Thursday, 29 July 2010

Don't make friends.

I just slept 11 hours. I needed it. You see, there are a few rules you should observe when traveling. Some are obvious: be prepared, keep your valuables safe, don't walk down back alleys, etc. Others are less obvious: don't order the cocktail with two chili peppers as garnish, white people shouldn't sit on the top of a boat for four hours in the sun, keep your clothes on in Muslim communities, and whatever you do, do not make friends with other travelers.

Allow my to expand on the last example. You may think making friends is something that you should strive to do; it promotes global community, it represents Canada well, it feels nice. However, making friends leads to jovial evening gatherings. Although these gatherings sound pleasant, I find them to be hard on my hydration level and my bank account. I also find that they make mornings a bit difficult.

Yesterday morning, although it seemed to be off to a decent start, proved to be somewhat difficult. After breaking my own rule the night before, I hopped on a small boat and took a ride on the waves of the Indian Ocean. I am not prone to seasickness, however on this occasion, my disobedience from the night before paired with the boat ride became too much to handle. Upon arriving at our destination, I successfully knocked an item off of my bucket list. I jumped off the side of the boat, was completely submerged, and fed my Spanish omelet to the African fish.

Now folks, please learn a lesson here. This was a multicultural experience that you should only learn by living vicariously through me. Do not make friends.

Wednesday, 28 July 2010

Zanzibar!

It is our last day on Zanzibar island. Here's a update of what we have done:

On Monday we walked the streets of stone town in Zanzibar city. This is a World Heritage Site because of it's old stone structures and narrow streets with the Indian Ocean as a back drop. It's kinda like Venice meets Seville. We also toured the fruit and fish market; they were the best ones we have seen yet. If hanging cow legs and inside out chickens are your thing, then come here. You can buy a cut of meat from a vendor, or join the meat auction. Giant squid appeared to be the big hit.

We then toured the site of where the last slave auction in the world was held. Slaves were kept in tiny rooms by Muslim elites and auctioned off in the public square. The worth of each slave was based on their condition after being whipped; if they were weak, they were sold for cheap, and if they were strong after whipping they were expensive. When slavery was abolished in 1873 missionaries built a church over the site.

All the tourists end up at a local hotel for the evening to have drinks and watch the sun set over the Indian Ocean. This isn't the place to be very long however, because after night fall local food vendors set up in a public square. You negotiate a price for skewers of meat, fresh pita bread, etc. They then throw it on the BBQ and serve it to you. I had shark, lobster, mussels, and beef. We also tried Zanzibar pizza, and a sugar cane/lemon drink.

Yesterday we went on a local spice tour. This was more than worth the $10 a person we paid for the 3 hour tour. We saw several different spice plants including pepper, lemon grass, cardomon, turmeric, cinnamon, vanilla bean, curry, cloves, coffee, ginger, and iodine. We were able to taste each one right off the tree. We also tried the areas local fruit: red bananas, tangerines, grapefruit, custard apple, star fruit, and jack fruit. We also watched a local named "Mr. Butterfly" climb a gigantic palm tree and sing a song in Swahili. I also tried to climb the tree, I failed.

After the tour we travelled to the north part of Zanzibar. We spent the next couple nights bumming around on the beach. Brad and Allison went snorkelling today, I stayed behind and caught up on journal and emails.

Zanzibar out.
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Monday, 26 July 2010

Malawi

Jambo! (Hello in Swahili)

We have been having a rocking time in Malawi! Our dress up and special punch party was hilarious! I bought the 14 year old Swiss boy a red short skirt and a yellow ribbon tie up piece with one bedazzled breast. He was a great sport and wore it for the majority of the night! The 19 year old Swiss girl bought my outfit which consisted of a pair of boxers that were a bit too small, an orange spaghetti strap tank top, and knee high socks. Greg was wearing a leopard print skirt, of course. We both wore our outfits until the next morning.

We spent 4 nights on the beach of Lake Malawi. On the third day, we got up at 5am and we hiked from our beach campground in Chipita to the town of Livingstonia, about 17 kilometers away, straight up a mountain. Round trip we hiked about 35 kilometers. It was one of the toughest hikes I've ever been on. We hiked along the road for the majority of the way, but periodically our guide would point is along a footpath shortcut. At times these shortcuts were so steep that I had to use my hands to climb up the path. At the top, we saw a beautiful 50 meter high waterfall. We climbed down to a cave behind the falls and just chilled out for a while. This same cave was used to hid people during the slave trade. Past the falls, we saw a little bit of Livingstonia, a town that was started as a mission by David Livingstone the African explorer.

Right now we are on a ferry going from Dar es Salaam to the island of Zanzibar. This area of Africa is much more multicultural than the areas we've been to previously - there is a large Muslim population here. We will stay one night in Stonetown and then move to the North of the island for two nights. We are looking forward to touring the picturesque town, going on a spice tour, and playing in the Indian Ocean.

It is now time for the most important update: beer. In Malawi, we drank mostly Carlsburg beer, which is an import. The local beer Kuche Kuche (pronounced koochy koochy) was weak and a little tasteless. We all miss the local Zambian brew Mosi (short for Mosi Oi Tunya which means the smoke that thunders. This is the local name of Victoria Falls). Lion was the local Zimbabwae brew, similar to Mosi. The bartender in Zimbabwe suggested we drink Black Label - he called it "the wife beater" or "African Pepsi". We only drank one and then decided it was not the beer of choice. It tasted like there may be a few dead wives floating around in their kegs. Here in Tanzania, we've tried two different local brews: N'dhodo and Kilomanjaro (because, after all, Tanzania is home to this mountain). We drank both of these beers in a restaurant that does not have power and is lit with candlelight. They were only somewhat cold because they are kept in a kerosene fridge. At this particular establishment, our team managed to drink the bar completely dry and we have been a very proud bunch ever since. It is necessary to mention the brand Castle. We've found this South African beer everywhere we've been and it has been the standard go to beverage in most situation. The cider Savanna has been a tasty option, and even though Allison has been seen drinking beer on many occasions, this would be her preferred choice. The further north and east we get, the warmer the beer gets. That's just the way they do it here.

Two words you should know:
Mazungu - what the locals call is whities
Mofipa - what the locals call themselves, the blackies
It is quite common to be addressed as mazungu. We've started responding with Mofipa and always get a great reaction.

I'm going out on the deck for some views of the Indian Ocean.

Mazungu out.

Tuesday, 20 July 2010

Malawi so far...

We've been in Malawi for two days now and we're loving it. We spent 2 nights in the forest, elevation about 1000 meters above sea level. Reminded me of the mountains at home. Greg and I kayaked on the lake and everyone went on a little hike. Campfires, dice and local beers at night. We are on the way to a beach front campsite on lake malawi for 4 days. We stopped at the local market in some town, all bought each other the craziest clothes we could find, are going to exchange outfits and then drink special recipe punch on the beach tonight. Last night the bartender had a CD with country music on it so Greg, Allison and I taught the rest of the group how to have a two-steppin hoe-down. A few nights ago we camped with the hippos. One girl didn't close her tent door properly so they found only a mildly poisonous snake inside when going to bed. Only found mildly poisonous spiders so far too. It is raining today for the first time on our trip. No sunburns at all yet. That's all for now.

Sunday, 18 July 2010

Bye bye Zambia!

Today we are leaving Zambia and heading to Malawi. So far we've had a great time. Right now we are on our truck bus thing and we have finally reached a stretch of road that is paved. The roads here can be absolutely horrible - at times we'd be going about 10km/h and people and stuff would be flying all over the place.

But, after all, TIA - This is Africa - and nothing is seemingly out of the ordinary. TIA is a commonly used term on our truck bus. I have heard it used in many circumstances, but mainly it is used as a suck-it-up response to when bitches bitch.

"waa I broke a fingernail"
"that shower was cold"
"I want a vegetarian meal"
"too many bumps"
"I need the front seat"
Etc

TIA bitches.

We have been learning more about the people we are traveling with. The Vikings drink scotch at breakfast, the Swiss family all have high IQs and the daughter is spicy, the Americans truly are annoying (I've nicknamed one Fiona), and the Dutch guy rocks (his nickname is little-spoon).

Our list of animals that we've seen has grown significantly! We went on a game drive in South Luangwa National Park and saw tons of stuff. The park covers 9050 square kilometers and contains the Luangwa river which is home to approximately 40 hippopotamuses per kilometer! We camped on the river and frequently saw hippos and crocodiles approach the camp. We also camped with the monkeys, who would have been a pest if it wasn't for their novelty. The monkeys made many attempts at stealing things from our camp. On our drive through the park we saw: elephants, giraffes, hippos, zebras, lions, hyenas, a white tailed mongouse, an owl, a bush baby, marmots, a lizard and more. Our guide was able to spot a squirrel in the dark from 100 feet away so needless to say, we saw all kinds of stuff.

Yesterday afternoon we visited a local village to see how they live. As the truck pulled in, kids came running to greet us from all directions. There were so many kids surrounding the truck that it was difficult to get out. We were treated to a tour of the village. We saw the kitchen, which was simply a patch of dirt with a small fire burning and piles of pots all around. No building whatsoever. We saw the toilets, the garden, and then the brewery. They make their own "beer" and we learned how and then got to taste it. First, they put maize tops, sugar, and water into jugs and let them sit in the sun for about 3 days. The now fermented concoction gets transferred into a pot and boiled. The lid catches the vapours and then they travel down a tube which passes through an old tire filled with water to cool the liquid. This process is repeated many times. They told us that the first few batches are normally around 100 percent and then they get weaker. The final drinkable product is a combination of all the different batches. We each got to try some - it was unbelievably strong! We also saw their water well. This town is lucky because a well was donated to them. The well supplies 17 villages with water and each families pays 1USD a month to use it. The village we were in had about 85 families living there. That is a lot of people using one well! Periodically the well is maintained (shocked with chlorine) by a professional to make sure the water remains clean and healthy. The kids were all very curious and interested in everything we did - I taught a few kids to pound it and then I had to pound every kids fist before getting back on the truck. They loved getting their pictures taken and then looking at it on the camera. They always laughed at themselves.

Today we had a pee stop just across the border in Malawi and kids came running from everywhere and were asking for pens. Luckily we are smart and we knew this was going to happen so we had just bought pens at the store for this reason. I tossed a couple pens out the window and then watched the dog-pile and fight ensue. So I will have to learn from that and do things differently next time.

It is just about noon, we've been up for 8 hours driving and I still haven't seen the Vikings' scotch. Gotta go inquire!

Thursday, 15 July 2010

Overland Tour Begins!

We got up at 6AM Wednesday morning (It's been years since I've seen 6AM), to meet our group for our overland tour. We took a taxi to our meeting point even though it was literally around the corner from where we were. This has happened a few times this trip; cabbies will be happy to drive you any place even if its just down the street.

We were scheduled to leave at 8AM, however it was around 10AM when we hit the road. I think this is a sign of things to come. You wait for a person to buy water, another to pee, and another to run from bank machine to bank machine trying to take Kwacha out with a credit card. However, hold ups are seen as inevitable and generally humorous; you are in for a long trip if you get impatient or annoyed.

Vehicle:

apparently overland trucks have names. In this case, someone deemed that "Roy" would be appropriate, I have no clue why. We learned upon arrival that Roy is not to be referred to as a "bus". If such talk occurs, you will be subject to random punishments by tour guides. Brad and I have compensated by using terms such as "buck or trus" to refer to our vehicle. Roy is similar to what you would see in a battlefield; it looks like a heavy duty army truck. It's appearance is irrelevant to us, but the unfortunate part is that it also rides like a truck in battle. No shocks on the back wheels means that hitting a two foot pot hole at 130km/hour can interrupt the flow of your nap to say the least. Roy also has narrow seats. If Brad and I are sitting side by side, the person with the aisle seat has to put one ass cheek on the seat, and the other in the middle of the aisle. However, this is not the worst case scenario. Being the last person on the bus means getting the middle seat in the back- a place where NOBODY wants to be. You are squished between 2 viking-like Norwegians and 2 chatty Americans. This person has no leg room (Brad's or mine left ass cheek is often in the way), and you can't see out the windows. The cool part about Roy is that he is efficient. Meals can be pulled out, made, and put away in one hour's time, it can handle any terrain (we think), and drives seemingly long distances without needing gas.

Guides:

1) Paul- Our enthusiastic driver who seems more interested in delivering wet willies, titty twisters, and ass grabs than offering insight in to our tour. Nevertheless, he is well liked.

2) Jabu- our tour guide. He gives us useful information every now and again. He is also the cook, and is quite good at both his jobs.

3) Oliver- we are still trying to pin point exactly what Oliver does. Some say he is the translator for non-english speaking travellers. however, everyone on our bus speaks English better than he does. Oliver mostly just smokes, sleeps, and climbs stuff.

A note on Zambian roads: poor.

Our first day's journey was long.

Highlites:

1) There were none.

Lowlites:

1) The museum we stopped at while Jabu made us lunch. The dollar spent to get in could have been used to buy a Mosi (Zambian beer).

2) Having our group decide NOT to stop and have a beer while watching the sunset on the roof of Roy. %&€¥!!!

3) Allison's squeaky seat that kept me awake for several hours.

After driving deep (and I mean deep) in to the bush on the worst road imaginable to man, we found our camp site. By this time the built up pressure on my bladder was unbearable, as was the weak, hollow feeling of my empty stomach. Upon arrival we were promptly given a very uninformative lesson on the intricate workings of tent poles.

Shortly after, dinner was served. Jabu made a huge pot of spaghetti which I washed down with well deserved beers. Bed time was at 10, due to the 6AM wake up call.

We are loving it.
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More Victoria Falls

So far, our adventures in Africa have been plentiful. We've only had time for quick blog updates until now. I am now sitting on a buck/trus (more on this in Greg's post) with nothing but time so I will try and expand on some of the highlights so far.

We had a fantastic meal in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwae at a restaurant called Boma. Boma is the local word for "place of eating" and eating is certainly what we did. Upon arriving, we were greeted by two drummers and were dressed in traditional clothes.

We had some time before dinner was served, so I ordered a round of the local scotch for us to sip. After being seated at our table, we had a ceremonial hand washing and taste of traditional whiskey made of corn and gluten and then left in the sun to ferment. It was 3 percent good and 97 percent horrible crap, if you know what I mean.

The restaurant was in a large thatched roof hut with rows of tables moving outwards from a central open area used for entertainment. Everything was dimly lit but the place still seemed vibrant with colour. To one side was the buffet area which, of course, we frequented often.

Appetizers: traditional salads, butternut soup served in mini cauldrons, fresh bread, and crocodile tail. The croc reminded us of pork and was very tasty. I had 2 helpings.

Main course: sausage, chicken, sirloin, ribs, buffalo, warthog, impala, and jellyfish all made to order on an open grill right in front of you, and served on your own personal hot-plate. In another area, there was an entire lamb roasting on a spit. We all enjoyed everything, but we particularly liked the warthog for its tenderness and bold flavour. I had a lamb rib cut directly from the spit which was fantastic.

Dessert: a huge spread of everything, plus a crepe bar - made to order and sautéd in brandy. Also, Mopani worms. From the special Mopani tree, these worms were eaten by the tribes as a delicacy. We each ate one. Very crunchy and chewy, they took some effort to swallow but we were awarded certificates for completing the challenge.

After dinner, the entertainment started. Allison got some hair braids while Greg and I learned about the Boma Cocktail. An old man appeared and gave us this speech:

"the Boma cocktail is made of: vodka, which is alcoholic; cinnamon, good for the heart; lemon, for taste; honey, for sweetness; ice, or no ice; stirred with this special Boma stick. The Kenyans call it medicine. 4USD."

Greg immediately ordered two. They were so fantastic we had a couple more. This helped loosen is up for the ensuing drum lesson.

Every single person was given a drum and then a percussion band came on stage and have is a lesson. They had the whole place playing drums together. I loved it. It turned into a dance party, our table being the first to get up and bust a move.

We heard a sextet of singers, got our faces painted, and then ended up getting our fortunes told by a crazy guy in a hut on the way out.

Fantastic evening.

The next day we decided to take it easy. Breakfast by the pool, a walk around town, etc. We learned about a 2000 year old tree nearby so we decided to take a walk in that direction. Before we left, we were warned that buffalo and elephants sometimes came through that area, but that we wouldn't have a problem.

We found the impressive tree and took some pictures and continued our walk down the road. A truck came by and the people riding in the box told us there were elephants ahead! Greg and I were excited but cautiously continued on, Allison fell a few steps behind us so we'd get trampled first. Before we saw any elephant, the man driving the truck came back for us, and offered is a ride. We hopped in the box and we whirled down the road. About 30 seconds later, we had to stop the truck because there were three elephants standing in the road helping themselves to the vegetation! The driver pulled up slowly until we were about 5 meters away. It was apparent that the elephants knew we were there but they were quite obviously much more concerned with eating than with us.

We starred in awe for a long time, the man in the truck patiently waiting. Our pictures are surreal. I will try and post some next time I find a decent computer. When we were satisfied, the man have a lift back to town and refused any payment, just asked that we tell people about Victoria Falls and how awesome it is. Let this post be a testament to that!

Cheers!
Brad.

Tuesday, 13 July 2010

Did my last post come through?

Animals seen: giraffe, hippo, croc, elephant, warthog, vulture, rooster (kokoleoko), all the home grown animals, praying mantis, and more.

Animals eaten: impala, crocodile tail, warthog, buffalo, roast lamb, jellyfish, more and more.

Poop update: all solid.

Bungee jumped off Victoria falls bridge - third highest in the world.

Booze cruise on the zambezi river was a riot.

Golfed 9 holes in livingstone zambia complete with caddy who chose clubs for us and ran for beers when needed.

Loving this life.

Brad.

Monday, 12 July 2010

Zimbabwae!

We successfully crossed the Zambia/Zimbabwae border with no trouble at all - I only spotted one rifle and it was a very friendly man holding it.  $75 visa to enter.  We checked out Victoria Falls one more time today - amazing.

Animal list update: warthog, bushnuck (which is the complete wrong name, but it was like a deer)

Poop update: all solid.

Beer update: Zimbabwae beers: Lion, Golden Pilsner, Black Label.  Lion is tastes different but good, Pil is light but works when its hot out, Black Label should be avoided at all costs.  The bartender calls Black Label "The Wife Beater" or "African Pepsi"

Out for buffet dinner tonight - may eat croc, we'll see.

Sunday, 11 July 2010

Goodbye Zambia, Hello Zimbabwe!

I'm sitting here with an excess in internet time... that never happens! The internet is usually so slow. But today I learnt how to make the most of it and typed all my emails out ahead of time and then logged in to the internet to send them. To my surprise.... the internet is 100 times faster then usual! So, I have time for a quick update.
We are just about to learn Zambia and enter into Zimbabwe. We will spend 3 nights there and then begin our tour. We have loved every minute of Livingstone and we are sad to leave... but more advertures await!
Yesterday we hooked up with team Ireland and headed to the golf course. Ok... I came along to walk in the African sun, take pictures and drink beer! It was a fun afternoon. We went to a local Mexican restaurant for dinner. There was no one there but the food was very tastey. I came back to the hostel to do a little laudrey and get a good nights sleep... the boys, however, met up with team Ireland and team Norway and had a whole bunch of fun.
We went to church this morning. We listened to a choir sing yesterday and found out they were from the Catholic church... so this morning we ventured over there. This was a highlight for me. What a cool way to connect with the locals and to worship as brothers and sisters from around the world. The music gave me goosebumps. So, my new project is to find someone to pay me to study church music in Africa. Anyone interested?
CHEERS!
Allison

Saturday, 10 July 2010

Victoria Falls!

This is the Zambian side of Victoria Falls - the falls are about 1.6km acroos and about 100m high so they are very difficult to take pictures of...  Too big!  The mist from the falls makes it seem like you are in a downpour.  We tried to keep ourselves and our cameras dry...

Quick update

- We're in Livingstone
- Victoria Falls is AMAZING!!!
-List of Africa animals sceen so far; dog, cat, cow, chicken, goat.... and then finally we saw monkey's, giraffe, hippo and a crocodile!
-Truth be told, Brad tried to pick up the Welsh guy for me.
-People from Zambia and super friendly.
-Partied with team Irish, team Norway, team San Fran, and many others on a cruise last night. We are known as the Crazy Canadians
Out of internet time....
Allison

Wednesday, 7 July 2010

Go Holland!

1. I am writting this on the bus between Lusaka and Livingstone... Don't worry about the the trip, we had a Priest come on the bus and do a devotion with everybody before we left. As odd as this may seem, people here are quite religous and don't hide it.
This guy prayed that we find green pastures on our adventure. However, I have yet to see a single patch of green grass anywhere.

2. We watched the Dutch kick ass last night. There were about 30 people packed in to the hostel bar, all of which were rooting for the oranje. It was cool being around people who actually cared about soccer. I'm proud to be kinda Dutch. WOOOT Holland!

3. Poops are still solid.

4. Allison macked up a guy from Wales.

5. Don't be white and show up at a busy African bus depot. You get surrounded by people from different bus companies wanting your business.

6. I like showering at night now.

7. I changed my pants for the first time this trip today.

8. We ate dinner at Rhapsody. This is an American restaraunt in the entertainment district of Lusaka. It was a much better experience than the day before when we ate fast food in the slums. I had a big spit of meat.

9. Welcome home Nathan.

Gregory
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Tuesday, 6 July 2010

Lusaka

1. It is overcast and chilly.
2. English is the official language of Zambia.
3. Kwacha is the currency. 1USD is about 5150K.
4. A beer at our hostel costs 8000k.
5. Our hostel is called ChaChaCha.
6. I am still waiting to see a local point with their lips instead of a finger.
7. A rooster woke me up this morning.
8. Names of beers we've tried: Windback Lager (Namibia), Mosi (Zambia) - this beer gets the kitchen staff in trouble so they say, Castle Lager (Zambia) - most booze (5% instead of 4%) and most taste.
9. I caught Allison putting on make up.
10. Team total mosquito bites: 2. We are remembering to take our malaria pills.
11. Common team sayings: "you can't have a straight with a 1 and a 6", "I'm gonna roll a couple bullets".
12. Today's coffee is a remarkable improvement from yesterday's, however there is still a problem in this department.
13. Team BMs: a little rough at London Heathrow, but generally normal since arrival.

Brad

Monday, 5 July 2010

Update

1. I'm writting this from my hostel bed. All I see around me is a mosquito net, a white pillow case with yellow stains, and a big bottle of water.

2. I haven't slept more than 3 hours at a time since Friday night. Also, I have not changed my pants sine then.

3. Beer costs 1.70 Cdn. That's why I see a water bottle around me (refer to point 1).

4. Coffee here is absolute crap.

5. Our accommodation are similar to that of Ted's chicken shack.

6. Kwacha: Zambian currency. 1USD=5000K. First one to tell me how much Kwacha a beer is gets 50K. First one to tell me how much 50K is worth gets a van Mofinator.

7. I Shot the moon 3 times in one game of hearts.

8. Zambians are very friendly. I think "momboso" is the term they use for white men- more investigation needed.

9. The Dutch play tomorrow. I'm kinda Dutch.

10. My first poop was solid. Travellers diarrhoea is a a myth .
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Welcome to Africa!

Well friends... we are here! We landed at 6:00am Lusaka time. Africa is COLD! Let's hope that it warms up just a little bit... not too much though :)

The flights were very long and we are pretty sleepy but it feels great to finally be here. We went for a long walk this morning and looked around Lusaka. After much wandering, we were able to find a decent breakfast; chicken, fries and pizza! We loaded up on bottled water and the headed back to our hostel for a long awaited nap! We've had a relaxing evening at the hostel, playing card, eating dinner and enjoy a few cold beers! One more relazing day in Lusaka and then it's off to Livingstone!

Saturday, 3 July 2010

Airport beer number two

Airport Buzz

It's 3 hours before our flight and I've already misplaced my camera, phone, and passport. Thankfuly, a thirteen year old boy returned my camera, the hot British Airways clerk gave my passport back, and I found my phone in the bottom of my bag. This is probably happend because of my beer consumption. Be back, I gotta pee.
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IMG00920.jpg

At the airport!!!
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Departure!

Friday, 2 July 2010

Day Before Departure

I never planned on being in a Latin American themed waterpark a four hour flight away from my departure city the day before leaving for Africa. I am in Ottawa with 25 girls and 10 mothers on choir tour and we decided to kill time before our flight by checking out the new waterpark, Calypso. Overall, choir tour was fantastic and there were many successes, but now I need to get my mind on Africa. (if you want to read about choir tour in more depth, check out my other blog: http.//medicinehatmaestro.blogspot.com )

I bought a new Canon Powershot SX20 to be sure I get some great pictures while traveling. Within 48 hours of owning my new toy, my lens cap became lost. So while I have been away, Greg saved my butt big time and managed to buy a new lens cap for me. My new lens cap even includes a string this time.

I am second guessing everything I have packed for Africa (my perpacked bag is waiting for me at home). My huge pack is nearly full and is very heavy. I don't know what to do differently, but I don't like having so much stuff. I guess I'll be prepared if nothing else.

I need to remember to make copies of my documents, both hard copy and electronic, before departure. I also need to remember to disable the various functions that consume data on my blackberry. Traveling with a phone has been against my own rules up until now, but I guess times are changing and so should I.
My mom put together first aid kits for us. It is something I didn't have the time or patience for and I think it makes her feel better about our adventure by doing it.

Hopefully I can get a good sleep tonight. Choir tour has sleep deprived me and we have two very long flights ahead of us. 24 total hours of traveling from Calgary to Lusaka, Zambia. We are staying two nights in Lusaka to recover from jet lag, become accustomed to our new surroundings, and buy bus tickets to get to Livingstone. Once in Livingstone we will be able to settle, we are staying 10 days.

Stay tuned!