Sleeping was difficult last night with the heat and an accompanying ferocious headache. After making some tea at about 3 in the morning, and talking to Emanuel on night reception, things improved slightly with the room door open and the mosquito net firmly in place.
Breakfast time is very civilized at a table in the back yard. Scrambled eggs, toast, cornflakes, all plentiful and served up by Miriam, the daytime receptionist. Very nice girl, always has a smile on her face.
And then down to the market near the centre of Lusaka with some guys from the hostel. At this point in the day it was pleasantly warm but as the time went by the temperature began to rise, making us think it was time to get back to the hostel. We did some of the trip in a minibus taxi, crushed in like sardines. But during the wanderings around the vast market saw plenty of the goods and more interestingly the people.
This guy was selling some kind of grilled sausages but proud of his dyed fashionable hair.
Now the dried caterpillars that many people love to eat here. Miriam said she likes only the black ones which are first soaked in salty water, then fried. What could be simpler? Lovely!
Sub Saharan Africa is for me the real Africa which has been but a dream, until now. Of course my school days lessons long, long ago, when Zambia was called Northern Rhodesia, have left an impression. No longer a colony of Britain, since 1964, Zambia will for sure be another world.
So, heading down to Lusaka on December 3rd and returning home at Christmas. I don't know of any flights from Europe to Africa that could be called 'cheap', but am sure that this expense will be justified. Clicking on that 'buy' icon is always a highly stressful moment, there is no going back, only forward.
This randomly picked image of an Emirates plane might liven things up a bit. Also have made a tentative plan to stay at this highly recommended hostel in Lusaka for 4 nights at least. I always think its better to get used to the country before the wandering begins.
http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/Paseli-
Not too sure what to do after that exactly but a trip down to Livingstone is definitely on the cards. According to a recent BBC business report, Zambian railways are seriously under funded. A bumpy ride from all accounts but the only way I'd like to do it.
http://www.seat61.com/Zambia.htm#Livingstone - Lusaka
Update. Had it from a good source that the trains are not operating now. Great pity. Maybe too many trains have been falling off the tracks.
Looking at the map of this sizable land locked country, it does have a lot of interesting neighbours. Border crossing accorded by officialdom, can be tedious and time consuming, but it might not be that way on the spot, at a border.
Who could possibly go to this part of the world without seeing that gigantic curtain of water called Victoria Falls (map C) , and less than 20 min from Livingstone.
Also there is a wild life park quite close to Livingstone, but maybe a bus ride somewhere might also be a way of seeing those well known zoo animals wandering in their natural environment.
As well as that, of course, some of those simple, and very poor, African villages. The massive Kariba dam and lake is no more than 3 hr from Lusaka on the border with Zimbabwe. There is a lot of contradictory information about travelling within the country so I'll have to wait and see.
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