Rest/recovery days in Zimba

June 27, 2022

I spent five nights in Zimba resting and recovering. The guesthouse is owned by a couple, an American lady, Ashley, who married a local Zambian, Andrew. Not going to lie, it has been fun chatting up a storm with them this week. Well, mostly Ashely as Andrew was out and about working and such.

I wasn't planning to stay that long. I did go to the hospital to get tested for Covid the first day. Negative so it's just a cold AGAIN with a nasty cough. A nasty cough that wouldn't ease up so it's part of why I kept staying. The hospital was an experience! It was such a chaotic scene and of course I was the only white person. Lots of lines to wait in, but because I kind of stood out in the crowd, assistants would approach me and I would get help and/or directed to the right place right away. Probably better because I probably now have some other tropical disease from going to the various rooms with most people not wearing a mask. I guess they come from far away villages to be seen and can end up waiting all day, not get seen, then be stuck with nowhere to spend the night. Got meds with no cost to me which seemed weird. Just Tylenol and an antihistamine. He said if it got worse to take an antibiotic to prevent a severe secondary infection. Definitely don't want the experience I had being sick in Windhoek again!

Next, I went to the one ATM in now, but my mastercard rejected. Went back later and used my visa card, no problem. And finally, off to the market in search of Coke, no sugar. I got a description of the store they found it in last night. It's like a scavenger hunt for me, but I found it. The wind is really strong and forecast for tomorrow too, which is how I decided to stay at least one more day.

I'm going to wager this is the local bike shop

Ashley introduced me to nsima (the white stuff) which is what all the locals eat. Not much flavor, but you put the meat and veggies in it and eat with your fingers. I tried, but quickly went back to my fork. This particular veggies is called "rape" and despite the awkward name, tasted good.

The next day I was still feeling more exhausted than I realized. Took an unexpected nap earlier and despite tons of noise that kept waking me up, I'd immediately fall back to sleep. I am really enjoying visiting. I am the first American cyclist they've had. I am definitely feeling a bit discouraged and I think part of why I laid down was to escape those feelings for a bit. I guess the rest was needed either way. I did go to town and walked through the market in part to see how I was feeling with a little exercise. My nose ran the entire time!

I try to be discreet when taking pictures, but you get the idea of what I'm seeing.

Lots of butcher shops here. The other one is named "Luck Star" and called "Lucky Star." I'm thinking the animals aren't feeling so lucky!

Sunflowers bring me joy. Found these on my walk back to the guesthouse

Took another day off and went to leave the following day, the 30th, late morning as I didn't have far to go. The wind was suppose to calm down and I knew tomorrow would be worse. Then, as I went to check my tires and load up my bike, I see a thorn in my front tire. Let's just say my pump caused lots of problems and in the end, I'm still in Zima, Zambia for one more night. Say Zimba, Zambia 10x fast! (It's the little things that keep me amused. It became too late to leave and I was stressed, Plus, although I felt okay this morning, as the hours wore on, my cough got worse.

The good news is that Andrew is a mechanic and like to figure out how things work. My pump was taken apart bit by bit. He solved the problem, cleaned it all up, and now it's as good as new!! What a relief. In the meantime, Ashely says if I stay until the 4th of July we can celebrate. Ha ha. It is my favorite holiday, so tempting, but must be on my way.

It's been really enjoyable hanging out with them all week and they were kind enough to include me to eat with them a number of times. I should mention, Ashley and Theo were already sick before I got there so I didn't need to worry about giving them my germs. We were all coughing up a storm. Sad to say goodbye to new friends, but I'll be hitting the road tomorrow.

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