Cape Town & The Cederberg Mountains

Most Excellent Family & Friends,

Photographer Carol at Kirstenbosch

Since last Tuesday Carol and I have been living happily in and around Cape Town, South Africa. The contrast between this latest stop-over and the rest of our African travels has been pretty stark, but in most enjoyable ways. For instance, we haven't seen a chicken for almost a week. Not that there is anything wrong with being around chickens, but there is something fun about not being around chickens once in a while too. We've also been enjoying noticeably cooler weather here on the coast, and the occasional precipitation which really feels good after another long stretch of dry hot weather. For accommodation, our friend Tanya and her two very gracious flat-mates (flatties), who have generously allowed us to camp out in their living room  for the past week. It's a comfortable and fantastic location for us to be based out of, just at the foot of Table Mountain in a suburb not far from the famous Kirstenbasch Gardens where we've spent quite a bit of time enjoying some truly amazing plants and scenic views. I've even managed to get a few morning runs in along the trails which run around the forested base of the mountain.

No, the colors are not courtesy of photoshop

Other highlights have included a day with the African penguins at Boulder Beach, another day driving the entire length of the Cape to Cape Point where the Cape of Good Hope turns out to be a slightly disappointing "Second Most Southern Point in Africa" or possibly more impressively "The Most South-Western Point in Africa". Anyway, the let-down wore off pretty quickly because the views and scenery were fantastic, and the drive past Chapman's Peak with panoramic views from the most precarious roads I've ever driven looking back into Hout Bay were just spectacular.

Breakfasting in the Mountaineering Club Hut

Another adventure was getting to spend the night on top of Table Mountain with Tanya and Mel, another good friend from Cambridge. Both are members of the Mountaineering Club, and are allowed to stay in the club huts whenever they want, so they invited us to hike up after work last week, and we had a great time playing games, cooking, reading, and checking out decades and decades of club history and pictures adorning the walls of the 100 year old mountain hut. The mountain was so covered in cloud for the entire time we spent on the mountain that we never did get a good view off the top, but the hike was gorgeous and so peaceful because of the dense fog that it really didn't dampen the trip one bit.

Carol climbing a route on Hueco Punk Rock in the Cederberg

Finally, the past three days we were given the most wonderful opportunity to head into the Cederberg Mountains with some friends of Tanya (Hein, Lydia, and two other rock climbing enthusiasts). Hein and Lydia are an amazing couple who inspired Carol and I in many many ways, and regularly spend time camping and rock climbing throughout Africa. They turned out to be not only expert rock climbers and champions of all things outdoors, but also terrific human beings in general and wonderfully lighthearted souls who had us laughing almost continually for the entire three days.

Over the weekend both Carol and I acquired new climbing experiences. Carol scaled some remarkably high walls (about 25 meters) and learned the differences between the US, South African, and European difficulty ratings, and I got to do my first outdoor lead climb on one of the same routes, which was awesome. We're both excited to get back home and take a few lessons from Cassidy on the finer points of climbing!

While camping in the Cederberg, we were treated to the most amazing food and wine, including traditional braai (massive amounts of meat) cooked over the campfire each night and fresh coffee in the mornings. My guess is that this is the first camping trip I've ever been on which has caused me to gain weight, and to be honest I hope it isn't the last. We even had a dip in the Nuwerust campsite pool where we were staying (which was a wonderful place to call home for a few nights if you ever find your way to the Southern Cederberg) after a long day of climbing around on Rooiberg which dominated the view from our campsite.

So much more to write about, but it's about time to figure out what happens next on this crazy adventure. We get on a plane tomorrow for quite a few hours of travel, and will be sad to say goodbye to Africa for sure. It's been an amazing few months here, and there hasn't been a single moment when we've felt too long in one place.

 Greetings to you all with the joy and peace that we are learning from our heavenly father,

Joe & Carol

P.S. Happy Birthday, Dad. You've always inspired me.

Waterberry Hill, Kruger Park, and Pretoria

Our one non-overland segment in Africa

Hello wonderful Family and Friends!

We are so appreciative that you are reading our blog. Thank you! It warms our hearts so much to know that we have friends and family in various parts of the world reading about our adventures and accounts of God's presence and faithfulness to us along this journey. We also greatly appreciate the comments some of you have made on various stories or photos along the way. Thanks!
 

The Amarula elephant welcomes Carol to SA

We are now in South Africa, yeah!  We arrived about one week ago and it was so exciting to actually make it down here.  Not because the journey from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe to Johannesburg was difficult; in fact, it was the easiest leg of our African journey thus far because we took a flight!  It was a lovely South African Airways flight directly from the tiny Bulawayo airport to the massive OR Tambo Airport of Jo'berg (Johannesburg).  SA Air is pretty posh traveling! We even got a little meal on our hour and a half journey south.  But, what made arriving into South Africa so cool was that just over a couple months ago, we landed in Nairobi and had no idea at that point what our journey through Africa would look like and how we would manage to get ourselves eventually down to South Africa.  And here we are!  It just took a car, bus, taxi, bus, 4x4 vehicle, bus, taxi, taxi, bus, motorcycle, bus, taxi, taxi, train ride, bus, bus, taxi, train, plane flight, car, bus! Whew, and here we are now, on our final bus ride from Johannesburg to Cape Town, due to arrive tomorrow morning at 8:30am :)

But before we move on to Cape Town, we should mention what we've been up to this past week!

The only hole-in-one of the day

Upon arriving in Jo'berg, we picked up our rental car and drove east for about 5 hours to the town of Hazyview, a cozy little place on the edge of the famous Kruger National Park.  Our dear friend Ulrich Paquet's parents (Leonie and Louis) had gifted us a four night stay at Waterberry Hill, a lovely RCI timeshare where we enjoyed thoroughly some rest and relaxation while nestled in the lovely South African hillside.  We had an enormous place to ourselves, big enough to hold Joe's entire family, where we slept, soaked in a jacuzzi, swam a little, watched movies on the TV, cooked some tasty meals, went out for delicious breakfasts in town, did a little bit of hiking, mini-golf and chess playing (Carol is currently attempting to learn to play and hoping some day to be able to beat Joe =)) and just enjoyed some great Carol+Joe time.  We missed out on the normal "dating" period before getting married as Joe was in the UK for all of that time, so Joe and I have been really really enjoying "dating" while on this traveling trip and having the time to do fun things together.  We feel like we are officially a real couple now that we have played a round of mini-golf together!

Two rhinos (horns included), a gazelle, and a zebra posed for this one

Since the timeshare was so close to Kruger Park, we decided to spend one day on our own little safari in our rental car.  We found out for about forty-five dollars, we could drive our own vehicle into the park and roam around for the day enjoying the scenery and looking for game.  It felt weird to be driving through an African park, looking at rhinos (this time larger than a speck of dust in the distance), gazelles, giraffe, hippos, zebra, wildebeest and elephants while in a little Fiat Punto.  But, it was such an enjoyable and leisurely way to see more African wildlife (we were on all paved roads and had the radio going + yummy snacks in the car) and seeing these fantastic animals really never seems to get old!

After our few days in Hazyview, we drove about 4 hours or so to Pretoria to spend a couple days with Leonie and Louis Paquet.  But, before getting to Pretoria we had a bit of excitement!

On our way to Pretoria, we drove through the cute town of Graskop which normally has stunning views of the eastern South African landscape but unfortunately, the day was super foggy and we couldn't see 20ft ahead of us for a while in the hills let alone a view of the landscape.  But, we so much enjoyed the misty fog and wet scenery (things in Africa have generally been quite dry this time of year!) and found another activity to do instead of sight seeing... a GIANT SWING!

Joe and Carol about to disappear into the fog on The Big Swing

In Graskop, they advertise something called "The Big Swing" which turns out to be appropriately named. Its a massive two-person rope swing that drops you 68 meters in vertical free fall down a gorge and then swings you back and forth several times over the jungle canopy at the bottom before lowered you back to a platform at the bottom.  Joe and I had watched a few people try out bungee jumping and giant swings back at Victoria Falls but didn't think to actually participate in any such foolishness.  But now, with no one around (the place was naturally deserted at nine in the morning) and zero visibility into the gorge because of the thick fog, we thought HEY... now is our chance!

Our limited view of the situation

No one was doing the swing that day, likely due to not being able to see anything until you're actually falling frighteningly close enough to the cliff faces and ground, but a few guys were still there to run it for us, and we had a super fun time.  I must mention here that this was one of the many moments that made me miss our dear friends Tim and Colleen. As soon as the initial drop was over and we were swinging through the gorge I said to Joe, "I wish Tim and Colleen were here, they'd soo want to go next!!"

Anyhoo, the pictures don't show what the drop looked like at all due to the massive amounts of fog (you can see pictures of the quite beautiful surroundings on a normal day here) but it was beautiful when we reached the bottom of the gorge and could actually make out the vertical rock walls, a beautiful waterfall, lots of ferns and greenery through the misty fog.

Carol with the Paquets at the Voorstrekker Monument in Pretoria

After our exhilarating morning in Graskop we made our drive to Pretoria and were wonderfully and warmly greeted by Leonie and Louis who made us feel at home instantly with home cooked meals, teas and coffees, a tour of the Voorstrekker Monument, a warm and soft bed to sleep in and good conversations.  They let us do laundry and helped us get sorted for the next leg of our journey; our Intercape bus ride down to Cape Town (where I am currently writing from).  The love of parents is so dear and special and we are thankful for the couples along the way that have been surrogate parents for us while away.  And, it makes us think of our dear and wonderful parents back at home as well!!

I should also mention we got to see an amazing electrical storm from the balcony of the flat in Pretoria where we stayed and Joe and I had a wonderful time attempting to take photos!

With love and joy,

Carol and Joe

Ebenezer & Bulawayo

Dear Family & Friends,

On the veranda at Hopedale with Renee

Since last Tuesday Carol and I have been spending time in and around Matabeleland. For about half our time here we have been based at Hopedale, a farm just north of Bulawayo where Renee currently lives. The remaining days have been spent at Ebenezer, a training center situated in the beautiful Matopos Hills dedicated to equipping young people with business, agricultural, and other life skills while sharing and demonstrating the awesome extent of God's love for them.

Out at the training center (about an hour drive from Bulawayo) I was able to help out as a taxi driver on several occasions and decided that owning a truck would actually be pretty sweet as long as there are loads of good dirt roads around. Other highlights were: a late-night Kudu hunting expedition (they had been regularly infiltrating the apprentices gardens), some chain saw work, early morning run/swims, and a soccer game between the Ebenezer apprentices and the local villagers that was as close to playing in a professional soccer game as I will ever get (those guys have some serious athletic ability and footie skills). Learning a bit about the regional history and culture was also fascinating.

Ebenezer Dam reservoir at the training center in the Matopos

Both Carol and I enjoyed working together for a couple days painting the interior of one of the Ebenezer houses, driving around with ostrich eggs, live fish, and as many as 15 people piled into Renee's truck (Big Bertha), several wonderfully refreshing swims in the reservoir on the property (jumping off the dam is the best), attending a graduation ceremony for a few of the apprentices who are currently enrolled in the program at Ebenezer, and getting to know some of the wonderful people who work there. We also had some fantastic meals at the family farmhouse open air dining room looking out over the granite rock outcrops of the Matopos, and rounded dome of Mt. Silozi. We actually got to hike a bit around Mt. Silozwe later and check out some amazing cave paintings dating back about 2000 years!

2000 year old cave paintings near Mt. Silozwe

Back in Bulawayo we got to attend New Creation church on Sunday morning at which Renee's brother Peter gave the sermon; a very thoughtful and encouraging reminder of how our daily jobs and work should be so much more deeply rooted in our identity as victors (over despair, doubt, fear, etc.) through Jesus than we typically realize. After church we called up Bob, a cousin to the Jelbert Family, who invited us over to lunch at his place on the other side of town which was wonderful. Carol even cooled off in the pool with the kids for a while to escape the pretty hot sun which has been keeping us a bit sweaty and thirsty these past few days.

Sunday afternoon found us back at Hopedale for tea, cakes, pool games, and some great conversation with more friends. Zimbabwe has been yet another fantastic experience for us both, and though it is time to move on at the moment we feel extremely welcome here by the amazing people that we've met and hope to be able to come back sometime in the future.

Love,

Joe & Carol

Victoria Falls and a Train to Bulawayo

After staying one night at the lovely Lusaka Backpackers Hostel (and enjoying a good sleep without being jostled around on a train) along with our new and dear friends Ross and Margaret, we took a coach bus from Lusaka to Livingstone.  This was about an 8 hour journey and was so comfortable!  After some rickety trains, cramped buses and other such forms of transportation we felt spoiled on our Mazhandu Family Bus Services which had air conditioning, shades, and leg room. We were even served a soda plus some crackers along the way!

Dr. Livingstone, we presumed.

We arrived in Livingstone and took a short taxi ride (later realized we could have just walked) and got settled at the Jollyboys Hostel where for $8 we could pitch our tent on their back lawn (as Joe mentioned in the previous post).  We cooked up some dinner with Ross and Margaret, enjoyed many laughs as we reminisced about our 4 day train adventure together (I think Margaret had the best quote: "we got a whole extra night on the Tazara train, for free!") and chatted about plans for the next day to see the famous Victoria Falls!

Victoria Falls is advertised as one of the 7 natural wonders of the world, and situated half in Zambia and half in Zimbabwe.  Livingstone is where we stayed  the first night and about a ten minute taxi ride from the falls on the Zambia side.  By the natives, Victoria Falls was called Mosi-oa-Tunya (Tokaleya Tonga: The Smoke That Thunders), a very descriptive and mysterious name that makes perfect sense when you finally see the falls, but it was re-christened by the famous Scottish missionary/explorer David Livingstone when he arrived in 1855.

Our own private view of the lower Zambezi for an hour.

This time of year is the end of the dry season in the lands of the north Zambezi, so the falls themselves (especially on the Zambia side) are actually kind of pathetic in terms of flow volume. This makes the thunder and smoke less impressive, but actually allows people to be able to walk a kilometer across the top of the falls over to Livingstone Island. Furthermore, there is a natural depression just on the edge of the falls on the Zimbabwe side of the island which has been called Devil's Pool, where you can actually swim around and sit on the very edge of the falls, although not without a guide (and 230 Kwacha each). 

Joe and I tried to sign up for this walk at the backpackers hostel, but sadly all the walks were booked.  Knowing that most everything in Africa is negotiable though, we decided to just show up at the place where the walk was starting on the next morning and see if perhaps we could talk our way into the excursion.  So, we said our goodbyes to Ross and Margaret the next morning (who, with a bit more time to kill had made plans to stay in Livingstone a few more days and see Chobe Park in Botswana) and found a 'shared' taxi (these just wait around Livingstone until full and then head to the falls. A good deal for seven Kwacha, but you could end up waiting a long time if no one else happens to be heading that way) to the park entrance. I must give credit here to Mom Schweichler for always teaching her kids to be persistent and try, even when initially told something is all full. It brings back many memories of flying standby as a family of 5 and desperately trying to get seats. Always wait until the door is closed before leaving the gate!  Anyway, it turned out that they had one available spot on the tour and the guide offered to call his manager to see if he would approve an extra person on the tour.  Apparently he said YES and we were both able to go. Yeah!

The best infinity pool ever, but probably named appropriately.

The walk was so cool!  We journeyed across the edge of the falls only crossing a couple places where water was pouring down over the edge (I stayed as far from the very edge as I could, as it's about 80 m down!) and crossed Livingstone island to a place where the Zambezi river was flowing quite slowly and then swam across.  We were then led into this small pool which is five meters deep in the middle, but right on the very edge of the falls (only in Africa, right)! The water was super refreshing but also a bit frightening at the same time, and as usual I was glad to have Joe as calm as ever to enjoy this swim with (and cling to!).

After our dip in the Devil's Pool, we ventured back across the falls and at this point realized our guide was up to something a bit sneaky and did not actually call his manager about us coming on the tour but instead snuck us in so he could pocket our money.  Basically, as we were heading back across Livingstone Island, he quickly ushered just the two of us towards the "Loo with a View" (bathroom) as his manager was passing by.  Joe and I were a bit confused as to what was going on.  He then privately told us to take a small detour back around some big trees and then wait for the rest of the group about a quarter mile down the falls near a big clump of trees out of view of his manager.  Woops! We didn't know we were headed on this tour under the radar, but just acted ignorant (which we were) and were simply glad to have the chance to join in.

After the lovely tour finished, we climbed down to the "Boiling Pot" which is an area with a lovely view of the Zambezi river, and enjoyed a nice relaxing rest in the shade watching bungee jumpers throw themselves off the bridge.

Back at the Jollyboys Hostel we gathered our things and took a taxi to the border and into Zimbabwe!  We walked across the Victoria Falls bridge on the way from the Zambia Immigration office to the Zimbabwe one and got to see where the crazy bungee jumpers leap off the bridge. There was an older fellow there agonizing about weather to jump or not as we passed by (not sure if he ever did, but he didn't look very excited about the whole thing)!

Carol hanging out in our Victoria Falls Backpackers hut

On the Zimbabwe side of the falls, we stayed in a grass roofed hut at another lovely hostel called the Victoria Falls Backpackers.  We enjoyed some dinner + dessert, hammock swings, a dip in the pool, and a game of chess on the giant outdoor chess board where Carol had the former manager of the entire southern African railroad system (a wonderful guy named Phil, who shared some fun stories about the glory days of the African railroads) on her side for part of the game. This was definitely a very relaxing place to spend a couple days.

The next day, we saw the falls from the Zimbabwe side (which was very cool and well worth seeing!)  The Zimbabwe side is where the highest volume of the falls flows, and had a massive amount of water even during the dry season.  As we ventured across the Zimbabwe side, we got to the farthest point we could go and enjoyed the view across (about 200m or so) to the Zambia side.  We were just turning around to head back, when we heard someone yelling loudly.  It was our friends!!! Ross and Margaret, way across on the Zambia side of the falls waving at us!  It was such incredible timing that we both happened to be looking out over the chasm from opposite ends at exactly same time and that they were able to spot us from the distance to wave hello!

Carol, wondering why she is on yet another African train.

While we were out we also purchased our tickets for an overnight train from Victoria Falls to Bulaweyo, Zimbabwe.  You might be thinking at this point: you got BACK on a train after just getting of a 4 day train trip??? YES, we did.  I'm not exactly sure what we were thinking, since someone told us the train ride could take up to 19hrs and the bus ride is only 5 hours and comfortable, but alas... we did.  So, that evening we loaded back onto an African train and shared our 2nd class compartment with a Dutch gal named Mary and 21 hours later, arrived in Bulaweyo =).  The train may have been long, hot, cramped and dirty, BUT we got to see warthog, wildebeest, and some gazelles along the way!  And, we were happy to journey slowly and enjoy the scenery.  I was realizing that at home I always seem to try and get from A to B the fastest possible way, but it's nice being on this trip and having the time and freedom to actually choose to take the slow route to really soak up the scenery!

Needless to say, we were very happy when we arrived finally in Bulawayo and overjoyed to see Autumn's good friend (from her Regent days) Renee, at the station to pick us up and take us to her lovely home.  More about being here in Bulawayo to come!

As always, thanks so much for reading and following along and for all the prayers for us.  They are so felt!  Goodbye for now!

In His Peace,

carol and joe

The Great Tazara Railway

Dear Readers,

As usual, the first item of business to take care of will be to let you know that both Carol and I are alive, healthy, and happy. I am currently writing from our tent which is staked out on a bit of grass under a mango tree (unripe mangos only, I'm sad to say) at the "Jollyboys" backpackers' hostel in Livingstone Zambia. Carol is just finishing up at the showers at the moment, and I thought I would take the opportunity to try and catch everyone up on the last few days, which have been perhaps some of the most interesting in the trip to date, as far as transportation has been concerned (though perhaps the motorcycle taxi ride through the Tanzanian countryside comes a close second). Anyway, the point is that we have some great experiences, and we hope to do them justice by our limited story telling ability here on these pages.

The grand Tazara Railway Terminal

To begin with, let's go back to Dar es Salaam where we were holed up in the FPCT Service Center (imagine a cozy little guest house tucked away in the Port of Los Angeles) unexpectedly for a few days. The extra nights, though frustrating to begin with (since we had high hopes for being other places, most notably Zanzibar) in Dar served several purposes, all of which Carol and I had ignorantly overlooked. Fist, I had contracted some form of pneumonia or bronchitis something-or-other over the two weeks prior, and after a course of antibiotics it was still lingering, so a couple days of rest were exactly what I needed to give my body a chance to destroy the virus or whatever, which it did! Second, due to some miscommunication with a helpful travel agent in Dar, we had originally thought that the train that we were going to try and catch to Zambia was leaving on Monday, which it wasn't. The train actually left on Tuesday, so the extra day gave us a chance to lay claim to some sleeping berths, which ended up being incredibly providential.

So excited to leave Dar!

The story of the train booking was this: before leaving Dar two weeks ago, we had called Yussof, a guy we found on a random website which claimed to be able to make reservations on the TAZARA Railway which runs between Dar es Salaam and New Kipiri Mposhi in Zambia. Amazingly, the guy said he could do it for $200, but didn't specify how or when we could make payment for the tickets, and at the time we were rushing out the door to head South toward Kilwa Mosoku, so we put it aside until after visiting with the Morris'. (BTW I should mention that there is no online booking and no phone number to call and make reservations for the train, which would be easy, so this is why we found this Yussof fellow to book through).  Anyhow, we had found references to this train line in various places online and in guide books, but most references and even people we talked to in person had only vague ideas that 1) it existed, 2) that it at least used to exist, 3) that the workers had recently gone on strike, and 4) that it rarely made the journey without having some kind of technical difficulty. I think the most encouraging conversation that we had was with one woman at the FPCT guest house who said that she had actually taken the train once 14 years ago, and that based on her experience we would most likely be okay because "we were young". About the same time, we had finally managed to receive an email from Yussof who had said he could make the train reservation for us. His email was very professional, but essentially said that the price had increased to $300, and that we would have to immediately wire the money to his bank account from a physical bank (there was nothing nearby our guest house. I had to walk for a half hour before I found even a gas station), after which we could pick up the tickets a day in advance (which was that day) at an address-less location somewhere in downtown Dar. By this time I was about ready to throw in the towel and buy plane tickets, but Carol actually defended the original plan, and so the next morning I emailed our man Yussof in Dar to say that we couldn't purchase the tickets through him, put on my running shoes, and ran about 7 km to the main Tazara station (which I had found using Google Maps) and booking office where I was informed that there were no 1st class cabins available (the only way for Carol and I to sleep in the same compartment was for us to book the entire compartment of 4 berths. Otherwise, we would be sent to sleep in men-only or women-only compartments at night). So, with tears in my eyes, I asked for two second-class seats, knowing that it would be a tough night sleeping seated in the packed train, but also knowing that an older lady had told us that "we were young" and could probably tough it out.

Now, the evening before we were to leave, the guest house finally purchased some megabytes for their wireless network and we were giddy with emailing excitement. One of these emails was from Yussof, very pleasantly explaining that he had already made a complete cabin reservation for us on the train, and if we would like to purchase our tickets directly from the station, that was fine with him!!! We tried not to get our hopes up too much, but sure enough when we arrived at the station the next morning (cab ride with a driver who was very kind in helping us find a working ATM) and asked for our cabin reservation instead of the second-class seats that I had booked the day before, the agent found it in a couple minutes, and allowed us to buy the 1st class tickets right there!!! 416,000 Tanzanian Shillings later (not inexpensive, since we had to essentially pay for 4 places, but much cheaper than flying), we had our tickets, and Carol was over the moon to have a place to sleep on the train. We both knew that our journey was blessed from this moment since we had already resigned ourselves to crowded seats.

Margaret, Carol, and Joe in our compartment aboard the train

At this point, the story gets good. Two seconds after I was handed the 4 tickets by the agent at the counter, I heard a non-Tanzanian-accented voice from just behind ask something about tickets for the train. It turned out to be an incredibly kind Australian man (Ross), whose wife (Margaret) was waiting in a cab out in front of the station and because the train was fully booked could he be so bold as to ask whether he and his wife could join Carol and I in our compartment? It didn't take Carol and I long to realize that this was meant to be, and that 1) it was actually a wonderful relief to know that we wouldn't be the only wazungu making the journey, especially as we found later that they were also trying to make their way to Livinstone and Victoria Falls after arriving in central Zambia, and 2) we were able to split the cost of the cabin with them, so that the entire trip immediately became much more economically friendly.

It's hard to explain the feelings of uncertainty that were associated with this part of our trip prior to meeting Ross and Margaret, but once we had made the connection with them, the whole idea of taking a mysterious two-day sketchy train journey across africa became much more fun, and we were able to relax a bit more.

Just to keep the ride interesting

The train travel itself could exhaust just about every adjective in my vocabulary and would take pages and pages to document thoroughly, so I will content myself with a brief summary. We boarded at about 3:30pm, and the first surprise was when the train pulled out of the station at precisely 3:50pm, the exact time of departure that had been declared by the ticket agent! Admittedly, that was the last time the train was on schedule for the next three (yes, three) days.

This is Carol now to carry on with the train ride story!  I should mention that I actually only thought the train ride was going to be 1 night.  I was prepared, though, because we have heard of and experienced the joys of "African time" and have adapted enough to know flexabiliy is key, especially when it comes to any sort of timetable.

The train itself was built in 1970 and I'm pretty sure nothing has changed or been updated or much repaired in the train since then, even including the sheets and blankets (wasn't sure if the blanket had been washed since 1970 hehe, I opted to just use my sleeping bag =)).

Carol at breakfast on the second morning

Our new Australian friends, Ross and Margaret, were SUCH fantastic cabin-mates because they had such great, positive attitudes and sense of humors about the whole train experience (Ross especially loves riding trains) and just made what could have been a really irritating situation super fun.

So, as Joe mentioned, the train left the station at 3:50pm on the dot and off we went!  I haven't been on a lot of trains in my life.. one in China, some in Europe and of couse the famous Thunder Mountain Railroad in Frontierland and I can safely say that this train trip felt the most like the latter. It was soo jumpy and bouncy and unpredictable with jostles and lurches and skids.  The only thing was that Thunder Mountain Railroad probably lasts about 3 minutes but this kept on going..and going...

either an early morning or late night on the Tazara

Like I said, I thought it was going to be 1 night only.  Turns out the train ride was actually intended to take 2 nights.  We had some delays though -- some stops along the way where we stayed at the station longer than expected (like I think we hung out at the Mbeya, Tanzania station for about 5 hours or so).  We reached the Zambian border at about midnight on the 2nd night of travel and were woken to a knock at the cabin door and opened to find an African fellow with wads of money in his hands telling us that there is no other place to change Tanzanian Shillings into Zambian Kwachas and that we must exchange our money NOW with him on the black market or NEVER.  Ross and Joe immediately sat up in their beds, and I passed Joe a pen and paper so he and Ross could do some long division to sort out whether or not this guy was giving us a good exchange rate.  After sorting out that it was not in fact a decent rate, we exchange our money anyway (since we didn't appear to have much of a choice) and then 2 official looking ladies came into our cabin and sat on our beds while we were still in them, and said they were the boarder control people to stamp our passports, etc.  About 3 other people came into our cabin as well to get their passports stamped and fees paid.  Our cabin quickly turned into an immigration office! =) At one point we counted the four of us, plus three other travelers, the two passport control girls, and a money changer all stuffed into our compartment at around 1am in the morning!

Typical view out the window throughout Zambia

When everyone left, we thought yay, we can get back to moving onward again and continue sleeping.  Unfortunately, just the continue sleeping part happened since we didn't actually start moving until about 10 hours later, well after we had woken and breakfasted the next morning! I kept waking up throughout the night and would look out the window and see the exact same telephone pole in the exact same place and I thought...hmmm... I don't think we've moved a whole lot. When we finally got moving again it was a bit of a relief!

We enjoyed several bananas and chipote at stops along the way

Despite the fact that we thought we would be the only international people on the train, there were about 10 wazungu (white people) on the train and we all bonded a bit throughout the experience... a Scottish fellow and his girlfriend, an older German guy, a few American girls, a young German couple.. we were all hoping that the train would arrive in the daylight to New Kipiri Mposhi (the final destination of the train in mid Zambia) which is not known to be a super safe or lovely place to visit.  Our delay at the border put us at an arrival time of about 2am which was not ideal.  Fortunately though, we had a few more delays and made it into the station at 4am which wasn't too bad and all piled into mini busses that took us on to Lusaka.

Carol at Lusaka Backpackers!

In Lusaka, we stayed at a lovely hostel called the "Lusaka Backpackers Hostel" where Joe and I enjoyed a nice breakfast, long shower, even dip in a pool, and a great day of rest!  We had eaten chicken and rice for the past 7 days (no joke) and were so happy to eat something different and very yummy at the Lusaka Backpackers!





So, one lesson I want to highlight from this 3-night African train experience!  Simply that of having the right perspective and a good, old fashioned positive attitude!  As I mentioned before, Ross and Margaret were fantastic. Never once did they complain and thoroughly enjoyed the train experience, challenges and all.  A German gal came in our cabin one evening to interview us (she works for a radio station back in Germany) regarding this Tazara train experience and I think she was looking for us to start complaining about how awful the experience was and Ross (the one she ended up interviewing) only said positive things (again, he was genuinely enjoying it all!)  She even tried probing further by asking specifically about the bathrooms (which were a squat toilet with a hole onto the train tracks =)) and even about those he said "yeah, they are nice! They are actually clean!"


I think Joe and I could have felt pretty drained by the whole experience without remembering to stay focused on the genuinely positive aspects of the trip and finding joy in the small things such as: all the smiling kids in the villages along the way that would run to the train and wave at the passengers as the train chugged on by and LOVED when we waved to them or said hello. Also, the new people we met on the train (which is another story in itself. I'll just say that we met the most kind man named Pastor Dickson and his wife who were some of the most warm and generous Christians we've ever met), or the 12-year old girl that wondered into our cabin at one of the train stops and sung Mambo Sawa Sawa with me (a song we learned with our dear friends at Empowering Lives International in Kenya). Or even just enjoying the unique character and history of the slightly falling apart railway cars and stations that once must have been quite impressive and sumptuous when they were first constructed.

I'm reading a book that our friend Jenell Morris (who we were just with in Tanzania) recommended called "One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are" and the book focuses on the importance of "Eucharisteo" which is the Biblical Greek word for "giving thanks."  It has been challenging me to find things in each situation to thank God for, because truly, each and every thing that I have is a blessing from above.  She writes:

"When I realize that it is not God who is in my debt but I who am in His great debt, then doesn't all become a gift?"

Joe, Margaret, and Ross enjoying a stationary meal in Lusaka

It is often tempting to feel as though God has cheated us out of something that we deserve. That he owes us, or that life is 'just not fair'; whether related to health, relationships, certain abilities, success, a job, or whatever.  But the truth is that God has already given us more than we could possibly deserve by providing an eternal solution to every grain of failure and suffering present in humanity throughout history of the world. We are the ones that have wronged him, and yet when we look closely, we realize that his purpose is to change us into saints with his love, and that joy is freely available when we accept the gift of 'life to the fullest'.

Anyway, the point is to say that I am thankful for all that God has given to Joe and I, particularly in this season of our lives, and want to continue to practice Eucharisteo throughout our journey -- giving thanks to the Almighty for his wondrous gifts!

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things... And the God of peace will be with you."
- Philippians 4:8-9

With love and thanksgiving,

Carol and Joe