Road Trip

Time to take a little respite and see how the other half lives!  We are heading to the Waterberry Lodge for a Safari!  During our 8 hour ride through the bush we caught a glimpse into the daily lives of people outside the capital city of Lusaka.  Once outside the city, we turned left and never turned again!  One looonnng road.  the road is paved, but has potholes you could lose a small car in (rivaling those in NYC) and just to add to the fun, there are speed bumps at every village, school and random spot they can think of.  We have set up a warning system, whereby the person in the front shouts out "bump" (or hole, whatever the case may be) but failing that, we in the back of the van just "let 'er buck!"  

Our driver, Tom, pointed out some of the highlights along the way and we peppered him with questions.  Tom speaks perfectly fine English, but between his accent and the four interpreters between the front and the back seat, the information we got may have been a little askew.  During my shift in the front seat, I resorted to the standard talk louder and use a lot of hand signals form of communication when asking him questions.  Usually, he would respond yes, but after I repeated what I thought he said, he would say, "no, no, no, no, no" - needless to say, my front seat time was limited!  It did not take long for Tom to figure out he had quite the group on his hands!

      

We have all seen the National Geographic pictures of grass huts and thatched roofs.  Driving by these small villages was fascinating - just people going about their daily business- laundry, cooking, laundry, cooking, sitting in small groups, busy surviving.  Small businesses line the roadways- selling everything from chickens, fruit stands, hub caps, sugar cane, bundles of grass, charcoal, you name it.  Along the way, we saw quite a few fires which I proclaimed were "controlled burns" - Tom quickly pointed out that there was "no control."

       

There are very few cars, except in the bigger towns, where, they just seem to be all over the place, facing in every direction, covered in dust.  The main mode of transportation is by bicycle and by foot.  No matter how many miles you are from a town or village, there are people walking or riding bikes.  Those that are riding bikes are usually carrying a heavy load of charcoal or sticks, or a load of chickens.  Those that are walking are usually carrying their load on their heads.  Women are carrying sacks of potatoes, grain, fruit, pots and pans, chickens (yup, live chickens) and anything else you can imagine.  Most have a child strapped on them somewhere too! 

True to my National Geographic image of Africa, there are lots of termite mounds and ant hills (and I mean hills) dotting the countryside.  As you pass by, you can see some of the men making bricks from the soil in the ant hills and drying them in the sun.  Their homes and villages are all made from the materials that are right there in their neighborhoods.  Most of the villages had no electricity, but we did see an occasional satellite dish on the side of a thatched roof and lots and lots of cell phone towers. "Everyone has a cell phone!"

Eight hours later we made our second turn on the trip (after a stop at Shangri La Bathrooms -worth every bit of the 2 kwachas) onto the mile long dirt road into Waterberry Lodge.