Home » Zambia » Day 15. Sat 1st May The Barn Motel

I wake at 6:30 out of habit and hear the Land Rover driving the others off to the airport, so I decide to get up.

Day 15. Sat 1st May The Barn Motel

DaveMidgley
2005-10-22 10:52:09

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I wake at 6:30 out of habit and hear the Land Rover driving the others off to the airport, so I decide to get up.

There is no shower in my room, only a bath, and I am desparately short of clean clothes, so I climb into the bath along with my clothes and kill two birds with one stone. The water pongs and has bits in it but at least its hot (the difference in the standards of accomodation is very noticeable since we came "north of the Zambesi"). The water is so filthy by the time I get out that I decide to run another bath just for myself. I sling my clothes over a convenient line (possibly part of the telephone or electrical system) and join Ken for breakfast.

This is now a very strange feeling. I have little or no idea what I am letting myself in for. A small part of me almost wishes that I was flying home with the others - it seems like cheating somehow. I hope that I can justify my stay. I don't want to be a "passenger", but I have very little idea what is expected of me.

Ken has some business matters to sort out here. It is Saturday and he is not sure whether the banks are open. If they are he can conclude his business and we can set off to Lilongwe tomorrow. If not we will have to stay until Monday.

I brought out "holiday" money in dollars knowing there would be little opportunity to visit a bank, and money for the "PAW Extension" in travellers cheques. I still have nearly $100 of "holiday money" left, so I am well within budget. I have no Kwacha, however, so will have to pay for everything in dollars until I can get some. Dollars are generally accepted in payment, but at a very poor rate and they don't give change, prices are rounded up to a whole number of dollars.

Ken spends all morning talking to the owner of the hotel, pops out again for lunch and then disappears again. It turns out that it is May Day and everything is shut. Ken needs to make some sort of financial transaction for which he needs to get to a bank, but if we wait until Monday we won't get off to Lilongwe until Tuesday, which is very late.

I recover the stuff that we put in storage on the first day (it seems a long time ago), and then have a chat with Jess, the manager, about the web site he wants me to design, and then spend the afternoon reading, sleeping, and taking lots of photos of the Barn Motel to use on the web site.

Ken reappears again about five. He has managed to sort out his financial matters without visiting a bank, so we can be off tomorrow after all.
We eat supper outside from the barbeque, have a couple of beers and go to bed.