October 15, 2014, Wednesday. We are now traveling through Zambia, again high country toward the end of its dry season. We are beginning to see fewer leafless trees. At the higher elevations, buds are appearing, then a few flowers, then new greenery, and the ground looks almost shiny from the train instead of dusty. In another month or so the rainy season will arrive, with drenching rains and bugs. We are lucky to be here now when it is sunny, sometimes with light clouds, and relatively cool considering our proximity to the equator. As ever, people rush from their villages to watch us pass by.

After lunch today we were treated to our first off-train excursion, a ride to Chishimba Falls aboard an African bus, which means that although it was comfortable, there was no air conditioning. Not at all bad, actually, as long as we were moving and the windows remained open. There were two buses, ours, which was larger, and a smaller one. We were stopped twice by uniformed guards and allowed to pass after a few minutes palaver, but the small bus was detained for 25 minutes until the driver forked over some cash. Along the way we passed signs denouncing corruption. This was apparently a real life example of graft at work.

We arrived at the falls and hiked up a wooded path, dirt, roots, some larger stones, bordered by a stone edging. I was way ahead because John becomes irritable if I wait for him when he is reconnoitering. Apparently he fell but not badly. Eventually he caught up with me at the falls itself, where the going became rougher and you had to take much more care on the steps or root-filled side paths. Somehow he lost his balance and then, trying to save himself from falling, put his foot down on a border stone which was loose, rolled over, and took him along with it. He wasn't hurt, thank goodness, except his pride, but it's a good thing we can have things laundered on the train. After that, we stuck pretty close together and agreed we wished we had packed one of our collapsible hiking sticks for him. We must remember that for future travels!

The falls were pretty, not spectacular, and could be viewed from two widely separated locations. Eventually, all seventy of us from the train ended up sitting around on plastic chairs in the shelter of several large shade trees, sipping everything from water to beer to wine to gin and tonic and enjoying a peaceful African afternoon off the train. Most of us were ready to leave a bit sooner than the bus got underway, but we arrived back at the train just after sunset, in time to shower and enjoy a rare casual dinner with no coats and ties required.