Isaac comes to visit and we go see animals

Hooray! Isaac made it to Zambia... there were some tense moments when his flights were delayed, but we are over-joyed that he made it safe and sound (his bags even made it). As soon as he arrived we got him moving, we played volleyball with the Zambian students at Mapepe Bible College (where we were staying). We wanted to keep him awake to try and get him on a new-normal sleeping schedule. We didn't let him rest much though, the next day we took a bus to Chipata (Eastern Province). We were on the Marks Motors 8:00am bus which didn't fill up which turning into the 10:00am bus which turned into us leaving Lusaka at 11:45am. ugh. To make up time we went super fast around tight curves making us a bit motion sick and they played WWF films which also made me want to gag. It was 8:00pm by the time we arrived in Chipata so we decide to spend the night there and take a taxi to Mfuwe the next morning.

We arrived at Flat Dogs and set up our tent in a tree plat form. That night we took a game drive and saw all sorts of animals: lions, leopard, giraffe, zebra, elephants, hyena. It was amazing... lions less than 10 feet away and a hippo loudly munching on grass under our tent that night! That gets ones heart racing. The next morning we took another game drive and saw more beautiful creatures: water bucks, impala, puku, monkeys, baboons, hippos and more. We decided to take that night off, relax and get to bed early. The next morning we went on a walking safari and learned a lot about the habits of various anmials (Impala make a public toilet) and looked at their poo (you need to keep your distance from the animals when you are on foot). We also learned about the different plants of the area and their medicinal uses. In the night we went out on a drive again and were trumpeted at by an elephant! We also so a mother kudu with her child, an old male buffalo, a honey badger and a fishing owl and all kinds of birds. We also got a flat tire and had to get out in the dark while the guides changed it... just a tad unnerving. The wealth of wildlife is awesome! We also decide to eat out at the camp restaurant that night with some English girls and a German guy that we befriended. We also met a really nice and friendly retired couple form Austin, TX. It was nice to have some meat in our diet.

We then made a marathon bus ride (nearly 24 hours) from Chipata to Lusaka to Mansa this time with Juldan Motors (which was much better). Except on the way from Lusaka to Mansa we had to stop at a weigh station and we were WAY over weight (people packs lots of goods from the capital to take north). So they had almost all of the passengers get out (John and I left and Isaac remained). The bus then went through the weigh station again and then came and picked up the passengers again. I am not really sure why they even use a weigh station. I guess if it is alright "on paper" then its alright...

Now we are settling back into Mansa life and our routine here, though we are a bit tired today. I am going to try and post some more pictures for our adventures.