The day starts as usual with a bright, sunny morning in our camp at Chobe River. Today we will reach the last country on our tour, Zambia, where we will also watch the solar eclipse.
Some borders are hardly recognizable, others are distinct but harmless. But the border between Botswana and Zambia is a "real" border. One that cannot be ignored. One that gives you the feeling of crossing a border, also one within yourself. After leaving Botswana, which is a rather simple formality, we reach the Zambesi River at noon. A short line of trucks and cars is waiting for the ferry boat to Zambia.
We are in Africa. a short line does not mean a short wait ...
A short line of cars waiting for the ferry boat across the Zambesi.
But it takes more than an hour until the ferry arrives. Engine break-down.
First a long and uneasy wait, then we cross the Zambesi without
our vans to get the border formalities done.
The Zambesi River, another part of the "real" Africa.
Lost in Africa? The long wait for our vans ...
At 16.50 the last of our vehicles crosses the river. The last crossing
should be at 5 p.m. Or maybe later. We are in Africa.
...
In Zambia bad roads with lots of potholes await us. After an adventurous drive we reach our camp on the schoolgrounds of Chumbwe Village, where the locals give us a warm welcome and provide us with plenty of Millipapp.
It is freezing cold here in the Zambesi area.
The countdown for the solar eclipse is ticking. After our first experiences with Zambian roads - lots of deep potholes, sometimes difficult to pass - we have to plan the right place for observing the eclipse thoroughly. Sebastian Silo has a map for aviation, but Bernhard Kohm beats us all by providing a Russian (!) military map of the area. That makes planning easy and we agree on sacrificing three to five seconds of totality in order to have a place that can be easily reached. After all, some of us already felt a little sick on the trip to the camp.
Based on our experience with Zambian roads so far
we start planning the eclipse place thoroughly.
After the eclipse-place-summit most of the group got into their
tents. Just Doris and I took our telescope and went stargazing under
an incredibly clear sky. The Milky Way was stretching high across the sky
from northeast, where Cygnus, the Swan, was standing on its head, to
southwest, where the Southern Cross was leaning on its side. The center
almost overhead. A fantastic sight.
Full observation report in German: click here..
[ back | Start | Tour | Team | Astronomy | Acknowledgements | next ]