By the time we reached Gauteng we were over two hours late. We mentioned to the bus driver in Free State that we were connecting to a bus for Blantyre, but expected that a few days would be spent cooling our heels in Jo-berg. Our bus waited! The 40 or so other passengers were I´m sure quite unhappy but we were delighted. The bus from P.E. was in the end three hours late, meaning that bus left two hours later than scheduled.

Night had fallen by the time we reached the border with Zimbabwe at Beitbridge. This was the first, but not the last experience of an annoying inefficientcy at the border. Ah, but before we reached this place the sun grew heavy and low in the sky, there were a few tunnels. The land there had sharp rocky hills. The road passing straight through some of them. These, if memory serves, are the first ones I´ve seen in S.A. charming, if not as impressive as the last tunnel I passed through, one going under a fjord in Ísland.

Returning to the border, Zim involved sitting around for quite a while as the bus workers got the proper papers. It also meant parting with R250 for single entry, rather annoying since we were only in the country for half a day or so. The multi entry Brandy and Olli got was R350. I passed on that as I plan to return via Zambia and Botswana rather than Moçambique and Zim with the others. Once in Zim the first thing I noticed was the smell, this was only the border post less than a km from SA, but the smell of sewage isn´t the most welcoming scent in the world. As night had fallen I couldn´t see that much of the country once we entered. The road was more narrow, without margins on the side, the signs were far older, I slept.

We reached Harare about 4am. It is a city I would very much like to have seen in the daylight. The centre of a madman´s domain. At the gas station I was going to buy a snack, on the shelf it said $600 zim, at the register the man said $800. Still alright if he gave an alright exchange rate. I ask the price in rands. He says "R8.50". I say "R8.50?". He nods, so I hand him R20, and he says "R35". I laugh and say no. After passing R30 and going down to the R20 I had already passed over I collect my R20 and put the snack back on the shelf. Unfortunately Brandy handed over R50 for a few packs of gum and the guy gave her back $300 zim. So that was some expensive gum. Harare had a feel of decay about it, down a side street I saw two tall buildings. It is a mystery to me as to if that was the extent of downtown.

As the sun rose again Zim still felt somehow a place of decay. Far less developed than S.A. to begin with. If my road map is to be trusted the roads are none to common and rarely carry tar. The little bit of observation I could do backed up the map. We drove for hours with almost no tar splitting off from the main road. Although there were many small villages to be seen. For the most part less developed than S.A. counterparts.

Northern Zim began another trend, police and military checkpoints. This is something I´ve seen in S.A. and the U.S. as well, but in those countries they are more temporary it seems, and don´t usually block the entire road but wave random people over. Always they are an evil plague. Who likes to be stopped by armed thugs and asked questions I don´t know. Be those thugs wear the uniform of the U.S. police, the Zimbabwe military, or anything else. In Zim, Moz, and Malawi there are in places, actual gates, so the bus had to come to a complete stop before they were opened, either being waved on or the operators questioned.

The Moz border at Nyamapanda was more of the same. Hours of standing around. A note to any coming to Moz this way, this border does not sell transit visas, which would have cost R70 or so. We had to buy single entry visas for R220. Another reason I´m glad I´m not passing that way again. Although Brandy and Olli are getting transit visas for the return at the backpackers in Blantyre for K980 or about $12-13 US each. I bought some meticals from a money changer at the border M100,000 for R50. I should have gotten more like M112,000 but its only a souvenir ).

In Moz we rarely stopped, never long enough to get a snack. Except at the border into and out of the country. I´m afraid I´ll have to switch pens now. This one seems to be just out of ink. Its one I stole from Alice years ago. A simple plastic pen, but it has served well. Of course now it seems to be working again. So I´ll give it one more chance. Inside Moz we first stopped to pick up some Malawians who hadn´t had visas and couldn´t afford them so they snuck over the border. We let them out again before getting to the Malawi border to avoid trouble. I hope they found their way out again. One time we did not stop was when a goat remained in the road. When livestock was present the bus would honk and the animals would move, but this little goat decided at the last moment to bound to the other side, would have made it, but went half way, and panicked, pronking aimlessly. The bus couldn´t have stopped. There was a chill thud. I did not see the result but imagine it was fatal. The bus continued on it merry way.

While the paint on the road in Zim was faded it wasn´t even on the road in Moz. Zim felt as it was decaying, Moz felt more like it was always the way it is or at least it decayed a long time ago. A nice thing about the bus was free refreshments. They didn´t amount to much but were a nice touch. I had a cup of coca cola…well that was it, the old pen is dead, long live the new pen. As I was saying I had a cup of coke for the first time since I think that time Katy left a coke in my fridge in Montreal for some reason. Interesting stuff but I think it would be better with less sugar and carbonation.

I suppose I´ll continue later. I´m tired of writing.

2002.10.12
The Moçambique border post at Zòbul was like the others, rather chaotic, with some waiting. Money changers were advirtising 8 kwacha for the rand, not a bad price. So Olli handed over R200, the guy gives him 6 K200 notes and runs off before Olli can count them, making it 6 to 1. Not a good deal. On the other side the road was immediately better, with a fresh coat of paint. It even seemed greener. We arrived at the Malawi border and quickly got stamped, no charge. This seemed to be going well, but then there was customs. Apparently every piece of luggage is supposed to be thoroughly searched, and we were there long enough for it to happen. But they never even looked at our bags, me, Olli, and Brandy. That post had the longest wait yet, about 4 hours standing around in uncomfortable warmth. With annoying people begging and trying to sell snacks. It must be said though, that those were not half so bad as those bastards at Coffee Bay S.A.

We got into Blantyre after dark, the bus operator pointed out where Doogles Lodge was, about a block from where we got let off, we walked, and here we are. It´s a nice place, not all that dissimilar to backpacker places in S.A. but with its own flavour of guests. There are S.A. families here, while we almost never ran into either families or S.Africans at S.A. backpackers. Of course there is another German here, keeping up with that trend. She´s quite lovely, doing forestry research here in Malawi, studies in Austria, named Yvonne.

2002.10.14

Ásta, in this out of the way place there are your countrymen. A couple Europeans mentioned last night there are two Icelanders working in Blantyre, this was surprise enough, but today Sofia, a Swede at M.B. mentioned there are three working in Monkey Bay! This is a village.

S.A. is a land not so very different from the U.S. in many ways. Malawi is something else, it fits more with my minds prior vision of Africa. Even big city Malawi, Blantyre has more of a different feel to it. Here at monkey bay this is magnified. At the moment I sit under a mosquito net, my ears bring me the sound of drums, birds, many voices. On early observation the culture here is more polite than S.A. Still it is ugly in ways. Many children ask for money, others ask again and again for purchases to be made. I do not feel here the disgust I felt at Coffee Bay, but I am bothered. I will likely not buy anything here in part because I don´t like how its sold. I´ve come to distrust conversations with locals as they lead to "buy this", "give me that" far too often. This is a very poor place.

Tomorrow I say goodbye to Olli & Brandy. They leave for Cape Maclear, I for Lilongwe and the Zambian frontier. I´ll divide my money in different places, watch my back, and see a little more of this beautiful world. On the road trip of last month it was easier to write. I was in a place more familiar if new. Here it is a struggle to move the pen. To record thoughts. With more time I could become accustomed. This is a strange land, never so strange as what is around the next bend though. Strangest of all are those corners that cannot be seen, at least on this trip. A month ago Malawi was an alien place, now, being seen, it is human, if different. I won´t see the Congo this year or the next. It is an alien place, should I go there I would be surprised to find it not human. The same was Alaska, before that was home, and Québec, and elsewhere. This is my addiction, to see around the bend. To see the next river, and the far sea, the mountain and the valleys that can´t be seen. A beautiful drug this travel. The smells foul and sweet, the melodies and profanity. The sands between the toes, coarse and fine. Cold winds, soft breezes. Hard rain, cruel sun. White clouds, yellow smog. Lava, and ice.

2002.10.15

The bus today was a journey. The smell of it intense. The road at times hadn´t carried any tar in my lifetime. Central Africa by bus, potholes and all. I chatted with a guy named Maclaren who´s in form 3. He was on his way to see family in Lilongwe, K290 bus trip and he hadn´t seen his mom or siblings since january! Sofia and Robert, a guy from Ireland, saw me off to the Lilongwe bus, they were catching a pickup truck to Mangochi for some business but are probably back at Monkey Bay. Brandy and Olli were still sleeping when I left them, they woke to say farewell though.

I hear the muslim call to prayer. There are two beautiful mosques under construction but blocks from here. I fear to expose my camera to photograph them. I will feel the mood of the town tomorrow. The morning should bring me soon after dawn to my next bus, may it bring relaxation in Lusaka, or if not there at least in Livingstone.

2002.10.16

2002.10.19
I´m a bit sad. I´ve found for the first time I can recall in my African adventures money gone and surely stolen. Not a lot, about US$10 worth I think, in Zambian and Malawian kwatcha. It happened probably last night, while I was away from the backpackers. Someone was in my things. Fortunately not taking far more valuable objects. The financial loss isn´t bad, though I can be a penny pincher. Its merely the principle. Petty theft, a moral lapse I´ve been guilty of myself, but it is so annoying to be the one at loss.

The last two days of rest have been blissful after three days of riding buses. I catch another one, bound for Gaborone, Bostwana, tomorrow morning at four. If I make it to Jo-berg by eight o´clock monday morning then I´ll push on to Mbabane, Swaziland. If not I might go straight back to P.E. to study for those looming exams, and of course to do that bloody paper on Libya that continues to refuse to write itself. The last few days I was hanging out with Becky, a girl with far more kilometres under her belt than I´m likely to get anytime soon. Now she has gone off for Windhoek to see that desert which I hope to visit after exams. It may be another solitary journey, unfortunately, my mates in P.E. with plans of travel seem more enamored with destinations east, Kruger National Park, Moçambique. My own dreams focus on the dunes of the Namib desert, the cold Atlantic beating against a barren coast.

My first sights of Zambia were poor roads, and dry country, but closer to Lusaka the roads are far better, and traveling south-west it becomes greener. The dry Eastern province had beauty, the trees were not only brown, but red, orange, yellow. Zambia is not so crowded as Malawi. I like the change. It´s still very poor, but more seems to be available, more fields of food, more variety in stores. In the whole region I fear the children with children. How can the poverty ever dissolve when the stomachs multiply so. How can it dissolve when the average woman's lot is gross subservience, too many lose their adolescence to pregnancy. Too many births, too little freedom. Early death from disease, or simply too much hard labour. It may be cultural chauvinism, but I don´t believe the standard of living for this part of the world can improve without societal alterations, radical ones. For that to be gained much would be lost.

2002.10.21
1am Park City station, Jo-berg. Not where I´d like to be! It is an experience. May I not lose of it anything of value. There are the homeless, the obvious hustlers, the normal people, the security. I don´t like to say it but I´m glad they are here. I would like to photograph it for posterity but that would be just stupid. Although coming here may be proof enough of the faulty workings of my brain. I don´t like how I am now being examine, both obviously and not. I´m sure I don´t notice all the observers. I guess I am the only non-black person here though. This is only the waiting area, the main station re-opens at I think 230. Needless to say, I shant be sleeping this morning. At least not until I´m on a bus.

Much later. I´m in Mbabane, Swaziland. I can´t belive I was in Zambia yesterday morning. I´m none to sensible in speech at the moment. Probably not in the written word either. Rest.

2002.10.22

The bus was unlike the other South African lines I´ve taken. The "City to City" moves slowly and seems to cater primarily to elderly women. It took 4 or 5 hours just to get out of Gauteng. At first I was really annoyed at the lack of speed. But on reflection I realized I was looking at parts of S.A. I never would have seen on a normal A to B transport. The folks coming on to the bus trying to sell things was too much though. Usually hawkers are crowding around outside, maybe one or two will walk down the aisle, not at Springs, Gauteng. I noticed they kept coming so decided to count, after I started counting 31 people came on the bus to sell stuff!!! So there may have been more, some were probably repeats as well, but I didn´t notice any. Usually folks are selling food and drink but these guys were selling everything. The bus driver really should have stopped it, at one point there were about a dozen sellers on the bus and those trying to get on or off had a hard time squeezing through. Oh btw Alice, Rose there was a store named "bargain bazaar" in Northwest! This was day before yesterday but I just remembered. So the city to city was interesting but I think I´ll take a combi going back, 4.5 hours to Jo-berg.

2002.10.23
Shoot, I´ve come down to the Mbabane bus station to catch a combi to Jo-berg. It´s 630 but the only one going doesn´t leave till 10. I was hoping to catch the 1430 train to P.E. I guess train riding will have to wait for another time. The buses for P.E. leave at 17-18 or so, I should be back in time for one of those.

I´ve greatly expanded my passport, but it wasn´t as quick as I´d hoped. I first went to the embassy at 10, there didn´t seem to be anything going on but it took 15 min for the woman in charge to come out. She said they were having computer problems. Could I leave my passport there and come back after 3pm? I came back at 315 wait another 10 min, the same woman comes in the office from outside, says something like "you shouldn´t have had to wait" and disappeared into the offices. I assumed she was going to just grab my passport but that took another 15min. I don´t think they put the extra pages in until right then. I don´t see what was keeping the embassy so inefficient. This is Swaziland after all. The place could probably take an invasion, it was built like a tank, armored windows and all. I had to pass through two metal detectors to get there, and set both of them off, but was waved through anyway ).

Yesterday I went to town twice. Both times on my return to the backpackers a taxi with other travelers stopped and asked if I knew the way to the place I´m staying. Proof I suppose for the need of a backpackers in Mbabane. Oddly none of those travelers ended up staying there. I though the place was charming, but I don´t need a lot to sleep somewhere.

2002.10.25
Ah, its nice to be home. The combi ride from Mbabane was hell. 16 people squeezed into a van. I´m not so impressed with Intercape either. I decided to try that bus company out since it was the one major one I hadn´t yet utilized. But the stewardesses were very rude. It also seemed a bit religious. I sat next to a nice Afrikaans girl though so conversation was at least pleasant. She´s studying optometry.

On return to P.E. I´ve just been catching up with the flow here. Mostly resting. Eight thousand kilometres by bus. Oy! I´ll have to see if I can get nearer to the opposite side of the world though, according to my GPS I got to within 161km of my goal in Botswana, and 19840km from Ahualoa ).

I´m sure that more could be said of those lands I´ve just been through. Of livestock on the bus, the lack of cheese in Malawi. But for now I´ll rest. Feel free to ask any questions though.

Cheers, Loren

Postscript To anyone thinking of sending me real mail, please don´t after the next few days. I´ll be leaving my address in a few weeks and if it arrived after that I wouldn´t get it. But thankyou so much to Ben, Alda, Bonnie, and Colin. Who sent real genuine mail to me while I was living here in P.E.

Appendix I: Exchange Rates (2002.10.01)
Code USD/1 Unit Units/1 USD Currency
BWP 0.15970 6.26170 Botswana Pula
EUR 0.98780 1.01290 Euro
GBP 1.56900 0.63770 British Pound
MWK 0.01273 82.61400 Malawi Kwacha
MZM 0.00004 23460.00000 Mozambique Metical
SZL 0.09497 10.63100 Swaziland Lilangeni
ZAR 0.09516 10.55900 South African Rand
ZMK 0.00022 4550.00000 Zambian Kwacha
ZWD 0.01882 56.79600 Zimbabwe Dollar

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All material copyright 2004-2009 by Loren Everly.