I’ll keep this short and sweet — I have a handful of photos to share from one of our long driving days in Zambia, a slice-of-life look at what we encounter on a typical day of driving and camping. Nothing particularly memorable happens today but there is something relaxing about the simple pleasures of truck life that I hope shines through in these photos.
As we check out of Mama Rula’s campsite in Chipata I spot this shirt:
“In America they call it Survivor. In Africa we call it camping.”
Fair enough!
I buy a large container of this fruit juice every few days at local grocery stores to drink at breakfast. Random, but one morning I think to snap a photo so I’ll remember this.
We spend all morning driving. Which for the passengers translates to napping, reading, listening to podcasts / music, and taking in the scenery.
On this particular driving day we stop to stretch our legs at a local market. They sell all sorts of weaved products here — baskets, hats, purses, mats, bags, bowls, etc.
The colorful fruit below is used to make some kind of alcohol — if memory serves, it starts out yellow but ripens to a deeper red color and then naturally ferments.
I finish reading Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell today…
… and then I start my next book, Eugene O’Neill’s play The Iceman Cometh. (A production starring Nathan Lane and Brian Dennehy is currently running at BAM in New York and I’d give my left pinky finger to attend.)
For a full list of the books and plays I read in 2014, check out my 2014 Literary and Media Diet post.
Our guide and driver find a desolate area to stop for lunch. We try to seek out places away from villages or farms so that we can eat (and use the bush toilet) without locals flocking to our truck. This particular day the bugs are REALLY bad and most of us eat inside the hot truck with the windows up. Lunch consists of tuna salad with lettuce and veggies; we can make a wrap, sandwich, or just eat it in a bowl (I do the latter). We enjoy freshly cut mango or pineapple slices for dessert.
We pass by this fruit and veg stand as our guide hops out to pick up tomatoes for dinner. One of the sellers wears a John Mayer tour T-shirt so if you’re curious if donated clothing ever makes it to Africa, the answer is yes.
While passing through Lusaka (the capital city of Zambia) we stop at Makeni Mall for a late afternoon shopping break. Robin, Brittany, and I get soft serve ice cream from Milky Lane, a South African ice cream chain that is oh so yummy.
Another fierce African sunset:
Our driver Servius has a birthday on the road and we are only too happy to celebrate him. We chip in to buy a cake at the grocery store and surprise him with it — candles and all — after dinner.
Hope you enjoyed this glimpse into a typical day on the overland truck!
I visited Zambia on a 30-day Nairobi to Joburg tour with Nomad Tours. They discounted my tour in exchange for blogging and photography; opinions are my own.
