Tanzania is definitely a land of hakuna matata (no worries). Our flight leaving Dar for Lusaka was delayed by roughly an hour, and no airport staff mentioned why or the fact that it was delayed. When I went up to the counter to ask, all the airport staff said was "it coming".
Our concern was missing the connecting flight from Lusaka to Livingstone, Zambia. Fortunately, the flight attendants were able to phone our connecting flight to hold the plane for us. We felt the hospitality when we arrived at Lusaka and a flight attendant was waiting for us to escort us to the next flight, which was also delayed 30 mins. Time is not of essence here but we were really tired by then. It was 9 hours of traveling before we got to Livingstone airport.
Chaos of the taxi begins. We tried to arrange a taxi to our hostel Jolly boys, but there were only 3 taxis that late and way too many people that needed them. Steph was fast at her game to flag a driver first, but the taxi guys were so nice that they worked it out amongst them to make sure everyone got a ride to their respective hotels. We had to share a cab with a Canadian, which was fine because splitting the ride between four is cheaper than three.
At first glance, we know Zambia is very different from Tanzania. It's more modern than what we are used to. For me, the toilets said it all. They believe in western toilets, toilet paper and SOAP! We don't need to carry these things (or take them when we find them) when we travel anymore. The little things you learn to appreciate in life when you travel. Also the drive through Livingstone was very different from Tanzania. It looked like a small suburban town in the south. Not completely developed, but getting there. Tons of construction everywhere. Everyone spoke English very well; we learned that the country's main language is English with 7 other tribal language that are also used.
Oh amongst the chaos of the flights and the taxis, we met three recent b-school grads from Kellogg. They were also flying from Dar to Livingstone and we got talking to them in Lusaka. It turns out they were also staying at Jolly boys, so pretty much on the same itinerary as us.
Once we stepped into Jolly boys, after we figured how to open the door and pressing the door bell a few times with our taxi driver saying just push, we were pleasantly surprised. It looked really cute with trees around a little pool, with a crowded bar and tons of backpackers. This is what Steph and I imagined doing. Meeting new people on this trip, other backpackers that are experiencing different things in their journey.
But that night wasn't a night of exploration. We were pooped as I like to put it. We wanted to just chill and sleep. Steph and I shared a double, meanwhile Alan had a double to himself (lucky guy). As Steph and I were unpacking our bags, and Alan went to grab a $2 Mosi (local beer), I discovered I lost my ultra-cool green penguin bottle opener key chain...and my head lamp which was on top of Wall-E (my backpack if you haven't been following my blog)!!!!! I realized it wasn't lost, it was stolen. How sketchy! It must of been the airport attendants at Dar.
We were all saddened by the loss of the head lamp. It was very useful the first 2 weeks. It gave us our light in our dark tents. Led us to the restrooms at night when we were camping. Walked us through the winding streets of Stone Town. Gave us inspiration to play a game in which the loser would need to wear it out all night regardless of where we are. Sigh. In memory of my head lamp...we will stop for a moment of silence.
Oh wells - crap happens. We got over it and went to sleep. We decided the next day would be a R&R day for us.
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