Waterfalls...and Neil Diamond Karaoke...
Day Eleven
Today was another full day on the train, with a short afternoon stop at Chishimba Falls. I woke up hoping today would fare a little better than the day prior. I headed out to the OC with my camera and my book to have my customary “first thing in the morning” cup of coffee. The walk from our room to the OC is a journey in and of itself. The hallways are so narrow that only one person can really pass through at a time. It sort of works like a one lane road: you get to a new train car, peek your head around the corner and if it's empty...you continue moving along. If someone else is coming, the one who gets the right of way is usually the one who is further along than you are. This repeats itself over and over in each new car. Couple this with the constant sways of train that have you knocking between the wall and the windows, and it makes for an interesting trip.
The train seems quieter than usual today. People seem tired and reserved. Perhaps they felt the same way I did yesterday. Maybe they are just relaxed and settled in. Hard to tell. I suppose my Dad and I are feeling a little bit of both. Quite unfortunately, Safari Guy seems to have taken a liking to my Dad and I even though I'm not sure we've given him much of a reason to. I have decided the only way to get around this is to block him out completely. I really have tried to be tolerant and even thought about giving him another chance, but it gets quickly washed away each time he announces to everyone that he just got his his "Money Shot" or his “Best Point...Counterpoint photo of the trip". He doesn't seem to understand personal space or comfortable quiet. Yesterday, we went through a town where we were specifically told that the people of Lukasa do not like having their picture taken and to stay inside for a bit. Guess who was the guy that went out anyway...camera in hand? With his zoom lens.
He asked me this morning why I wasn't taking as many "people shots" and made sure to let me know exactly how many “awesome" ones he was getting and I was missing. I told him that - after what I saw yesterday - it no longer felt right to be shoving a camera in peoples faces to capture their awful reality. He laughed. I did not. Maybe I should feel badly for him. Someone with such a significant lack of self awareness. Sad, really.
Late in the morning, we were met by a massive and powerful thunder and rainstorm. It's amazing how quickly the smells change when a storm rolls in. It smells like....well....rain. But really good smelling rain. It smells crisp and clean, and equally as important, it has cooled things down a bit. Everyone else headed into Lounge Car once the big drops started coming in and the wind picked up. My Dad and I got underneath the covered section of the OC, ordered a few Bloody Mary's and just watched the whole thing play out. This was probably the one "people picture" I took today. A mother and her son standing in their doorway watching the train go by. Smiles from ear to ear. She gave a thumbs up. He waved and blew a kiss. It felt hopeful and they looked genuinely excited to see us. I wanted to capture that moment because it felt good. Hopeful.
The skies quickly cleared up and out came the sun, just in time for an off-train visit to Chishimba Falls. They are considered to be Zambias "Waterfall Wonderland", and they are absolutely gorgeous. There are three falls in total - each with their unique look, feel and sound. Quite frankly, it was nice to just finally get out of the train and stretch our legs. But to be in this beautiful place, surrounded by nature with the soothing sounds of the Falls in every direction, it became just a little bit more than that.
When we got back to the train after the visit to the Falls, my Dad headed off to take a nap and I headed out to the OC with my book. It was here that I struck up a conversation with the On Board Physician for Rovos Rail. Her name is Annette and she looks like a softer and gentler version of Annie Lennox. Perhaps a little bit shorter. She told me she has been in the medical profession for 31 years, though she doesn't even look old enough to be 31 years of age. She began her own General Practice in London, where she lives. She said she was happy where she was professionally until she was given the opportunity to be the "Expedition Physician" for a group of scientists who were traveling to Iceland to study the affect of travel on the human body. She said it was one of the most incredible experiences of her life. So much so that when she returned to her practice, she felt a little "removed". Then came another opportunity when she was asked to be the On Board Physician for the inaugural Dakkan Express, a rail journey through India. Then came another when she was asked to be the On Set Physician for a Travel Show that took crews to very challenging parts of the world to film. More train trips followed, including a few through Rovos.
She said these expeditions, these journeys, lit a fire in her that her general practice no longer provided. She realized she had hit a "flat line" in her career. She began losing her passion for her practice. So she quit. Just like that. She decided that she wanted to spend the rest of her life combining her love of medicine and her love of travel to exotic and interesting places. She had no idea if that sort of thing existed, and if it didn’t, she was going to chart new territory. She told me that her decision was born out of her strong belief that "you just have to be brave in your choices about your life and charge forward with your decisions without any fear of failure." Some pretty fantastic advice, I'd say.
After my conversation with the Doctor, I stayed pretty quiet for the remainder of the afternoon and early evening. I finished reading "Born a Crime" by Trevor Noah, which was an excellent read. One of those books that bums you out when it's over because you feel like you could read it forever. I have moved on to the next. A book called "Counting by Sevens" which I'm enjoying. I've been generally very social on this trip so far, so I think it's okay today that I am not. Today is a day for me to be introspective, which requires quiet thinking. A tough thing to do if you're constantly talking.
The only disruption to my silence today...and most days....is a woman from the United States who occasionally comes out the OC to do the "Queens Wave" to all the kids running behind the train and the people of each town. She literally stands and waves like she is on the back of a Parade float and yells "HELLO" at the top of her lungs every time she see any sign of human life. It makes my skin crawl.
But today. Well...today...was different. She was doing her thing out on the OC and we slowly passed by a group of kids that could not have been any older than PJ. She stood over them and waved and screamed her most friendly American "Hello". One of the boys standing in front of her responded with: "Hello American Donkey". Then he gave her what I am pretty sure was the African "middle finger". She looked stunned. I pretended to be reading....and also pretended to not be totally laughing my ass off inside. Biting my lip so hard it hurt. Thinking about how great and how accurate that moment just was. Perfection.
Our Cocktail Hour before dinner - up until this point - has been pretty standard. Everyone wanders into the Lounge Car at around 6:30pm, we have a few drinks and then go to dinner. Tonight was different. Matt had a surprise in store for us. A couple he met at lunch, ironically from Peoria, apparently had a serious love of Karaoke and Rap Music.
Brian is a retired Police Chief in a town just outside of Peoria. He, from all appearances, seemed quiet and kept to himself. His wife is very chatty, incredibly well traveled and perfectly pleasant. She apparently also has the bug for singing. Brian, with some solid encouragement from Matt started off with some "Rappers Delight" and followed with a Biz Markie song. Right at that moment - he had me sold. Then the tables turned a bit when she jumped in and did a little Barbara Streisand and a few Broadway tunes. People weren't really quite sure how to take it all in. It was funny, yet puzzling. Then came their "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" duet. And no...I am not making this up. My dad has video evidence.
Matt - presumably in an effort to save the situation - called on me to share my favorite song with the group. Though I was not totally comfortable with the idea, I also had enough to drink at this point and realized Matt was simply trying to get out of an increasingly awkward situation. So - really - what else is there to do at that point but get everyone in on a little "Sweet Caroline"? What I loved most about the moment was that there were so many different personalities, languages, ways of life....but they all joined in and knew every single word. To Neil Diamond. Here in the the middle of Africa. So good, so good, so good....
Mark and Monique from Belgium invited my Dad and I to dinner tonight. They are absolutely one of our favorite couples on this train. Mark has got a fantastic sense of humor. Sarcastic. Easy to talk to. Just our kind of guy. His wife Monique is a little quieter but also has a great sense of humor. Mark loves History, so much of our dinner conversation centered around the History of Belgium, which I honestly knew nothing about. It is really quite fascinating. Towards the end of dinner, the conversation turned more towards our personal lives. What we were going back to at home. Where our next travels would take us. Our favorite part of the trip so far.
As I have done with a few other couples on this trip, I asked Mark and Monique how they met. I love asking this question because the story is usually really good and there are often two versions of the story and it’s fun hearing how different they are from each other. Mark told us that he first met Monique the summer prior to their Sophomore year in College at a Ballroom Dancing class. Initially, we thought he was kidding. To know these two, you would never had guessed they had any interest in Ballroom Dancing. Mark told us he did it to “pick up chicks”, which elicited the perfect eye roll from Monique. They dated all through the summer, but just before they both left to go their separate ways to college, Monique broke up with him. She said she didn’t think it was good for either of them to be tied down to a long distance relationship, especially in College. Mark said he was “heartbroken”, and I actually believe that was probably the case. Three years went by without them seeing or speaking to each other. Mark said he was certain she was gone from his life forever. But then he got an appendicitis and was rushed to the Hospital to have his appendix removed. Monique said she heard about it through a mutual friend and realized how much she missed him. She wanted to make sure he was okay. So she went and visited him in the Hospital and she never left his side again.
You can tell there is a deep love and understanding between them and this dinner was the perfect way to cap off a long, boring day on the train. There are people we have met here that we have enjoyed but likely won’t keep in touch with. My Dad and I both agreed that Mark and Monique are two that we hope to know and keep in touch with forever.
