Yesterday was like many days, but Bono had told us it would be a bit easier, that we would only be doing 20 km. So after the usual coffee and biscuits, we headed out, paddling a fairly short while and then stopping for breakfast. The next leg got us to a wonderful island in the middle of the river, with trees for shade, and a sandy area for Lunch. We were relieved to not have to work quite so hard, and took the time to have a real siesta. I slept soundly for an hour or so, had a read, and relaxed very nicely. And then we were off again. I can't remember whether I mentioned that I had been in the stern of the canoe, and I was very tired from the previous day.
But a short ride to the overnight camp. This was a place which was not as nice as the lunch spot. It is called Devil's Thorn Island. But we had a pleasant enough supper, again in the dark. We're getting used to that, although I don't know how the guides manage to cook so well. This was the first time that the sky was quite clear, so we marveled at the stars before the moon rose in a brilliant orange. I had been paired with Dave, and we decided to go to bed early after our supper. I read for a while (an African author named Chinua Achebe). The sky was clear all night, and it got quite cold for here. We were glad of the liner in the sleeping bags! But I slept well and woke early ( going to bed at 8:30 will do that).
This morning we were up before the sun. We shook off the cold and had something warm to drink. Since the day was to be quite long, we were going to have a full breakfast before leaving. The sunrise was amazing, everything they say about African sunrises.
And we got off pretty early.
I forgot to mention that we entered Mana Pools yesterday, and camped inside the Park. So today was also the day Dave left us to do a walking trip on the land. And, wonderful day!, it was also a day when we had a shower. We were to stop at one of the camps for letting Dave off, and for restocking our supplies. But they had a shower with poor water pressure, but warm water. It was great! The place was crawling with Verbet monkeys, who managed to steal some of our fruit before we got them.
After a long paddle we stopped for short lunch, and paddled until almost sunset. We passed a group of loud, drunk South Africans, and were glad to be a ways beyond them for our camp. Saw some zebras and some water bucks toady, as well as impalas, baboons, and the monkeys. And lots of birds: egrets, storks, eagles, plovers, and something called the Jesus bird ( look it up).
I'm glad the paddling is done for the day, tired and looking forward to supper and bed.
For supper, we had a wonderful chicken curry, with rice and gem squash. But before that, they served us mopane worms. These are the larvae of moths which grow on the mopane trees, are boiled, then dried, then fried with chili, salt, pepper in a bit of oil. They were very good, once you forgot what it was you were eating.
We stayed up to about 9, then were off to bed.
Had a few interesting conversations with our guides yesterday. Over lunch, we talked with Scu about the recent elections. He described how the government forces in his area knew how people voted, and punished them accordingly. His best friend was a supporter and organizer for the opposition, and was taken to jail for two weeks, then released. He was afraid to vote, fearing for his life. But he said that the police did their job well, and pretty impartially. He said that the police were also in the majority for the opposition. They seem to remain hopeful that things will change.
The other conversation was with Champion, about guiding. You have to have one thousand hours on the river before you can write your exams to be a River Guide. And you can go on from there to work an additional four years to be a Pro Guide, which allows you to guide on land as well. And ther is, as part of that, knowing how, and actually shooting, the animals. They have troubled animals that have been a real problem in the area, that they shoot. But when you are guiding, you have to be prepared to shoot to kill. Charlie and Daphne's guide had to shoot a buffalo on their first trip, one which was charging them. It is a man's job at this point, but that may change. Apparently, the training here in Zimbabwe is the best in Africa, so their guides are sought after throughout the continent.
During the evening, and through the night, we heard the eerie sounds of the Ghost Snipe, a bird who, when it flies, makes a sound like the wailing of a ghost with it's tail feathers. We also heard, a few nights ago, Bell Frogs which sound like small bells when they croak. And then there's the Blacksmith bird, which makes the sound of a smithy hitting his anvil when he cries. Interesting fauna.
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Location:G Island
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