At the border I was greeted warmly and answered many curious questions. One little boy was talking to me about something I couldn’t understand, pointing to parts of my bike and mumbling some language. The mother came over to say her little boy, maybe 4 years old, loved motorcycles. I told her to tell him to be careful the bike was hot, but it didn’t matter, he kept pointing to the foot pegs, touching them and then the engine, he was in love. So I started the bike and rode off, he watching in my mirror from his mother’s arms. Before, the border guy asked me where I was going and I said north, and for how long will I be in Botswana and I said I didn’t know, and he said for two days then. Two days?! Then we all had a laugh before he stamped me in I think for 30.
I’m staying here for two nights at this lodge which is situated close to the city centre.
And in the mall, outdoor mall, I met this guy Leo yesterday. He wanted to sell me some of his artwork and I declined. He has a head but when you’re traveling you don’t want to get trapped talking so I politely left. The next day I had to trade some older Pula bills as some of the ones I had were old and no one would accept them. Actually I forgot to mention this before, at the place I stayed in Mafikeng, South Africa, ‘Buffalo Lodge’, I asked the owner if there were money changers at the border, for I had a lot of Rand to get rid of. He said no, but if I went up the road and the owners of the gas station were there I might ask them. Well sure enough the next morning when I stopped to fill up the owners were dropping off some food for the store. I asked and he went back to his home and then returned with what he had. He had exactly enough for what I had, and we did a straight trade as the value is pretty similar, a tiny bit more for him. Anyway there were some old bills and so here in Gaborone I was walking back from the Bank of Botswana who accepted the old ones for new ones, and I ran into Leo again. He remembered my name but I didn’t remember his. After a chat, I said let’s sit down and have a cold drink and sit in the shade and we did. We talked for quite some time, he’s an interesting dude. I then asked to see his paintings and I bought one, fair trade style ….
… he laughed when I said that God was the people, not the creator, adding that if the people don’t take of each other who will? Anyway we talked for some time about good things, even after a ‘glue sniffer’ asked for 1 pula from me, I said no, and then Leo said,’I told you you can be my friend when you stop sniffing glue’. Leo gave him the pop that I bought for Leo, and we carried on talking for some time before I left to continue on my errands for the day. Of all the people that said they would come to Canada, I believe Leo could be the one. I gave him my travel card so that he can email me one day to say, ‘Markus, I am here in Canada’. I warned him that he better make sure he knows where I am for it’s a very wide country. He knew already, seven days from coast to coast he said. We shall see …….
I also learned to say ‘Sweet Dreams’ again but this time in Setswana, ‘Robala Sentle’, (Robala senthe). The ladies laughed when I went down the hall to my room saying to them, ‘Robala Sentle’, during the day. Tomorrow I ride on …. which reminds me of this tune I first heard when my friend Darren agreed to drive me from Edmonton to Red Deer back in the 80′s to see my girl who was staying at her Grandmother’s, it was a 2 hour drive at 5 in the morning after many many beers, and after greeting her Grandmother who was very confused, I went upstairs to Roberta’s room to give her a ring that she gave me, and ended up sleeping with her for a couple of hours before Darren started beeping his horn out front. I ended up staying in a crappy hotel, Darren drove back to Edmo, and I played pool in a shit bar listening to live 80′s rock with some regulars until finally taking the bus home the next day, no girl in hand, she was a crazy one who I wonder about today even still, just like …..
I have a few happenings which I haven’t been able to write about because the computer virus’ I had reappeared with worms, trojans, back doors the whole deal. After two days of work I am back in action …. and will write more about that once I get to that part in time. So, back to Gaborone ….
In the morning I packed up to ride on up to Francistown, but a fuse blew on the bike when starting. So I took off the side panel where the main fuse is located and I couldn’t find it. What? I looked and looked and thought, I’ve changed this before 2 years ago but now it’s not here, and I don’t think it’s under the seat but I took everything off and had a look anyway. Nope, that’s the headlight and fan fuses. What? So I looked in the manual and off course it was not in there, I having a 2008 and the manual for up to 2007. Damn. So I looked again and then it occured to me, it is where I thought it was, it’s just so dirty I couldn’t see it. So I changed the fuse and headed out of Gaborone.
It was a long boring ride, so most of the time I was riding with my feet on the crashbars, back against the dry bag. I tried stopping for fuel a couple of times but they were out, so I kept going until I came across a station that had petrol. I had a snack, and a woman asked me if I was Steven Segal. I said do you think that guy would ride a bike by himself around here. We had a laugh and I continued on. Later I stopped again, this time I bunch of Bots men gathered around, looking at my bike, then looking at me and laughing. We actually didn’t talk that much, just laughed and drank our pops.
Again I stopped for fuel but they had none, ummm. Just as I was pulling out a drunk white guy said from his truck, ‘I want to give you my hand’. So I waited while he got out of his truck, and I kept the bike idling, not to encourage a long talk. He came over with this hand out in front of him so I gave him mine, without taking off my glove, which I would normally do. ‘You are traveling alone? Yes. Only you know where you are. Yes. I know Botswana like the back of my hand. I want you to call me here is my number. No, I don’t have a phone. You don’t have a phone and you are traveling alone. Yep, and right now I’ve gotta push on so see you later’. Creepy guy. So I rode into Francistown, and fueled up first. Then I found a motel just outside of Francistown and checked in. They had a restaurant but no chef so I asked if the pizza place in town would deliver and they said yeah we think so. But they wouldn’t which meant I had to put my gear back on and ride into town if I wanted to eat and I did since I skipped lunch. Then the owner of the hotel offered to give me a ride in his truck. Yes please! I can’t remember how to spell his name but it’s something like, ‘Mr. Mouray’. We had a nice chat in his truck and he mentioned that his five children were all scientists, mostly in the U.S., and that he owned many properties including the Planet Hotel. He asked me some questions about my travels and then he mentioned that he has been in every country in the world except Russia. What, really! What about Burma? Yes. Israel? Yes I told you every country in the world except Russia.’ We picked up my pizza and a bottle of wine and Mr. Mouray drove me back to the hotel. ‘What about Indonesia? Yes I told you every country except Russia’. So I stopped asking him about countries and we talked about writing every day and the necessity of keeping busy. We agreed with one another. He also said that if I liked Botswana, he would give me the property I was staying in to relocate from Canada. I thanked him for his time and his offer saying, ‘First I have to finish this journey’. The next day I headed for Kasane, in the north of Botswana.
I don’t have pictures, but I have ridden through three Foot and Mouth Disease stops without being stopped but just outside Nata I was finally asked to pull over and shut off the bike. He wanted papers for my Springbok horns, and for the skin and also for my Mum’s sheep skin I’ve been riding with since Canada. Instead of answering questions, I sort of used his questions to form answers like yes it has been sprayed, and yes it came not from a farm but from a store. In the end he said I could move on but I had to stop in Nata to see the veterinarian and get transit papers for the stuff. Okay, I will thanks, and we had a smoke and then I left. I was thinking maybe I shouldn’t stop but in the end I did. At the office the man said the guy at the gate was incorrect and that I was free to go, adding he didn’t know about other countries and their borders but as far as Botswana, I was free to go. I then found a Botswana sticker for the bike, fueled up and then decided to cut the day early and spend the night.
I met a man who worked in the townships educating the young people about Aids. We had a good talk, and a few laughs.
The next morning I still had fuel on my mind, but knew I only had to ride some 310 kilometers before the first town. I also rode through another F&M stop, but they said nothing, but he did want to look at my license. ’77kgs Mr. Markus’ he said. ‘I don’t know, I haven’t weighed myself in a year’. And off I went again.
The vet office told me that I would probably see elephants on the road but I never did, just elephant shit. I kept my speed down worrying that I would run into more empty petrol stations just in case.
And as it happens, the only station was out of petrol. So I bought a coke and had a smoke, thinking about the fuel I had left and the 180 km’s. I asked the attendant again, if she knew where I could get some petrol. She said I should put my bike on the back of a truck cause I didn’t want to get stuck in the bush with the animals. I decided to push on for there was a lot of traffic on the road during my ride so far.
… and then I ran out of gas. So I took the stove fuel and poured it into the tank, not once have I cooked with this thing since the Cape in South Africa. A Bots man pulled over just as I was getting ready to keep going and he said he would follow me the 5 kms just in case, and tow me the rest of the way if need be. I made it, but then had to join the line of vehicles also waiting for the fuel truck to arrive. This is where I learned that the South African truckers had been on strike. The World Cup timing of events scenario. Oh I said, for I haven’t kept up with the news.
After three hours, the truck came and I got to fuel up and head for Kasane, some 20km’s away.
Once in Kasane I checked into this room at the Water Lilly Lodge, without bathroom or lock but it was cheap and I didn’t have to share the room with anyone.
The next evening I went for a boat cruise on the Chobe river ….
This water buffalo had a broken right leg, but was still fighting to survive.
And these group of male elephants were doing some sort of dance in the water before crossing the river for some tasty wet grass.
And this huge lone male headed into the water in the opposite direction, looking for a date, according to our Captain, incidentally named Captain by his parents.
In the evening I met the co- owner of the lodge, Walter, and we were talking about all things and having a laugh, he’s a very funny man. Anyway I had some questions about visas for Ethiopia and Sudan and he said I should go and see his friend tomorrow on my way out of Kasane to Zambia where I was intending to go. And the next morning I rode to Pierre’s, a french man living and touring Africa for the last 40 years. I was expecting to have a small talk for ten minutes, and I ended up having a couple of beers, Pierre gave me ‘Michelin maps’ for my travels up, ( I had only seen others with Michelin maps but could never find any of my own!), his wife Antoinette made a delicious lunch and I learned a ton about the ride up North, and ended up changing my route plans for Zambia, into Zimbabwe to see what they were so excited to share with me. They also invited me to stay with them for a night in Harare and well, who can refuse such pure generosity. Pierre has a tour company but I don’t have his card with me at the moment, but will post so others can someday go on tour with him and his partners. Olivier, on the left side of the picture, came for a tour from France a few months ago and never left. He’s now working with Pierre.
So after lunch and coffee, I headed for the Zimbabwe border.
