I'm now writing from Dar Es Salaam, on the Indian ocean, far far away from where we were a week ago...
First we took a bus from Windhoek, Namibia to Livingstone, Zambia. The bus left Windhoek 30 minutes late and as we were leaving the city we were informed that we will be two and a half hours late. It still puzzles us how can we be more than two hours behind if we just left... Eventually we were three and a half hours late, so instead of 19 hours we were on the bus from more than 22 hour... Through most of the ride, there were missionary songs, movies and sermons in the TV and loudspeakers. One show recommended the movie Pirates of the Caribbean, saying it was a very christian movie about self redemption...
Tired and feeling a little brainwashed we reached Livingstone. We got to our hostel - Jollyboys Backpackers, a really awesome place with an awesome shake called Funky Monkey, I will leave it to your imagination to guess what's in it... The next day we took a shuttle to Victoria Falls. WOW!!! It was an amazing sight to see! Obviously, standing on the cliff opposite the falls and 50 meters away, we got soaking wet! There is a small bridge you cross, in front of the falls to a smaller "island", everyone runs through it 'cause you have no shelter from the heavy "rainfall". Crossing that bridge, I have noticed one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen in my whole life. The sunlight was broken by the immense spatter of water to create a rainbow, strongly shining on the trees and rocks just beneath me. But, maybe because I was standing on a bridge, I could see the rainbow completing a magnificent full circle of color, at times so vivid - a second , fader circle showed on the outskirts of the first. I have never seen anything quite like it!
The next day we took the 6 hours bus to Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, where we spent the night. Then a two and a half hours bus to Kapiri Mposhe, which is the station from which we finally took the almost 48 hours train to Dar Es Salaam.
Let me start by saying, we got got to Dar almost 10 hours late, partly due to the part where the train breaks apparently stopped working and we had to wait for a new locomotive. Regardless, this train ride was one of the best things we did here in Africa and I would strongly recommend anyone taking it. The train had a bar and a restaurant. The view from the train is spectacular, and at every station we stopped, people with different goods were passing outside and we bought all sorts of things through the window - 4 different types of bananas, passion fruits, mangos, baked goods, sugar canes - you get the picture. Most of the time we spent in our cabin, reading or simply looking out the window, enjoying the view. It was so much fun, we felt we could go on and on.
So what is next? Another bus of course (to Arusha) and then... More adventures!
First we took a bus from Windhoek, Namibia to Livingstone, Zambia. The bus left Windhoek 30 minutes late and as we were leaving the city we were informed that we will be two and a half hours late. It still puzzles us how can we be more than two hours behind if we just left... Eventually we were three and a half hours late, so instead of 19 hours we were on the bus from more than 22 hour... Through most of the ride, there were missionary songs, movies and sermons in the TV and loudspeakers. One show recommended the movie Pirates of the Caribbean, saying it was a very christian movie about self redemption...
Tired and feeling a little brainwashed we reached Livingstone. We got to our hostel - Jollyboys Backpackers, a really awesome place with an awesome shake called Funky Monkey, I will leave it to your imagination to guess what's in it... The next day we took a shuttle to Victoria Falls. WOW!!! It was an amazing sight to see! Obviously, standing on the cliff opposite the falls and 50 meters away, we got soaking wet! There is a small bridge you cross, in front of the falls to a smaller "island", everyone runs through it 'cause you have no shelter from the heavy "rainfall". Crossing that bridge, I have noticed one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen in my whole life. The sunlight was broken by the immense spatter of water to create a rainbow, strongly shining on the trees and rocks just beneath me. But, maybe because I was standing on a bridge, I could see the rainbow completing a magnificent full circle of color, at times so vivid - a second , fader circle showed on the outskirts of the first. I have never seen anything quite like it!
The next day we took the 6 hours bus to Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, where we spent the night. Then a two and a half hours bus to Kapiri Mposhe, which is the station from which we finally took the almost 48 hours train to Dar Es Salaam.
Let me start by saying, we got got to Dar almost 10 hours late, partly due to the part where the train breaks apparently stopped working and we had to wait for a new locomotive. Regardless, this train ride was one of the best things we did here in Africa and I would strongly recommend anyone taking it. The train had a bar and a restaurant. The view from the train is spectacular, and at every station we stopped, people with different goods were passing outside and we bought all sorts of things through the window - 4 different types of bananas, passion fruits, mangos, baked goods, sugar canes - you get the picture. Most of the time we spent in our cabin, reading or simply looking out the window, enjoying the view. It was so much fun, we felt we could go on and on.
So what is next? Another bus of course (to Arusha) and then... More adventures!
Nice! Obviously, these long journeys remind of India. The distance you crossed is unbelievable! Google Maps says 3950km, OMG. But you sound like it wasn't that bad. How was Amit during this whole thing? :-) I guess it was more difficult to him...
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to see more pictures. People here are keep talking on your great photos, they are really amazing.
Love,
Sagi.