After the quick week in Zimbabwe, we walked across the Livingstone bridge to Livingstone, Zambia. We were worried because the first thing our Lonely Planet guidebook says is, "Zambia is a challenge for travellers." We spent a few days in Livingstone (see Zimbabwe email),and then headed north through Zambia to Lusaka, which was quite hard. The train from the Vic Falls area was delayed 8 hours in the station. Luckily we had a sleeping compartment and we could rest. The funny thing about Africa is that you never know how long a delay will be. They always say, an hour or so which translates to anywhere from 4 hours to all day to maybe tomorrow.

We stayed with a very nice Zambian family (from the SERVAS list) when we arrived in the capital city of Lusaka. They showed us around their city and we learned first-hand about their lives, problems, politics, African affairs, etc. (Side note on our arrival: Luckily the father of the family had checked at the train station 3 or 4 times and he was quite familiar with African delays. A conductor came onto the train as we arrived in Lusaka and told us not to leave the train until a policeman was at the platform to walk us out. He warned us of all the thieves and made sure to personally select which taxi driver was ok. Scary welcome to a new city.) Our hosts, the Bandas, a middle-class family are able to afford several household employees because they have a carpentery business making furniture in their back yard to make ends meet, and they sent us into town with their driver who helped us with our errands (like getting tickets for the bus, going to the post office, etc.). This family had no electricity because neighborhood thieves had stolen the cables for their subdivision's power and water was rationed to once every three days. So, you can imagine how we learned of the incredible African hospitality amidst serious hardships (no running water for their toilets and no electricity for cooking). They weren't even phased and treated us like special guests. We are learning the meaning of being humble and how much we take for granted in the States!

We probably wouldn't have spent any time in Lusaka had it not been for our personal chauffeur - it is dirty, overpopulated, smoggy and crime-ridden. Zambia is about 80% poverty, and going through it's toughest time right now. However, because we had a local to show us around and "protect" us, it was probably one of the most valuable experiences we've had to date. We walked around the HUGE open market in Lusaka. Every kind of business is done in open markets in Africa. You buy and sell EVERY kind of product and service in certain areas from food (meat, fish, maize, drinks etc.), to household produtcs, to music, to car parts, to haircuts, to car allignments, to anything and everything you could possibly imagine. I do believe that we were not only the only white people in the entire market (10,000+ people), but possibly in the whole city - as far as we saw. Usually, that would make us targets for crime or at the very least, constant verbal harrassment. But with our guide, we came out unscathed and had a blast!

From Lusaka, we had only one choice of transportation across the Malawi border: the chicken bus. This was an 18 hour ride from 6am to midnight - the "express bus" - and it happened to fall on our one year wedding anniversary date. Probably not the most romantic way to spend an anniversary, but definitely the most memorable one we'll ever have! This was a difficult trip - again, completely jam packed...over-packed with people, bags and various farm animals, but this time a new addition was included: road quality (or lack thereof). We'd alternate from "paved" to dirt sending billowing clouds of dust throughout the bus, then back onto "paved" where potholes absolutely cover the entire pavement. Zambia doesn't have enough money, resources or ability to keep the roads in even decent condition, so the bus would have to consistently swerve on and off the road avoiding people, animals and potholes that could easily swallow a town car. We will never complain about U.S. potholes again. In fact, we'll intentionally try to run over them once we get home so that we can pay homage to their innate wonderfulness.

We finally reached the Malawi border at 10pm that night, but the Zambian immigration building didn't have any electricity, so all the people on the bus had their passports stamped by candlelight. Paige and I had been holding our bladders all day, setting personal records, and strategically sipping water throughout the trip so that we wouldn't have to go the bathroom. They don't make stops for bathroom breaks - ha! - you have to jump off at the bus stops, whip 'em down and do it right there for everyone else to enjoy. And believe me, everyone would have loved seeing our white butts from the bus windows. But, we're happy to say we made it to the Malawi immigration only to find out they didn't have a bathroom. We celebrated this news by peeing on the side of the immigration building. U! S! A!...U! S! A!

At midnight, we pulled into the Lilongwe, Malawi bus station: a dark alley surrounded by bars and brothels. But our initial impression of Malawi was ill founded: it really is the "heart of Africa," and we'll expand in our Malawi email next time.

African people are so warm and friendly that it really takes some getting used to. They'll walk right up to you to shake your hand, offer help or information and be tickled pink that you are in their city. Although Zimbabwe and Zambia were quite desolate by our path (also because it was towards the end of their "winter"), the landscape can be absolutely fascinating: beautiful trees in the middle of nowhere, miles and miles of land segregated only by the sparse grass-hut villages. Something like 90% of all people live outside the cities, and it's easy to see when you take the bus or train: the villages are constant and the people all come out to see you pass by and wave.

After 2 weeks in Zimbabwe and Zambia, we wanted to rest, and found the perfect spot in Malawi...we ended up spend the entire month of September there. Check our next email for details...

Good travels!

chrisandpaige@hotmail.com
www.tarantism.com