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One meets a lot of great people while traveling, but some go over and above. Nothing is too much trouble for this lady. Discovering Diana, the managing director at the Spar, has been one of the best things that has happened to us recently after my homesick spell in Lusaka. She cheered me up no end. Not only did she take us under her wing when we first arrived in Chipata, she just seemed to know everyone in town, calling a variety of her connections for us regarding public transport, wifi or even money exchange rates etc. One bizarre outcome of her connections was the money exchange transaction: because of the current economy crisis in Malawi we decided to change our Zambian Kwacha to Malawian currency beforehand. Diana said she knew someone reliable and with a good rate, rather than us do business with the swindling guys on the street corners (the real Bureau de Changes don't change local country currencies). It felt extremely sinister to be sitting in the Spar coffee shop counting piles and piles of Malawian Kwacha on the table. (I wish we had taken a photo)
Diana is truly amazing and inspiring. She has the best heart and it's wonderful to be around someone caring and familiar so far from home. She is like that with everyone. Even her employees say that she's like a mother to them. Well, she certainly felt like that to us!
The following day we headed off to Malawi making the most of the ride that Diana had offered us. It was a comfortable ride (no being squashed in mini-vans for us!) with her and Andrea (Mama Rula herself) to the Zambia/Malawi border, about 20 minutes away from Chipata. But crossing wasn't plain sailing for Andrea who was traveling on a day pass, her passport at an embassy elsewhere. Apparently it seems only black Africans, as opposed to white Africans, can travel on a day pass and we sadly had to leave her behind. Thankfully, Diana could do Andrea's urgent errands for her in Lilongwe, and so we continued on without her. Diana as ever, entertaining and good natured, with the heart of gold, treated us to lunch at Spur Steakhouse (which are all over Southern Africa and not that cheap) meeting up with another friend, Luanne, quite a gregarious and entertaining character too. Nice memories. Well, we certainly appreciated the pleasant and comfortable travel day and we were very sad to say goodbye to our Zambian Mother, Diana. We won't forget her! *Mush
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| With Diana at Mama Rula's |
Diana is truly amazing and inspiring. She has the best heart and it's wonderful to be around someone caring and familiar so far from home. She is like that with everyone. Even her employees say that she's like a mother to them. Well, she certainly felt like that to us!
The following day we headed off to Malawi making the most of the ride that Diana had offered us. It was a comfortable ride (no being squashed in mini-vans for us!) with her and Andrea (Mama Rula herself) to the Zambia/Malawi border, about 20 minutes away from Chipata. But crossing wasn't plain sailing for Andrea who was traveling on a day pass, her passport at an embassy elsewhere. Apparently it seems only black Africans, as opposed to white Africans, can travel on a day pass and we sadly had to leave her behind. Thankfully, Diana could do Andrea's urgent errands for her in Lilongwe, and so we continued on without her. Diana as ever, entertaining and good natured, with the heart of gold, treated us to lunch at Spur Steakhouse (which are all over Southern Africa and not that cheap) meeting up with another friend, Luanne, quite a gregarious and entertaining character too. Nice memories. Well, we certainly appreciated the pleasant and comfortable travel day and we were very sad to say goodbye to our Zambian Mother, Diana. We won't forget her! *Mush
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