Jan van Eden
bio - biography Stories of our life in the foreign
1967-1970 Travels from Zambia
1969 Honeymoon
Victoria
falls - july 1969
After our marriage on the 20th of July 1969 we
left on honeymoon in our Morris Mini on a trip that led us through Zambia,
Rhodesia, Mozambique, and back to Kalulushi through Malawi. First stop at
the impressive Victoria falls we stayed in the Victoria Falls Hotel on the
Rhodesian (now Zimbabwe) side. Those days the hotel was a little bit run
down and preserved its colonial style, also it was “whites only”. We got a
luxury suite with an old fashioned double bed with an ornamented copper
heading, but as we were just married we didn't like the
squeaking noise
and we decided to put the
mattress on the ground next to the bed. We enjoyed our night and in the
morning they served us a coffee which was customary. With a faint knock on
the door the formally dressed black waiter entered with his serving tray to
the surprise of Pepa who hastily covered her naked body with a sheet. In the
meantime the look in the eyes of our waiter expressed even more surprise,
finding us lying beside the bed. Never mind we were treated with all
respect. I still recall these black servants in their formal dress with
white topped black shoes. At the dinner the night before they asked “Coffee
or tea”, and making our choice “sorry sir no coffee today” and this repeated
the same way during breakfast next morning.
Whites
only in Rhodesia
under the government of Ian Smith, 1969
Continuing our journey with Pepa
driving she nearly drove into a small herd of elephants and on braking
abruptly on the red colored gravel road, the car swirled a complete turn
around, but fortunately the Morris Mini, with its wheels on the outside
corners, showed its remarkable stability and road holding. We carried on
enjoying the beautiful landscape and seeing the occasional wildlife on our
way to Beira on the coast of Mozambique. From there we went northwards in
the direction of Malawi through areas contested by the independence movement
Frelimo. Many roads we traveled on had worn out tracks from heavy vehicles
with a high bump in the middle and with our Mini we had to negotiate these
tracks with wheels on one side on top and the other side in a lower track,
which made us hang pretty
crooked. I planned our
trip on the best road map I could find, but in the war-torn country it
happened to be unreliable and at one point we could not cross a river
because they had blown the bridge. We had spare petrol in a jerrycan, but
even so we were at half our resource and had to decide either to return the
same way or take a risky road ahead of us. The tracks seemed totally
abandoned, maybe, because of the risk of landmines. These mines were
designed and aimed at heavy vehicles and I think our Mini would not be
affected in any case. We carried on and after hours without seeing a soul,
we came across a camp
with improvised huts made of zinc corrugated iron
manned by an undefined group of soldiers who were very surprised, but who
received us very generously. Darkness was setting in and we accepted their
invitation to stay the night. We had a sober meal with half a dozen men on a
kitchen table illuminated by a single running lamp, which you had to take
with you to go to the toilet (a latrine). We slept in our clothes on some
camping beds in an adjacent room. Next morning they
accompanied us to a wide river (probably the Zambezi river) where an
abandoned railroad track went to the other side.
They loaded our Morris Mini on an open rail car and with us inside, we got
over.
Black
Chida at the Dick Whiskey store, Liwonde Bridge (Malawi)
Letter
of Black Chida, Liwonde Bridge (Malawi)
From here the Malawi border was not very far and once in Malawi we
found a petrol supply. It was a relief to be in an organized country. Malawi
(the former British
protectorate Nyasaland)
was independent since 1964 and had a guided economy with Banda as president.
We made a stop at Liwonde Bridge, which is at the southern outlet of the
Malawi lake, where we made some photographs of the open air workshop of a
shoemaker. We asked for his address to send him the photographs by mail. Color
photos that, by the way, I developed myself in my dark room at home. After
our mailing he replied
with a letter that I have kept as a dear treasure. Thanking me for the
pictures, he says “I didn't believe that there are some white man who are so
kind as you are...”. The address was c/o Dick Whiskey Store, Liwonde Bridge,
Malawi, and because of
this we have a check on where we had been during
our honeymoon.
1970 A journey
from Zambia to Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.
Intensive periods of hard work were
compensated with generous local holidays and we made month long trips with
our Morris Mini 850. Colleagues said we we were crazy to go with a small car
like that, advising a Landrover or a Peugeot for the mainly unpaved roads,
but never mind. During the lifetime of our Mini with lost the motor block 3
times in the middle of nowhere. The motor was mounted on 4 brackets and when
they broke because of excessive vibrations on the corrugated gravel roads, the block fell
down on the chassis, making a hell of a noise with the radiator fan. With
some branches you would jack it up and then proceed step foots to the
nearest village to find a mechanic with welding equipment., I must say the
mechanics in those desolate parts of the world were very handy and helpful.
After repair of the brackets you were ready
to go.
SS
Liemba, Lake Tanganyika, 1970
In the year 1970 we made a round trip to Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and
Tanzania. We started from Kalulushi to Mpulungu (northeastern Zambia on the
shores of Lake Tanganyika), where we took a steamer to Bujumbura (Burundi)
which was a journey of 5 days over a distance of some 800 km with several
stops at villages along the Tanzanian coast. This coal fired steamer the
S.S.Liemba (the name of Lake
Tanganyika in the language of the tribes around Kigoma) was built in 1913
and had an interesting history. When we bought our tickets, I innocently
asked for third class, but they they refused and gave us one of two VIP
cabins on the upper deck, the middle deck was reserved for Indian and other
colored races, while the blacks were at the very bottom. In the bottom there
were long wooden benches, without backrest and it was crowded with people,
luggage, cooking gear, food for the trip, and even live chickens. People
were coming and going at villages where the boat made a stop, and swarms of
small boats were along side to take the passengers or sell fish, vegetables,
bananas and other food products. In the meanwhile we had the upper deck for
ourselves together the crew, and our Morris Mini was parked there as well.
We were having our meals with the English captain and the mates. Perfectly
set tables with silver
cutlery, starched napkins and a superb traditional menu. The English captain
regularly left a loud burst followed by “pardon me”. All this in a colonial
setting, while Tanzania was an independent socialist country from december
1961. We had a luxury cabin, but made a mistake by using an insectspray on a
couple of cockroaches inside an open construction tube, causing a relentless
stream of these animals to invade our cabin. Never mind it was a very
relaxing and pleasant trip to Bujumbura in Burundi.
Pepa
en el SS Liemba, 1970
Boats
providing food for black passengers on the lowest deck.
Burundi,
at the Catholic mission of my friend from Puente Montanana (Huesca)
From there on we headed
north in our Morris Mini. The first stop we made for a couple of days was a
catholic mission where a friend of mine was one of the two missionaries. It
was quite emotional to meet a friend in the heart of Africa and it felt like
a redemption from the overwhelming emptiness that surrounds you. The next
morning we were welcomed by a large dancing crowd on the rolls of drums,
adorned with shields and spears, which we underwent as an impressive
tribute. As a white person you are a curiosity in this far out african
country side and Pepa attracted much attention from the women and the
children in particular. After two days we carried on through Burundi in the
direccion of Rwanda, travelling through densely populated agricultural areas
with lush fields of bananas, cassava, cotton and other subsistance crops.
Rwanda is small and from north to south you cross the country by car in a
few hours.
Pepa
in her Morrus Mini - Rwanda 1970
Then circling the Victoria
Lake we were heading for Kampala the capital of Uganda. When we entered the
country in 1970 it was still under the government of Milton Obote the first
president after the British left in 1962. Kampala was a bustling city with a
strange overwhelming presence of asians. All taxis, shops and other business
seemed to be owned and run by asians. A disturbing left over from the
British colonial days and and nobody should be surprised with the coming of
somebody like Idi Amin who started with violent persecution of these people.
Jan
at the Nakuru Lake
FRose
Flamengos at the Nakuru Lake
After Uganda we headed for Nairobi
on relatively good roads, passing by the Nakuru lake with its beautiful pink
flamingo population. Nairobi a modern city and then southwards to Arusha and
the Serengetti wildlife park in Tanzania. In the Ngorongoro crater we needed
to take a guide with a landrover. With large herds of rhinoceros, buffalos,
wildebeests, zebras, elephants and predators like lions and hyena, the
nicest wildpark I have known.
Pepa
with a young Masai shepherd - Tanzania 1970
From here on we were going south through
Tanzania's vast savanna plains with the occasional massive Boabab tree,
direccion Zambia. Along the road we met with traditional Masai men herding
their cattle. From a young Masai boy we bought a dishlike plate on three
legs carved out from a single piece of wood, made to eat from in the field.
It is still used by us in our house of Sabayes, but we use it as a small
stool (taburete
pequeño). With an additional 4.522 miles (7.277 km) on the clock of our
Morris Mini (and don't forget the 800 km on the SS Liemba) we returned
safely home in Kalulushi
Continuation of the story: 1972 Republic of
South Africa
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