the beaver by the back of the neck and was in a locked position. With a simple stab of the six foot long spear the African man was carrying the beavers life was taken from him. I was glad to see the beaver die quickly since it seemed to be in extreme pain under the crushing power of the dog’s jaws.

The hunter grabbed his kill and walked proudly by us to place it in the cage with the other beavers. It was an interesting and disturbing experience to watch. But in the end it’s how the world works and I’m just immune to it. I’m used to getting animal meat without dirtying my hands.

We headed back to the camp through the heavy vegetation. Walking in the thick dry landscape was really interesting and I constantly keep looking around and behind me. I wasn’t afraid of lions it was more hippos and elephants. We were walking in some heavily traveled hippo and elephant trails. The hippos should be in the water in the day but knowing that didn’t make me feel much better. I was hoping we would hear the elephants long before we got to them. That was my thinking and I was hoping these young locals knew where they were going.

Sure enough we made it back to the village with no problems. The sun was a little intense and I’m sure in the summers this place is extremely hot. But for now at this time of year it was manageable.

The first place we headed after getting to the village was the local blacksmith. The blacksmith wasn’t what you think. Basically what the blacksmith was a simple guy who sat in the shade under a tree and repaired things like pots and other small metal items in the village. There were a few simple tools and a little fire pit about one foot in diameter. To the left of the fire pit was a couple instruments used to blow air on the fire. They were basically plastic bag things with two sticks coming out of the top. When you stood there you could pick the sticks up and down and the air would be forced out into the fire. I can’t imagine you can do too much with the equipment but it was enough to repair small pots and pans. I don’t think the shop was open when we got there since the blacksmith looked pretty plastered.

After the blacksmith we headed to the local school. Ana was really interested in seeing the little kids and I was interested in seeing the education system and the curriculum. Once we got to the school we realized it was pretty large. In fact they were teaching up to 300 students at its peak. The school looked really well run for what access they had to resources.

We were introduced to the principle of the school that seemed like a really wonderful women. She was strong and spoke good English. She proceeded to take us to a couple classes and introduce us to the entire class. It was really weird since we totally interrupted the classes. It was great though to see the kids and see them working for a better life.

Education is the way to a better life. But I can see how many of them can’t see why that’s the case. In fact the principle says that many parents pull their kids out of school not understanding why they need to be there. They think it’s a waste of time. She says that the one free meal of porridge everyday is a great way to keep the kids in school. They don’t get lunch unless they come to school. Many parents send them there just for free meal and so they don’t have to feed them.

The school has no running water so water has to be carried in by men from a local well. The principle said that sometimes they don’t have the money to pay the guys to get the water so they have to get all the kids to carry water. They get them in a big line and walk them through the heat about a mile away to get water. Really sad and sad to think that such a simple thing as running water would make a huge difference in that community.

I left the school with a deep feeling of wanting to help the school. But in the end I didn’t really know how or didn’t want to get too involved. The overall experience was sad and I don’t know what the future holds for all those kids. They probably have a future of more of the same.

We headed back to the main hut where we were going to have a traditional meal cooked for us. I was interested in trying the porridge and looking forward to it. While we were waiting we asked if we could see how they were cooking the meal. They showed us to a near by hut where a young girl (probably about 18) was squatted over a small fire on the ground cooking our porridge. She had a baby strapped to her back and she worked with diligence.

I felt bad watching her cook for us while taking care of her young baby. The baby was acting up and she kept trying to sooth him while stirring the porridge. The porridge had to constantly be stirred over the fire so doing anything else was a challenge. She eventually finished the porridge which she used a spoon to shape into small potato sized pieces. She then cooked some greens in the same pan followed by some canned fish. This meal seemed pretty fancy with the greens and canned fish.

Watching the young girl feverously work while the father yelled at her from the hut was really sad. But experiencing the village and specifically that moment you start to see why women are mistreated in Africa. The way the father treated her was like she was a dog. I’m sure it only got much worse when we left or when he was in a bad mood. Girls are objects in Africa. I’m sure that mentality and way of thinking is a major source for the high rates of or rapping and HIV in Africa. It’s so sad to see. I just can’t fight the overwhelming feeling of hopelessness in this country.

We headed back to the hut and ate the food. It turned out to be pretty good. The porridge was pretty plain and I think if you ate it alone it would be like just eating white rice. Not to good. It was more like eating to survive than eating for taste.

After eating some porridge and local diseases we headed out for one final walk through the village. We got to see the local village water pump. Which was made by the Japenese of all people? Man those Japanese get around the world. The girls let us pump the well and it worked really well for the amount of force needed to work it.

The well was covered by about 20 local young girls. They ranged in age from about 7-15. They were there collecting the water for their huts. When they filled their pails with water they would place them on their heads and walk off using no hands to balance the water. They were professionals and made it look so easy. I guess they had done it a couple times before. I’m sure some of the pails had to weight 20 lbs at least. They were huge. Crazy girls.

Ana took a few pictures of the girls. She then showed them the photos and they all laughed. It took about 20 minutes to finally leave since every girl had to get her photo taken.

After the water pump we got to see a guy building a hut and then that was pretty much about it. We meet up with the taxi and headed back to the town. I was nice to see the village life and gave me a lot more insight into what life was like for probably the majority of the African population.

Modern villages in Africa didn’t seem that different from what villages must have been like in the last few thousand years. They now have things like metal pots and water pumps but I don’t think that changed their life much. I also don’t think it made their lives much easier as well. I can’t imagine they worked much harder in prehistoric times. The one question that keeps arriving in my head is how can something like this exist in a modern world? Africa seems to have the land resources and access to the world’s knowledge but still they are the same as prehistoric people?

The only answer I can come up with is that the African people are not as smart as other cultures. I’m sure they have the largest population of uneducated people in the world but I think it goes deeper into genetics. Maybe they just don’t have the genes that are less dominant? Maybe Western people have more dominate genes in the areas of innovation and organization. Those dominate genes make them leaders?

Who knows maybe it is that they don’t have the access to education, money, etc. But I find that hard to believe since Africa is one of the oldest cultures in the world. What have they done since being the first on the planet? What have they invented? Have they ever had powerful armies and thriving economies?

Who knows the reason Africa is the way it is today. I’m sure it’s a complex answer. But one thing I do know is that seeing and experiencing Africa leaves me with a helpless feeling that things will never really change for the better. I hate feeling that way but that’s the impression I’m left with.

Anyway we returned to the hostel not feeling to excited or happy. The village turned out to be a pretty depressing thing to do on Ana’s birthday. We tried to shack off the gloom and just enjoy her birthday night. I had made reservation at the fanciest restaurant in town – a nasty little pizza joint.

Before eating at the best place in town we headed to the internet to check Ana’s emails. Sure enough she had a bunch of birthday emails and that made her feel better. She was happy to talk to family and I was glad to see her having a better time.

After internet we ate some pizza and had a couple beers to celebrate her birthday. The food was ok and a pretty anti climatic place to have a birthday party.

After dinner we headed back to the hostel to have some really dry looking cake I bought at the local bakery. When we returned Alesh and Maya had made Ana some hats and bought her a candy bar for a cake. It was a really nice gesture and it made Ana light up. It was nice to see her happy and having a good birthday. Later we had a small piece of the really bad birthday cake I had bought. We used matches as candles and Ana had to blow them out fast after the flash fire that occurred when we light them.

The night was fun and it was really fun hanging out with Alesh and Maya. We talked about where we were headed and we decided to join up with them and head toward Namibia and the Caprivi Strip rather than down into Botswana.

We crashed sometime around mid-night after a few beers and lot’s of fun playing things like blow ping pong and change player ping pong. Was good times and a great end to Ana’s birthday.








Day 186
We woke up late and decided that we were going to stay one more day and head to Namibia with Maya and Alesh the next day. We hit the bank and the grocery store to get supplies for the trip the next day.

We also tried to call the Ngepi Camp in Namibia to make a reservation. Calling on a phone in Namibia was one of the most expensive things you could do. It was unbelievable that a local call could be up to $10 American dollars a minute. Where were we? Oh yeah we were in Africa – I forgot.

Of course we tried to call as fast as we could to make the reservations at the camp. Sure enough we got some dumb as person on the other line that didn’t know anything. I asked very clear pre planned questions and he still couldn’t answer them. FUUUUUUCKCKKK! I as so pissed when I got off the phone after two minutes and hadn’t gotten anything figured out. I can’t take anymore idiots. I’m going to shot someone! That two minute call to a place only a few hours away cost $15.00. Damn I was so pissed. I still had no reservation and we pretty much were in the position where we were going to show up to the camp and hope that they had room for us. Maybe well end up sleeping the trees to stay away from the animals.

In the evening we decided to walk to a local market to check it out. After some interesting corners and walking through what felt like people’s backyards we eventually made it to the market. The market was pretty rough. There wasn’t much to see other than local products. Things like used cloths, material, bowls, pots, soap, etc. The food section was interesting and the flies were unbelievable in the fish section. There were at least thirty different vendors selling buckets of tiny dried fish with millions of flies all over them. Walking through the area I had to take short breath and keep blowing out to make sure I didn’t eat any flies. It was really nasty. You could tell the vendors were used to the flies since they didn’t even flinch when they had flies all over their faces.

In one section of the market they were selling something that looked like flower. This stuff attracted the local bee population and was a little more interesting to walk by. The bees seemed to be more interested though in the food rather than all the people passing by.

The market was interesting to see and was a true modern village market. After a while though we were tired of the mess and headed back to the hostel for a couple beers and to chill for the evening. We hit the sack at a descent time since we were catching a bus the next morning and didn’t want to be too hung over.