To Mazabuka: the sweetest town in Zambia

October 19, 2015

"Wow, an English breakfast!" We are so used to eating cereal and milk for breakfast that this is a treat. The food is good at Chita Lodge, last night's dinner was pork chops and fish eating at the poolside. We watched a soccer game on TV in our room that also was air conditioned. Nice hot water for showers and the power load shedding only lasted about an hour. Where are we?

Then the ride starts for the day, back on the road and the dry Zambian landscape. This area is less populated and no one is out sweeping the dirt, the air is much cleaner. A friend called this the "sweeping sickness". Early morning, many men are carrying huge loads of charcoal on their bikes. Yesterday, we saw lots of potatoes and watermelon for sale along the side of the road. Today, it's charcoal.

We reach the junction to the turnoff to Livingstone and leave the good road with a shoulder to a narrower road. This will be a section we have not cycled before; In 1994, from Victoria Falls we took the ferry on Lake Kariba then cycled a couple of days up to the main road.

For the first time, we saw a Baobab Tree blooming. The rainy season is supposed to start soon, with a sprinkle of rain last week, the landscape is beginning to green up. Only one school group of children shouted to us in unison with "How are you?"

The road was relatively flat with two good hills, about the halfway point the road turned just enough to give a great tailwind and long stretches with no pedalling needed. We reach Mazabuka just as the day is getting hot.

Breakfast at our fancy lodge. It sure is more expensive than what we are used to, but we feel like we received good value.

Road T2 continues to Zimbabwe. We turn right here to go to Livingstone first.

Guys transporting charcoal on their bikes. Many cyclists in Zambia ride "like salmon": going upstream on the wrong side of the road. They must feel it is safer to see the traffic coming towards you.

Two climbs and two downhills today. This is the first downhill into a wide dry valley.

Kid with a home made toy truck. We saw the same in 1994.

Today's ride: 76 km (47 miles)
Total: 8,030 km (4,987 miles)

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