The road to Solwezi

My time in Lusaka was up and I left to travel to Solwezi to start my placement on Sunday 4^th March.  I was greeted by my counterpart, Chilombo, at the Commonwealth Youth Centre and her companions. There were 6 of us travelling to Solwezi: Chilombo, Chipo (Chilombo’s son of two years), Holland (Chilombo’s colleague), Gerard (the driver), Chilombo’s nanny (it took me a while to work out who she was and why she was there) and myself. The reason for the packed car was that they had attended a training course in Lusaka over the week. So…we were squashed into a Toyota 4x4 and about to embark on an eight hour journey! Holland told me to sit back and enjoy the ride so I did.

Our first stop was in a village just south of Kabwe. This village was built around the main road – it becomes very clear that the main road in Zambia is the lifeblood of traders: stalls are set up very close to the road to capitalise on those who drive by. Traders don’t just sit and wait in Zambia, they come to you; they walk up to you with goods in tow and keep staring at you hoping for you to break and buy something. Holland and Gerard were all over this and were seasoned professionals. This was a place where you could get bargain fruit and vegetables. I watched them do the rounds: picking, sniffing, tasting and bartering.

Next stop was Kabwe, a fairly sizeable town. We would get food here for lunch (it was 10.40am) as future stops wouldn’t have many eating options. The group descended on a fried chicken shop. This was a good place to eat apparently, but I wasn’t so sure. It was similar to the fried chicken establishments that permeate London high streets. I could even see better places to eat across the road (Subway!) but I wasn’t going to go and do my own thing, so I ordered two pieces of chicken, chips and a can of cola - urgh. I completely demolished it, though.

By this time I had worked out that Holland was the character of the group. I watched him work effortlessly amongst the roadside traders, sifting his way through the tat and junk that people try to make Kwacha (the Zambian currency) out of. Holland purchased a best of Tuku Mtukudzi for the journey. This would be played on loop for the next four hours, with particular repeat plays of certain songs at Gerard’s discretion (tracks 3, 8 and 13 were particular favourites).

We reached Ndola after noon, which is pleasant town with wide streets and plenty of trees thereby giving off a European vibe. We called in at Holland’s brother’s place (a watermelon dropped off) and his mother’s place (bags of tomatoes and nuts dropped off). A short distance from Ndola was Kitwe – a large town with a gritty feel. At Kitwe the heat and the cramped conditions were getting to me and I was really desperate to get to Solwezi. Holland decided to change the CD at this point from Mtukudzi to a best of Phil Collins instrumental CD. As much as I like Phil’s music, the sombre sax solos in place of his voice really started to compound my tiredness and frustration. Waves of melancholia washed over me when I heard I Wish It Would Rain Down, although things perked up when Sussudio came on.

After Kitwe we had another short stop in Chingola, where a large mine is based, and from there we joined the final stretch of road to Solwezi. The natural environment emerged following the urbanised copperbelt towns: a cornucopia of green vegetation spread over undulating hills. It was at this time that I became conscious of the sheer number of people I had seen on the journey so far. They say that the population of Zambia is 13 million, but it felt like I saw more than that. I also saw a lot of churches, particularly Seventh Day Adventist churches on Chingola-Solwezi stretch. 

After about an hour, lo and behold we had another stop at a small village. There were plenty of food stalls which Gerard and Holland lapped up. I was at breaking point: tired, hungry, hot, sweaty, and sick and tired of instrumental Phil Collins. But I checked my perspective and reflected that a driver needs plenty of breaks on a journey that takes 8 hours, especially when the roads require serious attention when avoiding potholes and deciding to overtake vehicles. After our final stop it wasn’t long until we finally arrived in Solwezi. The odyssey was over.