Lusaka to Chipata (via bus)

July 14, 2022

Crystal Springs Hotel

I can't even begin to explain the chaos of the bus station. Seems to be a theme for this city. I was in a truck and the different bus companies are spread out with shops in between. I had planned on taking one company that had a bus that left at 7:30. I told , Yoram, my driver either that company or my second choice. When our car got swarmed on arrival with everyone wanting to guide us so they make a commission, we ended up at the Power Tools bus company. That bus wasn't scheduled to leave until 8:30 so now I was there way too early. As I sat on the bus watching potential passengers enter the area, they were literally surrounded and the guys were pushing and shoving to get the customer to go with them. I would have totally freaked if I was on my bike and this happened. I actually though I saw a fist being thrown at one point. I video'd a small piece of the chaos, but someone saw me and they didn't like that. I quickly put my phone down and got on the bus. We didn't actually get on the road until 9:30. They tried to charge me double for my bike, but I knew what the price should be so the guy negotiated the price back down once he caught the cashier alone. I hate that just because I am a white tourist, prices go way up. They carefully loaded my bike (after we insisted I'm not taking the rear wheel off as they wanted.) I climbed aboard the bus for the wait. A bit later, I see my bike is out from under the bus as they are cramming more stuff in. Let's just say, I had to supervise them putting it back in to make sure that it was set in a way that nothing (mainly my rear derailleur) would not get damaged.

We stopped for a break a ways in. I paid for use of the toilet. It was a squat toilet and they didn't even provide TP. Not my favorite experience, but I suppose the locals need to try to make money how they can. I tried to limit my drink intake the rest of the trip. It was about an 8 hour trip just counting the drive time.

I did witness a horrible tragedy on this trip. Young girls (not older than 20) were running alongside a 18 wheeler semi truck as it was slowing down. This is a common occurrence as they try to sell the drivers whatever food they are carrying. I glance away and when I look back, one girl is on the ground writhing in pain. Her ankle/leg was decimated. All the underlying everything, muscle/tendons/bones were exposed, yet there was no blood which was weird. I think it was crush injury involving a "degloving" but not positive. The area was bigger than my hand. I couldn't believe what I was seeing and covered my mouth and said "Oh my God." Her friend dragged her out of the road as the driver had parked and was jogging back presumably to see what happened. The bus driver and another guy and myself were likely the only ones who saw the extent of what happened. It was horrific and I fought back tears a couple of times. What bothered me more than anything, is that they are so desperate to make money, they put their lives in danger and clearly, an accident happened. It was also quite disturbing as I knew we were in a remote area. She needed a major hospital which was hours away. How does she even get there? My guess is she lost her leg or life in the aftermath of that. Still very upsetting when I think about it.

We arrived at the bus station in Chipata in the dark. Thankfully, it wasn't as crazy as the Lusaka bus after they realized I was traveling by bike. All the people left me alone except for one slightly intoxicated guy. I actually put him to work for a second and had him hold my bike while I got the front wheel properly secured. The baggage guys delivered all my bags right to me and I felt like I could safely keep an eye on everything while I got my bike ready. Someone from the station gave me directions to get back to the highway. Finally made good use of my tail light and headlamp. Tons of people were out so I felt safe enough, but it was still stressful. Thankfully, there were bike lanes once I got to the highway. I thought my room might be crazy expensive, but it was very reasonable. My fall back plan was just a little bit further down the road. Being a Marriott hotel, it would have been five times the price. This room works great!

Now, the other bad news is I maybe was suppose to apply for my visa online even though the USA State Department website says I can get it at the border.

Yoram, who did a couple of adjustments to my bike and got me to the bus station safely. He was Zambia's National cycling champion for 4-5 years. Impressive!

Because it's always good to check under the floorboards of the bus while driving along. :O

Today's ride: 2 miles (3 km)
Total: 3,442 miles (5,539 km)

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