And We're Off...

Day Three:

Today the five of us embarked out into two of the villages SAM has been working in to check out the progress in our gardens. Colin also wanted to show us all the things SAM has been doing in the past year and teach us the things we will be doing in our three week stay.

Our first stop was in Macenje (ma-chen-jay) Village. We met with one of the workers, Anna, who has been maintaining the garden. It was incredible to see what SAM has been doing instead of just reading about it. After meeting the members of the Macenje garden we drove over to the next village, Ngandu (nan-doo). We stopped beside one of the schools there and were greeted by a bunch of school kids aswell as Howard, one of the members of the Ngandu garden. We spent a few hours in the villages getting familiarized with the gardens before we started working in them in the next few days.

Colin thought it'd be a good idea to then take us to a crocodile farm. The crocodiles that were in the farm were brought there because they had eaten to many people or have been to harmful in the wild. We had our tour with a large group, looking at different sized and kinds of crocodiles and snakes. After the tour the guide came up to us five and asked if we would like to go back and hold some of the baby crocodiles. Obviously! The baby crocs didn't have any teeth so we were up for it. At first I was a little nervous but it was pretty cool. They're quite strong! After that the guide then asked us if we would like to go stand in the croc cage. I laughed, yeah right, like hell I would be doing that. I don't usually say no to things, and I think everyone should try everything once, but there has got to be a limit. But when you're with Colin 'no' isn't a word we use. So, in he goes, then Nigel, then... me. I quickly got my picture then just as quickly I got out of there.

After the croc farm Colin brought us to a restaurant called The Waterfront, which was right along side the Zambezi River. And there it was, the first baboon... and then the second, and third, and fourth. The place was infested with them. After we had finished our cool beverages we then went back to the base.

I'm having a really good day today, I'm loving all the new people I'm meeting and I'm really having an excellent time with the sam project team. Being around Nigel reminds me a lot of Sam and it's bringing back a lot of great memories. I'm never going to want to leave this place.

Down By The River...

Day Two:

Hello world, I don't know what you're up too but I just hiked down the gorge and spent the day along the Zambeize River. Nigel, Nav, Aryn, Colin and I went down with a few of the missionaries to check out a dead crocodile. A 12 foot crocodile I should mention. I'm not even going to descibe the smell but I'm sure you can imagine. The boys thought it would be a good idea to then heave the large crocodile into the river and use it for bait so they could hopefully catch some fish. That moment was probably one of the most entertaining things I have seen in a long time and yes I took many, many pictures. Since we were down there we decided to adventure for a bit. A few of us started scaling the side of the gorge until one of the missionaries found a few scorpions where we were, so we got out of there pretty quick.

Along the river there were a lot of chuck of meat so I asked Colin what they were and he said, "they're washed up hippos that fall over the Victoria Falls and villagers come down here and cut them up for food". So that was what that delicious smell was... gross.

So after a couple hours along the river we hiked back up the gorge. Now, this isn't an easy hike for someone who neglected to work out prior to this trip to Africa. Finally, after a good half hour in the blistering heat I reached the top and got myself a warm... thick... cup of water! Definitely does the trick.

Tonight everyone at camp is going to have a volleyball game. Nigel build a court last year while he was here in Zambia with his family so I'm really excited to go play. There's about 30 plus people here at camp, so hopefully everyone will come out and play until the sunsets.

Tomorrow we're heading out into the villages to meet all the people who've been working in our SAM project gardens throughout the year when we've been back in Canada. In the first season of operations, SAM has established gardens in 3 villages in the Mukuni Chiefdom of southern Zambia : Ngandu, Macenje, and Machinga. SAM financed site preparation, the installation of goat-proof fencing, and the building of reservoirs that collect waste-water from the village wells. The SAM Project also installed water-efficient drip irrigation in all three gardens, and arranged for International Development Enterprises (IDE), an international NGO, to provide agricultural extension services in order to train local gardeners in conservation farming techniques such as composting and fallow cropping. This program also provides valuable knowledge on crop selection and market access.

Going Going Gone...

Day One:

I'm laying here in my tent recovering from my three day adventure of flying and getting sick from my malaria pills. We (Nigel, Nav, Aryn and I) flew out from Vancouver and landed in London, England. We spent a good 6 hours playing a mean card game of Mexican Crack Rat and consuming ridiculous amounts of caffeine. From there we flew down to Johannesburg, South Africa. Unfortunately we weren't able to leave the airport, so we hung around for 4 hours wandering through gift shop after gift shop waiting for our next plane ride. Finally we boarded our last flight which only took an hour or so... and we arrived to our final destination, Zambia. There are no words to sum up how I felt inside and what I was seeing with my eyes. It is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. It took awhile for it to hit me, I was actually in Zambia. I kept shaking my head thinking this was a dream. Everywhere I looked I was amazed.

Nigel's father Colin picked us up from the airport, he had been there for a few months prior to us coming. We began the drive to our base camp (Overland Missions @ Rapid 14). As we drove through Livingstone we were greeted with a smile and wave from each person on the side of the road. As we veered off the paved road we headed into the 'real africa'. People of all ages carrying water barrels on their heads, small children running after our land rover, villagers gathering branches and getting water from their one communal pump. There was so much to look at.

We pulled up to the base camp at Rapid 14 and we'd be staying with Overland Missions which consisted of missionaries from all over the world coming to study here in Zambia. We were not missionaries, we were The SAM Project. The project had a double meaning, it stood for Sustainability through Agriculture and Micro-enterprises, aswell as Sam Eves. Colins son, Nigels brother, my friend. He had died early 2007 after being stabbed to death in Squamish. B.C.. This was the main reason why I embarked on this adventure, in memory of Sam and to help out his family.

The base is located on the Zambeizi River which divides Zimbabwe and Zambia. It's almost sun down and I'm in definite need of a shower. This is truly the most beautiful place I have ever seen.