Tales From the Chicken Bus

Day 256

We were up at 5:30am, an hour that has become quite common for us to rise at. Our bus to Lusaka left at 7am and lucky enough it was a 500 meter walk from the hostel. We had a quick breakfast of cereal from the bag we’ve been carrying around and were off.

The main street of Livingstone was already a busy place at this hour. People starting business before the heat of the day set in. The scene around the bus was busy as people loaded just about everything you could imagine on the bus. Jordana boarded the bus to claim our seats and I handed our bags to someone to load in the cargo hold. “Hi, how are you?” A man asked as I waited for the bags to be stored. I figured he was trying to sell me something. “I’m good, how about you?” “Fine, where are you from? London?” I’m not sure why he guessed London, maybe most people he met were from London. I told him no, Toronto and we chatted briefly about Canada and he wished me a safe journey. I boarded the bus and can’t say I’ve seen a bus like this before, 5 seats in each aisle. I squeezed in the narrow seat. Jordana and I had the first row on the left side, which had rows of 2. On the right side of the bus each row had three seats. That equalled a lot of people, although as we pulled away we were surprised that they didn’t allow standing passengers on this bus. Safety first I guess.

About 10km outside of Livingstone the road deteriorated and turned into a mess of potholes. We dogged huge potholes and there seemed to be more dirt than paved sections. Moving along at a max speed of 20km/h I was beginning to wonder if we’d make the 400km to Lusaka before night fall. The road eventually improved and so did the scenery. Zambia was definitely remote and beautiful. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such a green country before. The green on the countryside was only broken by the occasional muddy river and the basic mud brick homes of the small villages we passed through.

For lunch we stopped at a rest stop, Zambian style. I really had to use the bathroom but to be honest I was a bit nervous. I walked in and there was one long trough. The stench in the 30 degree plus heat was disgusting and to top it off I have stage fright when it comes to urinating in public bathrooms. I was the first one in so I quickly did my business and just as people started to enter I finished before my fright took over. I literally breathed a sigh of relief as I exited and washed my hands at an outdoor tap. A small snack stand sold chips (french fries) that looked really good and fresh so I bought two paper bags for lunch. Back on the bus we enjoyed some of the best chips I’ve had in a long time. The rest of the way to Lusaka was hot but the scenery was beautiful. The so called real Africa was dotted with traditional villages and little signs of the western world. That is until we reached Lusaka.

Like a dusty slap in the face we entered the centre of the capital. Immediately it looked like everything that’s wrong with an African city was also wrong with Lusaka. Ugly concrete buildings, dusty streets and piles of garbage. It was a huge contrast to the Zambian countryside. The bus station was one of the most chaotic and dirty we’ve seen anywhere in the world. “Taxi! Taxi! Mzungu, Taxi!” The drivers were shouting at us before we even walked of the bus, actually before the bus had even stopped. We got our bags as taxi drivers tried to grab them from us. “No, that’s my bag thank you.” I said. We got away, found a bus company that had a bus to Lilongwe, Malawi in 2 days and finally jumped in a taxi.

We arrived at Kiboko Backpackers that was more of a hotel than a backpackers. I think we were the only backpackers when we arrived, most guests were business men. It was an OK place to stay, if a bit dirty. I saw more than my share of roaches in the share bathroom. We pulled down our mosquito nets, tucked them in the bed and felt safe from the mosquitos and roaches. I think we were both so tried from the hot day of travel that we were both quickly asleep as heavy rain began to fall outside. I missed the beauty and simplicity of the Zambian countryside, Lusaka is definitely not a place to linger. We don’t plan to linger but 2 nights may be 2 too many.

Day 253

It felt a bit strange going to the airport, its only the 3rd flight we’ve used to get somewhere on the trip. Strange but good as well. In South America we had a clear goal, overland from Toronto south to Tierra del Fuego. Here in Africa it was a bit unclear if we had an overland goal anymore. I had hoped it was north through Zimbabwe or Mozambique but neither was going to work. We have discovered that traveling overland on a budget and doing activities in Africa is very difficult. So taking a cheap flight, like todays saves us time and probably money. Overland we’d have to go through very expensive Botswana and it would take 2 days to reach Livingstone. Today we will arrive 2 hours after take off.

The hostel had a free drop off service at the airport, one of the reasons we wanted to stay there. We checked in for the flight where we met a interesting fellow Canadian in line. She was a middle age ex-banker from Newfoundland, living in Oakville who was now running an children school in Lusaka. The school was for children affected or infected by HIV/AIDS. We walked around the shops in the newly named and renovated Oliver Tambo Airport. Soon enough we boarded our British Airways flight to Livingstone, Zambia.

The flight was quick, with a decent meal and lots of empty seats. As we neared Livingstone the pilot announced out the left window we could view the falls. It was quite a sight below. The snaking Zambezi river with a cloud of mist rising above the green landscape, it was a beautiful sight without much civilization in view. We touched down at the small airport and pretty much drove right up to the door of the airport. Upon entering we were immediately at customs and were second in line. “$50 U.S. please”, the smiley customs agent asked from us. I never understand why countries demand payment for a visa in a currency other than their own. Zambia will only accept $50 American and nothing else. I’m not sure what happens if you don’t have it but lucky enough I keep a stash for situations just like this. Don’t tell any muggers that.

We have booked 3 nights at Jolly Boys Backpackers here and they had free airport pickup. We quickly grabbed our bags from the carousel and I excitedly searched for a sign with my name on it. I’ve never had anyone pick me up from the airport before with one of those signs. “Jolly Boys – Michael Coroneos”. I looked, and nothing. From the runway to customs to baggage claim to the airport exit was about 50 meters so we were just about outside. Where was my sign?! “Sir, do you need a taxi?” A man asked. “No, there should be someone here picking us up, Jolly Boys”. He led us outside where a large man was having a smoke while holding a small chalk board. It read “Michael”, I was disappointed. This wasn’t the way I pictured my first time being picked up at an airport to be. We’ll have to try again somewhere else.

Nevertheless he was a friendly guy and soon enough we were pulling into Jolly Boys Backpackers. We checked in and settled into our neat little thatch a-frame bungalow. It was well designed with screens all around for ventilation and a good fan. The hostel was pretty nice, a pool, bar and even small gift shop. Jordana and I set out to get some Zambian Kwacha from an ATM and find some early dinner. Livingstone is surprisingly pretty much a simple one street town. Its a bustling street but I pictured something different for such a touristy spot. With the falls 11km away most of the upscale accommodation is located outside the town, so its actually not a very touristy place.

“Money?! Money?! Change here!” It seemed every other guy on the street was a money changer. I just used the ATM to withdrawal money but I did have some South African Rand I changed with one guy to $ U.S. for a great rate. Gotta love the black market. It didn’t take long for Jordana and I to notice how friendly everyone seemed. People smiled as the walked the street and even the ones that tried to change money or sell us something just wanted to say hi and know how we were after they knew we weren’t needing their business services. One young man selling wood cravings just wanted something from Canada to trade for something he had made. Really, he didn’t want any money. We felt bad cause we don’t have anything “Canadian” with us, we used to but have given it all away already. For dinner we found a strange Zambian pub where American country music played. We talked about the friendly people of the day and tried to decide what activities we may want to try here. Apart from Victoria Falls everything from white water rafting to bungee jumping or walking with lion cubs is on offer. Problem is it all comes at a steep price. Tomorrow we are off to see Victoria Falls, a place I’ve heard makes Niagara look small. We shall see.