Wide open spaces

Taking my first breath of fresh air in Siavonga this past weekend was a relief - it felt so good to be out of crowded, dusty and noisy Lusaka and be able to look left and rigth and see greenery instead of adverts on wall fences with barbed-wire.

Backtracking a bit before I get too carried away; we boarded the bus in Lusaka and took off on the three-hour journey through mountains, up and over hills and through lush greenspaces that I had yet to feast my eyes on in Zed. As the sun began to set, I was disappointed that we had not yet arrived in Siavonga, which is well-known for its spectacular sunrises over Lake Kariba, the second largest man-made lake in Africa.

Nevertheless, we arrived at Eagles Rest lodge and after much confusion over accomodations (canoe race competitors were camping and press were supposed to be on a houseboat next to a hippo) we finally got sorted and feasted on a fish barbecue before retiring for the race the next morning.

Salim et moi

Early Saturday morning the lot of us gathered for a buffet breakfast and to receive the clues for the canoe race and listen to instructions. We boarded the boat to ferry us to the starting line and along came a speed boat with the owners of Lake Kariba Inns with the two most wonderful dogs - a wiener dog named Thomas and a half boxer/half bulldog named Wilfred. I claimed my space on the speed boat which would be my transport for the next three hours and I was in utter bliss being surrounded by good company (including the dogs of course) from various Zambian media outlets, plenty of Mosi and being able to feel the breeze in face on the water.

The competitors all gathered in one long line and the horn blew. They raced down to the canoes (there is a term for this type of starting line but I forget it), chaos ensued but people eventually organized themselves into teams of three. Unfortunately four lucky teams had to be placed in rafts which was a huge disadvantage as their speed would be reduced immensely on the water.

The competitors battling or rather paddling it out on Lake Kariba

For the next three hours, we motored around monitoring who was winning, checking out the teams running to find their clues along the route and just having some laughs. The Lake Kariba Inns team was the eventual winner, completing the race in just a little over an hour and too bad, but the rafters finished last. A for effort, though!

Thomas (left) and Wilfred getting in on the action

The rest of Saturday was relaxing, we checked in to Kariba Inn which was beautiful - the nicest hotel in Siavonga with an incredible view. After another fish barbecue, some swimming and napping, the party began. The DJ blasted disco and r&b oldies and goodies mixed with Zam jams and the crowd erupted into a giant dancing movement both in and out of the pool.

Pool dancing at night

After another huge buffet-style breakfast the next morning, we retired, exhausted (hey I can't even complain...I didn't race) to the bus and began the journey home, which was long because we kept stopping for a bunch of rowdy Zambians in the back to get more beer - funny, they were the ones whose boat capsized ten minutes after the race began because they were chugging Mosi and cheap white wine since you couldn't have booze while racing.

The view from Kariba Inns