From a suspected rat in the roof of our hut (which turned out to just be a lizard), to having to deal with my fear of the dark, this week I felt a little bit out of my comfort zone at times and I had a bit of personal development (and growing up) to do!
We took a little ‘time out’ this week and went to Bovu Island; a trip that we’d been meaning to take since we arrived here but just hadn’t gotten around to it. Bovu is an island in the Zambezi River, about an hour and a half from Livingstone and the big selling point of it is its focus on just relaxing and doing absolutely nothing! This meant that the trip came as a nice break from dissertation writing. Bovu has no electricity, internet connection or phone reception and this was actually quite exciting for us and we were looking forward to getting away from everything.
Day time at Bovu wasn’t a problem and I was able to deal very well without my phone or the internet, which I am usually quite addicted to when I have access to them. Although, in saying that, we were only away for three days so given a longer period of time I may not deal with it just as well! I was reminded of how much I rely on people at home, and even though I am coping much better than I thought I would with being away from home, I am still very much in constant contact with home and I think that’s what makes it easier.
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| Our room at Bovu and our spectacularly put up mosquito nets! |
Quite stupidly, the fact that no electricity meant no lights at night didn’t register with me, and I was actually quite shocked when it came to night time and the island was in darkness apart from candles, torches and the moonlight. Being afraid of the dark has never been a huge problem for me, just the odd time I get a little scared by it, but being at Bovu really heightened my fear and along with my overactive imagination, I managed to make myself dread nightfall! In the end, nothing terrible happened (unsurprisingly) and I was forced to face my fear (although I wouldn’t say I’ve overcome it!).
Before coming to Zambia I had been told about Bovu Island and was warned that I shouldn’t go there if Harriet and I weren’t getting on well, since you could end up alone on the island and with very few other people to talk to. I remember wondering/worrying at the time about how good the relationship between the two of us might be, and having only ever had Africa-related conversations before coming, I really didn’t know what to expect. Now, after spending ten weeks with each other, we have become pretty much inseparable. Living and teaching together were a choice beyond our control but it has turned out that we choose to spend pretty much every minute of the day together! Most of our socialising is done together, we dissertation write side by side- if Harriet goes to our room I usually follow closely after, we eat all our meals at the same time, and pretty much everything else too! Activities done separately, like if I go to do the shopping or to church, or Harriet goes out for a run, feel strange and we really have become so dependent on each other- even to point where we always checking with each other before making decisions and always talk about things using the plural terms of ‘we’ or ‘our’.
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| Spending some time chilling out on our balcony at Bovu. |
If I had been sharing this experience with someone who I didn’t get along with I know that it would have been very different and surely not even half as enjoyable. I am so glad that I ended up coming to Zambia with Harriet and I already know that when she leaves Africa two weeks earlier than me at the end of our trip, I am going to feel a bit lost without her!
Before we had our little trip away, we had a very exciting and luxurious weekend. After attending a party on Friday night and then having a relaxed day on Saturday, we then spent Sunday in luxury at the Zambezi Sun and Royal Livingstone (the fancy hotels!). We started off the day with our second complimentary all-you-can-eat breakfast at the Zambezi Sun after being invited by the head chef (again!); we couldn’t quite believe our luck at being invited for a second time. We enjoyed it as much, if not more, than the first one, especially since this time it was just the two of us which meant we could really take advantage of the ‘all-you-can-eat’ and not feel embarrassed, since we both know how ridiculous each other’s appetite can be!
After breakfast we were able to chill out by the pool and pretend we were residents staying at the hotel, although we did feel a bit like we stuck out like sore thumbs with our rucksacks, Northern Irish accents, and shorts and t-shirts, while most of the other guests were wearing designer brands and speaking in very posh accents. The luxury of it all was highlighted when I got up from my lounger to go get a Sprite from the bar and about three waiters and waitresses practically ran at me to take my order, seemingly appalled that I had actually gotten up off my seat to order for myself.
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| Having a look over the edge of the Falls! |
Once we felt like we had outstayed our welcome at the Zambezi Sun, we then moved on to The Royal Livingstone where we chilled out in their gardens for a little while before getting picked up in the boat to be taken for our second visit to Livingstone Island. Our last visit to the island was for breakfast and this time we went for high tea, and the best part was that we managed to get another great bargain, paying a seriously discounted price! Swimming at the top of the Falls was again an amazing experience and the water was much higher and more powerful than it had been on our last visit. We were again reminded of our love of the Falls and although the locals say the novelty does eventually wear off, we both think it would take a very long time for us to get over the amazingness of it! Cocktails and watching the sunset from the deck at The Royal Livingstone finished off our brilliant day.
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| The African sunset |
The other highlight of this week was also Falls-related, and that was seeing the lunar rainbow. The lunar rainbow happens once a month; at the full moon, and this time we finally got around to going to see it. It really is awesome to see a rainbow at night time and the Falls were as beautiful as ever, if not more beautiful, at night time. My only disappointment was that the rainbow didn’t come out in any photos since it was too dark, but it’s a sight I don’t think either of us will forget in a hurry. After some contemplation we decided that we would go to the bridge and have a ‘Falls shower’, even though it was pitch dark and quite a bit colder than it is during the day, but since it is possibly our last visit to the Falls we thought it had to be done. The Falls didn’t disappoint as usual and apart from being absolutely freezing on the journey home, it was absolutely worth it. Ending the night with another little visit to our furry friends at the cheetah and lion enclosure topped off a great night, and we have both also fallen in love with Simba the white lion!
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| Simba- our favourite guy in Livingstone! |
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| Enjoying the lunar rainbow after our night time shower at the Falls. |
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