What an incredibly relaxed day today. We do nothing at all…. Yesterday we drove from the campsite (The Moorings Farm & Campsite) over the T1 direction Livingstone. It is unimaginable what you see on the road, ranging from forests with huge trees, to small towns where everyone, both human and animal, is walking across the street and where you have to manage your path through with your car. Mind you, this is the main road between Lusaka and Livingstone. Under each tree someone is trading varying from jerrycans with unknown (gasoline or beverage) content to mushrooms and live chickens. The goats just walk the road like the, huge, cows. The road surface was excellent, without potholes and there are fewer checkpoints.
Livingstone we drove through quickly because it is a typical border town with many street vendors that regard me as a walking ATM. Depressing. We are now in a luxury lodge on the Zambezi River about 25 km east of Livingstone. We have our own (very luxurious) tent with shower, toilet, bed and kitchen. Overlooking the river where huge (head to tail 1 m) lizards walk around. It is very warm during the day but in the night cool. You can also eat here, but we love to cook our own food and wash ourselves well in a clean shower. The lodge is called Camp Nkwazi.
Today we do nothing, although it is possible that we take a sunset cruise later but we’ll see. Tomorrow, nothing is fixed, but on Friday we will be heading for Botswana.
After buying some Skype credit, Lisa has called her mother and sister.
If you are so long and far away from home, you follow the Dutch news less frequently, and in addition you put things somewhat into perspective. The whole zwarte piet (Black Face) discussion in the Netherlands is from here, in Zambia, highly curious certainly seen my previous blog (which of course was about real and pure racism disguised as colonialism). Call someone a racist who goes with a black made up face with a man costumed as a bishop and throws candy’s is still ridiculous. But do not pay attention or have compassion with people who take offense with this cast (and especially the appearance) is unacceptable. Now for me it is easy because, thanks to my mother, I am color blind; Lisa claims that I only found out after a year that she was black!
Another news item I was following is the Brexit and the almost impossible task that the British prime Minister has. After having travelled through southern Africa for some of months now, I would advise anyone who wants to step out of the EU (or Schengen) to come and see what this really means. Where we in Europe are decreasing our speed at the border, there are here queues of lorries waiting sometimes for days. What an incredible blessing is the European Union for its inhabitants.
Ziet er prachtig uit, beetje zoals een lodge in Costa Rica!
Mooi hè, al die dieren die gewoon los lopen en jullie accepteren in hun omgeving ?
Heerlijk “niksen” op een prachtige plek. En wat is het fijn als je dan af en toe een echte douche kan nemen.
Je schrijft heel beeldend over de te nemen weg. Ik ken het alleen op die manier, uit boeken en films. Ik zou het als chaos beleven denk ik en me verwonderen en moe van het reizen af en toe verschrikkelijk opwinden ;). Overigens onterecht, want des lands wijs des lands eer. Alhoewel….
maar ieder land heeft zijn of haar mankementen en oordelen is makkelijk. We denken veel van elkaar te weten tegenwoordig, door de globalisering, maar hebben nog veel van elkaar te leren. Dat is leuk spannend frusterend confronterend enz. Maakt reizen heel waardevol.
Lieverds, geniet, doe zo rustig aan als kan en ik duim voor een soepele grensovergang overmorgen, ?