Day 12 - Buses

 Today was quite a long day. We started the day at 4:30 by getting ready to head to Livingstone. We met outside the apartment at 5:00 to catch the 5:30 bus to Lusaka. On the bus, right after we stared off, a preacher who was traveling on the same bus got up and preached a mini sermon on the bus and rayed for safe travels. It was a little uncomfortable, but apparently it is common practice here for pastors to do this. Sometimes the pastors get on the bus for that specific purpose, and are dropped off a little ways down the road to catch another bus going back. I think I might have accepted his message a little more readily if it had been closer to 8:00!  

On the bus to Lusaka, we sat behind a guy names Beverly and a girl named Tracy. Beverly was very friendly and we talked about a number of topics. The one that sticks out most in my mind is the engagement process here. The culture here still uses dowries, where the groom "purchases" the bride from her family. I found it rather funny that in the states it is the exact opposite, in a way, with the brides family paying for the groom to take the bride (i.e. paying for the wedding). 

We got to Lusaka around 10:30 and waited at the bus stop for our bus to Livingstone. Getting off the bus in Lusaka was an experience. Before the bus had even stopped, there were taxi drivers pointing at me (the white girl by the window) trying to get my attention to use their taxi. We had to walk through the throng of taxi drivers to exit the bus and then waited near a market area for our next bus to arrive. The first bus was a typical 4 seat per row "grayhound", but the second bus somehow managed to squeeze 5 people per row into the bus. It was a tight fit, and the person on the isle (which for half of the ride was me) got a lot of butts in their face. The bus was supposed to leave at 11:30, but due to delays and traffic, we did not leave until after 12:00. 

This second bus provided in-transit entertainment and played a few episodes of  24 and an African sketch comedy show. We seemed to hit a bunch of police check points, where police monitor the vehicles for valid registration and licenses as well as some construction which slowed our progress. We finally got to the bus stop in Livingstone around 7:45 and made it to the hotel around 8:15 or so. 

The hotel is FANTASTIC! We got here after dark so I have only seen it at night but it is awesome. The amenities are wonderful and the night sky is so clear. You can even see the Milky Way! 

Tomorrow we have a rather lazy day and will be hanging out around the hotel and walking over to Victoria Falls (which is a few minutes away). 

Thanks for reading!