Mary in Malawi

After some heavy days/weeks at the hospital,
I joined Links family (who came down last week to visit) to South Luangwa national park in Zambia. It was a kind of budget bush safari, we lived in tents and we ate outside. It reminded me of when i was a girl scout as a kid! =) there were i think 9 tents, but we were only 8 people, and all the other shared two and two so I got a tent al to myself. It was so nice, I slept like a baby! At least the two last nights. the first night I had a "bongolollo" in my tent. It is a bug, maybe 7 centimetres long (ICK!!), that makes a TERRIBLE sound! IT is so high you cant imagine! I have a video of one of them, but internet is too slow to put it up. You really have to hold your hands over your ears when it starts. I had to go up and find a camp security guard to remove it... ;)

We went on 4 safari tours, two day drives and two night drives. It was very beatiful, and the guide, Moses, knew so much. He was really really good.  The most interesting thing i learned was that an elephants penis, when erected, can weigh up to 27 (!!!!!!!!!) KILOS. Can you imagine...? 27 kilos. Puh! I am so glad I am not an elephant lady.

We saw a lot fo giraffs, hippos, zebras, Kudos, waterbucks, buffalos, Impalas, warthogs... Moongooses.. Hyenas... Crocodiles.. And even a leopard! It was really cool, we saw a bunch of impalas (small antiloopes) making a special sound, a warning sound for predator as Moses said. We watched them for a bit, and then we changed the direction of the car. and me and link who was in the back, suddenly found ourselves face to face with a ready-to-jump leopard in the bush. He quickly retreated back into the bush. We were so angry with ourselves for moving the car and scaring him!! If we had just waited a few more seconds, we would with no doubt had seen him run out of the bush and take down an impala! But weell, at least we saw him. AND yeah!! We saw baboons making more baboons!! I even took a movie of it. It was hilarious!! But my camera didn't work very well.. so the video is very fuzzy... But I tell you, It was just soo funny!!!

A little disapponting was the dact that all the lions were hiding for us. everyone else who's been there has described the msot amazing meeting with lions. But we didn't see a single one. The guide said we were the first group he ever had that didn't see lion.... =((( But we heard them, though! During night. They were roaring in the bush. Pretty cool!! Especially when you live in a tent.

The bush is beautiful, peaceful.. Quiet in the day, and in the night it fills up with thousand diferent sounds. It is an amazing experinece to see the sun set over the african savanna, smelling, tuching and hearing the nature. At one piont, when we stopped the car on the top of a big hill to watch the sunset, I just laid down in the high grass and closed my eyes. Just let my body become one with the dirt beneath me. It is just amazing.

BUT, I must admit... I have been on several safaris now, I live close to the bush everyday, I am living in the middle fo it. And honestly, sitting in the grass in south luangwa, watching the impalas and zebras... In this stunning beauty.. suddenly, I got a very clear picture in my head of Gothenburg train station. Cold turmac, chewing gums stuck on the ground, hundreds of feet running in every direction.. hot dog and coke from the kiosk... And you know what? I did'nt feel horrified. I missed it! SO much!!! I felt very strong that I would change all this beauty in a heart beat, for standing on gothenburg trainstation. wierd, huh? I think I've had it with africa for a while. Im tired of beauty and nature and everything.. don't get me wrong.. the world here is amazing... But I miss home, so much!! and I think gothenburg train station is the perfect picture of being on the way home for me.


South luangwa (pic taken from google)
vs.
Gothenburg train station (pic. taken from google)