October 18, 2014 Saturday. We have spent the last 24 hours rolling slowly over bad track, sitting still waiting for other trains, or roaring along to try to make up time. Right now, we are at the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, waiting for a new engine to be attached. Then we will roll for about 15 minutes until the entire train is on the bridge over the Zambezi River. We are not legally allowed to stop there, but Gareth tells us that all 72 "engineers" on board will be allowed to disembark to inspect the wheels and, oh yes, take some photos. As soon as we finish crossing the bridge we will arrive at Victoria Falls where we will again disembark, this time for our overnight stay at the Victoria Falls Hotel and related activities. We have been told to take our insect spray, so this is the real start of the part of the trip for which we have all been taking our malaria pills.

The train on the bridge where we conducted our "inspection"

  

Engineers inspecting trains on the bridge must be common. They were ready for us!

The Victoria Falls Hotel from the bridge

Our first glimpse of the Zambezi River

Later. Well, 15 minutes turned to 40, but at last we got our pictures, including one of a daredevil bungee jumper leaping off the bridge, and eventually really did arrive at the hotel. What a treat! It was built in 1904, is completely up to date but loaded with colonial charm. Our room seemed huge, with plenty of space for two double beds (complete with mosquito nets of the sort I always dreamed of having when I thought being a princess would be a good thing), a couch, dresser, desk and bar, as well as a huge bath with a claw foot tub, roomy shower, and period black and white tile. After our cramped train compartment, the Victoria Falls Hotel seemed like heaven. In fact, most of us would have loved to stay on. We heard later that a few people actually did leave the train there and apparently a few new people have arrived for the Victoria Falls to Pretoria leg of our journey.

Better him than either of us!

The front of the Victoria Falls Hotel

In the foyer, we are reminded the hunt for "big game" has a long tradition here

On our way to lunch, we meet a wart hog on the lawn

The bridge from the hotel lawn

Sleeping on the train--the couch converts to a bed and the ladder provides access to the upper bunk

Sleeping in the hotel.  Ahhhhh.

Our very efficient train bath

I want more than a tub...

The shower on the train. Really, it's perfectly fine!

And here's the shower in the hotel--better than fine. 

We had time for a buffet lunch and a short rest and then convened for a sunset cruise on the Zambezi River, which divides Zambia from Zimbabwe. 

At the river, we were greeted by dancers...

...and a witch doctor!

Just being out on the wide, peaceful river was fun...

...but then we saw hippos in the river--mostly just eyes and nostrils, but HIPPOS!  

 And then we saw two or three elephants standing on the bank, soon joined by more, each bigger that the last, until there were at least a dozen. Slowly they entered the water and enjoyed a cooling bath. Then all of them lined up to swim across from one country to the other, no passports required. It was a rare treat to see this and all of us were thrilled. 

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The sunset was beautiful, but paled a bit in comparison.

October 17, 2014, Friday. It is 9:30 am and we have left the outskirts of Lusaka behind. We have now been told we can raise our windows and open our shutters. I'm still trying to figure out what that was all really about. I spent some time peering out of the crack at the top of a shutter and saw only smiling people, people shopping in the rundown bazaar, little cardboard stalls selling trinkets, tee shirts, food, people on their way to work. And slums, garbage heaps, the usual urban detritus enlivened by the circus atmosphere the passage of our train creates among the children. Are there really times when people throw rocks at the train? Or did they not want us to see the slums? But every city has those along the rail lines. Strange. 

Well, Lusaka is not a sleepy little town. It is the capitol of Zambia and its largest city, larger than Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.  John has just returned from the observation car to tell me that Gareth, the train manager, stood on the open platform at the very rear of the train where no passengers were allowed, armed with a realistic-looking paint gun to keep anyone from trying to climb aboard. Gareth is brilliant at his job, so I'm sure there is reason for his watchfulness. Nevertheless, if this were a movie, it would have to be a comedy. I'm sorry I was unable to photograph Lusaka.

This is what the outskirts of Lusaka looks like outside the city itself.

Our train!

October 16, 2014 Thursday.  We will be on board all day today, traveling through Zambia. The view looks a bit greener, dotted with many trees sporting new leaves in a rust red color that I suppose will turn green eventually. Again, the countryside alternates between grassy open savannah and lightly wooded areas. So far we have passed fewer little towns where every urchin in the place and many of their elders rush to the tracks to wave and smile and call out to us. I think to them we might as well be from the moon as we float by with our white faces and cameras at the windows of the train. Some of them beg, and yesterday a few misguided passengers apparently tossed candy to them, but then fights break out, so the train director issued a plea to desist. John saw one little boy who managed to climb an exterior train ladder and cling there for about twenty feet even after the train began to move. Most of them just gather at trackside, smiling and waving excitedly. Why are they so thrilled to see us? This isn’t the first time this train has passed by.  At only one point so far have we seen older children, maybe just out of school for the day, and some of those looked either sad or angry as we passed by. Who can blame them? Glimpses of our privileged lives must seem a stark contrast the the reality of their existence.. I asked if children here go to school and was told schooling is mandatory, but not always well enforced. Yesterday in the larger town where we boarded our buses I saw a decrepit building that was the local teachers college and another that was a secondary boarding school for boys. Do girls receive the same education or are they made to stop sooner? Most of the people we have seen seem happy, living together in lazy, rural poverty, but there is no way for us to know what life is like for them or for those we don't see running toward us as the most exciting thing in their lives for months on end. Previously, most of the places where the local people would rush to see us were tiny villages with only a dozen or so huts, but today in Zambia, many are larger towns. I would have predicted we would attract far less interest there, but no, we, the moon visitors, continue to fascinate. 

It is now 6pm and we are still becalmed in the town where the train was to be turned. Up until now, the observation car has been at the front of the train behind an engine and a fuel car, but from now on, the engine is supposed to be at the other end as it is should be. We are just a few cars from the observation car so it will be nice when the view from there improves. The downside will be that our compartment seating will now be backwards, which makes it much more difficult to take pictures as you can't see what's coming without twisting around. Meanwhile, none of that much matters since we haven't moved at all for over three hours.

LATER. I think we got underway around 8pm tonight. This must be normal because we are still within our window, they tell us. We have been warned that tomorrow morning around 8am we will stop in Lukasa, Zambia, where local children sometimes prefer hurling rocks at the train instead of smiles. We have been told to open our heavy shutters and then lower our glass window, then raise the shutters again until we are away from the town. Not exactly terrorists but certainly not the positive behavior we have enjoyed so far. 

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.

October 14, 2014, Tuesday. We were supposed to have spent the night stopped in a station last night but because of the problems the train encountered, we ran at speed all night long and are still a couple of hours late. Very bumpy track, and despite taking melatonin, I didn't really sleep until about 4 am and was awake by seven. I'm glad we have a lazy travel day today!  We had an interesting lecture this morning about the general history and politics of eastern and Southern Africa and another this afternoon about the European "discovery" of the Nile. I was embarrassed to doze through much of the morning talk, but had a two hour nap after lunch and stayed awake nicely this afternoon. As we rode through the countryside, people of all ages rushed out of their houses, smiling and waving as though we were the most exciting thing they had ever seen. 

These are typical villages--small brick houses, no apparent electricity or other features of modern life.

There were children all along the tracks that run just yards from their villages.

Once again, I am posting about a trip that occurred in the past. This summer we knocked the last two trains off John's bucket list--Rovos Rail and the Blue Train, both in Africa. What follows is my journal and some of my photos. Don't forget that if you want to see a larger version of any photo, just click on it.

October 12-13. We are in Africa! We flew into Johannesburg from Atlanta, spent a night at a hotel at the airport, and then flew to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, where we will board Rovos Rail's Pride of Africa train for a two-week trip to Cape Town, South Africa. Considering the distances traveled, our flights weren't terrible and we are surprisingly somewhat rested as we begin this journey. 

We haven't seen much of Africa at all so far, mostly just the drive from the airport here in Dar to our hotel, the Serena. We enjoyed seeing people out on the streets, especially the brightly colored long cotton dresses many of the local women wear. I wish I had one! They are so pretty and right for the climate. The white women we have seen mostly seem to be wearing safari colors, beige for the most part. We were told light colors don't attract mosquitoes as much as darks and brights and especially blue. Maybe the local people have some sort of immunity, or maybe it's a conspiracy to make us look even more pale and drab than we do already.   

October 13, 2014, Monday. We are on the train, which is very nice as trains go, but significantly less storage space than other trains we have ridden, and so far, kind of jinxed. The chef showed up soon after we boarded and assured us he could make vegan meals for us, which he has done very nicely so far. He mentioned plant-based protein, and he even seems to have a grasp of that, mentioning beans, tofu, and lentils, so I'm pretty pumped. Lunch was lovely, and then we spent the afternoon rolling along, even seeing some African animals!  Dinner is served at 7:30, but at 7 the lights went out for the first time.. They cook with gas, so dinner proceeded as scheduled along with the romance of candlelight. Lights came on, cheers, ten minutes of both lights and AC, oops, lights off, time passed, lights on. We left the lighted dining room to find the rest of the train still dark and hot. To bed with torchlight, lights on at 10:30, and finally we are underway again. Most of us are resigned but not terribly impressed. I hope this will turn out to be  an anomaly and not a portent of things to come. It may have been a bad sign when prior to boarding, the train manager reminded us the train is an antique and promised us "adventures" on our travels. John is grumpy, and I wonder if he likes trains better in theory but not so much the reality of riding the rails. My expectations are low, so I am not disillusioned when things go wrong.