Africa No.9 - Beauty and the Beast / Zambia

Victoria Falls is one of the biggest falls in the world; the highest feet of 360(108meters), the second highest width of 5604 ft(1708meters, the widest is Iguazu Falls).

Just to think that there is a huge ground crack on the earth along with the bank of Zambezi River in between Zambia and Zimbabwe, and that this great waterfall was originated from this crack. I was totally overwhelmed.

(Getting to Lusaka)

I came in to the capital of Zambia, Lusaka, taking a whole-day bus from Lilongwe of Malawi. Crossing the vast plain of Zambia kept me reminded that I was travelling this huge continent, Africa.

Next day I took a half-day bus from Lusaka to Livingstone, the small gateway town opened for Victoria Falls. I pitched a tent in the backyard of a random backpackers’ hostel, had some local meat in the restaurant, and spent one chilly night thinking about the touristic sight which was waiting for me.

That was in the middle of May which was going to drag southern part of Africa into the winter season. I had to notice that I was coming down south, which meant that it was getting colder.

(Zambezi River)

Zambezi River was spacious as well. This river is the 4th longest in Africa flowing into Indian Ocean. I went on to the river cruise with a friend visiting me from Japan, enjoyed the river view of jungle-like river bank with hippos and birds. I was gradually getting ready for the waterfalls.

Then it came. Crossing the border to Zimbabwe side, the entrance of the national park was rather simple. We rented poncho-style rainproof and got in to the paths of the park which lead to the edge of the waterfalls.

Rainproof? Yes, we need these ponchos for sure. As we are walking by the trail, the open patch appeared. That area was decorated with the white splash and this splash turned out to be the droplets of the falls. Some vast water curtains were spraying water to us. We realized that we were on the edge of the Victoria Falls.

As we got closer, the roar of the falls got bigger and the water spray got harder. It was just the same as a drenching evening shower. We got so soaked and understood that the rainproof was important but not functioning enough to cover us from the waterfall attack.

Wild and splendid. Those were two first impressions that I had on this massive flood-like falls. Then we left this national park, Zimbabwe side.

(Getting soaked)

Delicate and gorgeous. These were the second impressions on the Victoria Falls I had from the Zambia side, and from above.

From above? Yes we took micro-light crafts. It was simpler and more open than a helicopter. A guide even let me fly this craft for a few minutes. We took off the ground covered with the brown soil and this craft sharply blast off into the air. Soon the ground decorated with forest and zebras came below my eyes. It was literally a bird’s-eye view, and I got confused myself with a bird.

(Flight over the falls-1)

There appeared the Zambezi River flowing about, and the line of road crossing the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. A bridge located in between these two countries was there as well. I was recalling the memory of experiencing the bungee-jumping from that bridge into Zambezi River. (It was 110meters high, I was frightened to death for the first few seconds, flew in, felt like I was floating in the world of non-gravity. Such a unique experience but this was another story.)

Flying up and jumping down were totally different experience. As we flew up things started to show their wider selves. Everything I saw was connected to each other, embracing the waterfalls as well.

(Flight over the falls-2)

The wild Victoria Falls turned in to fragile vapor wafting around over the ground crack. Along with the crack water of the Zambezi River was slipping off in a gracious way. They even created some rainbow arches. Colorful, vague and grace. I gave a sigh over the beauty. I was almost weeping to witness this beauty after a day I witnessed the wild abandon of the same nature.

I wanted to stay in that moment for good. I knew I would miss this 15-minute-flight so much, but I had to come down to earth. So we landed.

Beauty and the Beast. This wonder of nature has dual character.

(Flight over the falls-3) 

Africa No.8 - Lake, fish and settlers / Malawi

It was a crisp morning in the border town of Mbeya. I got out of the Tazara railway, stretching my legs and back torn in the 2 nights’ train ride from Dar es Salam. I smelled the fresh air for a second, and then got in again to the transportation, but this time, a mini-van.

Country of Malawi was formed along with the long and thin Malawi Lake. This lake is located in the southern end of the African Great Rift Valley, third largest and second deepest lake in Africa.

Here is the story travelers kept telling me; You can enjoy three things in Malawi, clear Malawi Lake, fish they caught from the lake, and the habitants who live along with the lake. This was enough for me to decide to go.

(Malawi Lake)

As soon as I crossed the border, I got into another mini-van with friends. (Well, there was a hustle and bustle to get to the border from the bus stop, and the border to the bus stop, but this was another story.) I fell asleep as usual and it took awhile for me to notice that a lady and a baby were sitting beside me.

(out the window 1)

‘Hi’, she said, just as same as the other African ladies.

‘Hi’ I answered, just as usual.

She started breast-feeding with her breast completely open, just as same as the other African ladies. What was a bit different from other African ladies was that she was talking to me with the most fluent English. She said she was working as an accountant in the town of Mzuzu, which I was heading for. She pointed at the boy at the age of 12, sitting right in front of us and introduced him as her son to me.

I asked her if she had more kids between her son of 12 and her newborn daughter, because it is quite common for the African ladies to have kids ranging from 0 to 12 but to have more than 4 in that case.

She said she didn’t have any other than these two. It is a bit unusual, I thought, and we went back to the normal conversation.

(a kiss)

After she finished feeding her baby, she suddenly forced me to look out the window. As I followed her, I saw the silver glittering surface just outside the window, which turned out to be the lake surface. It was a beginning of the Malawi lake, the northern end, and it was also a beginning of my trip to Malawi.

The lady was almost a tourist guide for me. She pointed out the window to let me know the edge of the lake and fishermen. She bought some fish, dried and raw, including the dried small fish like sardines(I believe they were not sardines though) and shared with me. The taste of the fish reminded me of the one in Japan. Different in the richness, but still, fish there was well-seasoned.

When I was picking those dried fish, she again told me to look out, and said that the leaves which shine yellow and green were the tobacco leaves. Those were the tobacco farm.

She was born in one of those tobacco farm families, grew up around that area, married to the husband and gave birth to the first boy. And somehow, she is living only with her kids not with husband right now.

‘It is a bit complicated as a story’ she said, and I knew that I didn’t have enough time to explore her complicated story as the mini-van was getting close to the town of Mzuzu.

(out the window 2)

I knew that I wouldn’t have enough time to see her again and explore her story. I might be able to do that if I would stay in this town more than one night, but I chose not, and I knew I would choose not. Every story which I encounter was left unfinished.

Sun was setting outside, casting orange pinky light on unpaved road extended far and wide ahead of us. The lake was continuously appearing and missing. Silver and gray, orange and pink. ‘This can be the beginning but this can also be an ending’ I thought. ‘Because I already saw the three things which were recommended in Malawi.’

(Clear lake in Nkhata Bay)

(Fish dinner)

Of course it was not the ending, and actually there is no ending for me to tour around, but I have to admit the best part of Malawi passed by inside this mini-van.

The lake view in the Nkhata Bay was crystal clear and scenic, fried fish with rice I had with beer there was toothsome, and the people I met in Nkhata Bay and Lilongwe were all nice and peaceful. But for me, a bus ride with one not-typical village lady along with the shiny Malawi Lake on the first day was more impressive.

(cock boats)

Africa No.7 - Go west / Tanzania

Go to Zanzibar. That’s how I encouraged myself to leave Rwanda and to move forward to a country which lied boundlessly towards the Indian Ocean.

(Nungwi beach, Zanzibar)

Zanzibar is the little island and yet the once-upon-a-time prosperous country located some 30 miles away from the shore of Dar es Salam, the main city(the capital is Dodoma though). The mixture of Arabian and African culture flourished in this island when the merchants from Arabia Persia and India arrived this island and did trading with monsoon wind. From the history this island went through, it has a capital city ‘Stone Town’ with its spicy smell from daily markets and the exotic sound of Azaan from mosques.

What this island boosts is not just the culture but the beach and ocean.

People said that the ocean surrounding Zanzibar had its color of emerald green, and I was suspicious at first. Then I arrived there and noticed that it was so true. The surface of the Indian Ocean there was so emerald.

(Jambiani beach, Zanzibar)

I spent two weeks in Zanzibar, from the northern Nungwi beach to the southeast beach of Jambiani, absent-minded facing this extremely clear ocean. I did nothing but sitting at the white sandy beach and reading, sometimes doing snorkeling and having supper filled with seafood and local beer. Things to come into my view, from the surface of the ocean to the local kids running about, were all crystal clear. Once they ran into the water they melted within. Seemed like the soft things came together to charm each other.

Not a single shadow has been projected on the ocean, but I saw some shadow from underneath the water. They were small silver fish swimming around. This place was completely, a paradise island.

(Stone Town, Zanzibar)

One afternoon when I was dissolved completely under the scorching sun, it just occurred to my mind that I had to escape from here soon, moreover, as soon as possible. Probably it was a dream not really the rational mind which just told me to do so. Or a fictional book which had the surrealism stories. It was for sure anyway that I felt that I got stuck in this so-called heaven which was as hazardous as Eden. This kind of story was so likely to appear on the fairy tales and I was scared sensing the danger. And I ran away for my life as an ordinary traveler.

(Mnemba island, Zanzibar)

Dar es Salam was a big uninteresting city which was dangerous at night. As there were not many things to do, I went out west for the town of Moshi, located at the bottom of Kilimanjaro mountain. Go west Yuko, I thought to myself.

(Dar es Salam)

From beach to a mountain foot, via a big city. My trip came as a roller-coaster. I still left my mind in the middle of the paradise island of Zanzibar. There was only pleasure there in Zanzibar, and there was only endurance in here in Moshi. It started to rain every morning in the town of Moshi and I got caught the whole day in a tiny dorm. The lines of the mountain ridge, the Kilimanjaro, were invisible. I tried to seek for the mountain looking up every morning, every afternoon, every night, but in vain.

  

I went out for Kilimanjaro coffee instead. The café, named ‘Union Café’ was famous for its coffee brand since 1939, and the taste there was for sure delicious. For two days I have spent the whole afternoon there doing reading and writing. After a while I got back to the hostel, noticing the sky was going to be blue. I went up to the rooftop, ordering a bottle of Kilimanjaro beer. Then the dull heavy clouds suddenly started to clear up, showing the edge of the mountain. The Kilimanjaro Mountain was right there in front of my eyes, being accompanied by ranks of cloud troops, far beyond the town of Moshi.

I kept silent at the rooftop, watching over this gigantic mountain until the sunset. It was the beautiful moment and with its beauty I missed the normal life conversely. Things I saw recently have been too ravishing. As ravishing as some dream. I was afraid.

(Kilimanjaro, Moshi)

I went back to Dar es Salam, got a ticket of Tazara railway and got on to move westward to Malawi. This train trip went on 2 nights up until Mbeya, the border town. This was the train Tanzania and Zambia made with cooperation of China a few decades ago, and the conductor told us, me and my friend travelers who are Chinese, about the stories of this huge project.

Daytime from the train window after daydreams and naps was filled with green mountains and little lakes, local Tanzanians at times. Nighttime from the train window before the real dreams was filled with visible fireflies skipping about. Things that came in my sight were still gorgeous like fantasy.

(Tazara Railway)

In the train I hoped I was living not in a world of fantasy, but in a real world containing both pretty things and ugly things. Go west Yuko, I told to myself. Go west to see something more ordinary. Though I don’t think the world appears normal for those who desire the normal, even though it is normal for them as well.

(Tazara Railway)

Africa No.6 - Twins, your other half / Burundi

Burundi is a tiny country located beside Tanganyika Lake.

As I went down to Butare, southern province of Rwanda, I got to know that I was getting very close to the neighboring country Burundi. With two of the other traveler friends, it came up to our mind that we could just wait for a few hours in the bus and get in to Burundi.

Getting entry visas of Burundi was a bit tricky. We Japanese could get visas on arrival but they would expire in 72 hours. It means that we had to get out of Burundi in 3 days, either for Tanzania, which border was not very safe, or for Rwanda, which we needed to get entry visas again. Going to eastern part of DR Congo that time was not a realistic option.

We chose to get back to Rwanda after applying visas online and got ready to get in, went crawling down the hills and mountains in a small van, and got in.

There was a bridge at the border, between Rwanda and Burundi, which was running with muddy stream. It was a bit emotive that this brown river has been separating these two countries; twin-like countries.

(A bridge over the twins / border town)

Indeed, they have been twins for years.

Burundi basically consists of the Tutsi and the Hutu(and a percent of Twa pigmy minority) just like Rwanda. Burundi has been sharing history of colonization of Belgium, experiencing fierce conflict between the Tutsi and the Hutu. Burundi went through the civil war at almost the same time as the Rwanda Genocide, even longer.

The size of the country is also the same. Population, a bit less than Rwanda, still has a problem of too-densely populated. Food is also very similar, Ugali, cassava, potatoes, tomato sauce, green sauce, bean sauce, and barbeque brochettes. Boasting green hilly land, still having difficulties of distinction with Rwanda in terms of climate.

One of the few obvious differences was that Burundi has Tanganyika Lake, a long and narrow lake stretching down south to Zambia(Difference No.1).

(Breeze, the lake / Tanganyika)

And the mess on the street as well. (Difference No.2)

Once we got to the capital Bujumbura and left our luggage in the random hotel, which turned out to be a nice familial one(I felt like I was visiting my grandma’s in the country side), we went out for the town and had similar lunch as we had in Rwanda. Town was very much crowded with the street venders and beggars, which we haven’t seen in Rwanda. Probably Rwanda was getting too much artificial and neat, and it’s hard to compare, but the sloppy street corners in Bujumbura with cluttered locals was far beyond natural. It was messier than any other parts of Africa I have visited then, and it looked much more dangerous than any other parts of Africa.

(A beggar, the town / Bujumbura)

Yes Burundi is counted as one of the poorest in east Africa. Very sharp contrast with Rwanda, which is called ‘a wonder of Africa’ pointing the reconstruction it underwent after the genocide.

Then I got to know the other difference Burundi had from Rwanda. It was the political system with regard to ethnicity. (Difference No.3)

Unlike Rwanda which tried to cease the wordsto stand for tribes; the Tutsi and the Hutu from the official documents(so that there is no distinction between the Tutsi and the Hutu any more in Rwanda), Burundi stated in its constitution after the civil war the shared possession of power according to the ethnicity; in the Cabinet, Lower Parliament and Public enterprises, maximum of 60% for the Hutu, 40% for the Tutsi. Two vice-presidents should be a different ethnicity. Ethnicity of personnel in national defense should not excess half of the position.

Seems like Burundi’s system is more democratic. Rwanda has been developing itself owing to its dictatorship but it is fragile in terms of ethnicity, as with the good and smart dictator the Tutsi is at the helm of the nation and it looks the same as the history it’s been through.

Burundi has not been developed yet because there has not been a powerful dictator who could promote the country to be developed, but it doesn’t mean the conflict between ethnicity was not solved. Burundi might be far ahead than Rwanda in terms of the settlement of ethnic problems. However, there was another conflict between political parties, government party and opposition party, retarding the progress of the politics.

So many factors to think about. The history and politics in this region is too complicated. Even for the eyes of a random traveler like me.

(A mess, the town / Bujumbura)

The next day we went on with motor bikes to Tanganyika Lake. City was hot and humid, and dusty, but once we went a bit outside, it felt totally like resort. Breeze blowing the lake side was cool and mild, unlike the sticky salt air on the beachside.

I have always been for the beach when you compare the beach with the lakeside plateau for spending vacations, because the plateau sounded too old fashioned. But this time I had to admit that spending holidays on the lakeside was by no means refreshing.

This is something I didn’t really enjoy in Rwanda. They have the lakeside resort just next to the messiest part of Africa, and many Europeans come for vacation. (Getting back to Difference No.1)

(A resort, the lakeside / Tanganyika)

And the beer it has. It has brewery of Amstel, and this Amstel is called the ‘national beer’. Rwanda has many original brands such as Skol, Mutzig, Gatanu, Turbo King and Primus. (Difference No.4)

I wanted to ask ‘Don’t you have any identity with regard to your original beer?’ to those who were drinking this dark beer heavily in the bars and the pot holes, but I didn’t. This Burundi-type Amstel was after all, quite tasty. Original or franchise, beer in this region tastes luscious, not just because of their history as Belgium colonies, but also because their way of enjoying their lives in the closed, insular environment in the mountains (Commonness, Important).

(Daintiness, the Beer / Bujumbura)