First Day in Zambia

Tuesday 6 July, 2010

Having arrived safely on African soil, we thought our traveling days may be over for the timebeing... but they continued again today, much to our surprise. After a rest and breakfast (for most people - sorry Eleanor) at the guesthouse, we were treated to a visit of the Lusaka International Airport. Several of us changed some money over to local Zambian currency, instantly becoming millionaires ($1 equals roughly 5000 Kwacha). Meanwhile, Kate the Clothing Recipient discovered that her missing bags were still missing and that she'd be therefore borrowing a bit longer. As we left Lusaka, we were treated to our first daylight views of Zambia seeing many buildings, people, and vehicles.

The journey was a long one indeed. Theoretically, Lusaka to Garneton (outskirts of Kitwe, in the Copperbelt) should not take a long tiem. A day after our 10-hour bus journey, we learn the following:

a) Our driver respected us and cared greatly for the safety of his visiting human cargo (this was our interpretation).
b) Our driver was very prudent, probably due to the fact that his driver's license was temporarily suspended following a prior speeding infraction.
c) Our driver had taped over the illegal license plate and was fined en route.
d) Our driver did not wish to put us behind "schedule" so we improvised with a roadside washroom stop. (picture to follow at a later date)

All in all, we arrived at the Fransiscan Friars' Guesthouse where we had a beautiful meal, watched the Netherlands beat Uruguay in the FIFA Semifinals, narrowly escaped an oil fire (Brother Evans had also found himself engrossed in the football match) and settled in to our clean and comfortable rooms for a good night's sleep!

Posted by: Sarah