Ellen, Justin, and I went on a motor boat ride
today with some of his mining friends. There is a dam about 20km north of
Solwezi. They claim that there are not crocodiles in the dam (yet), but I
refused to take their word for it. Ellen and I chose not to go swimming, but we
got to cruise around in a boat on the water for a day which was fabulous until
we ran out of petrol. It was exactly like a scene from the movies. The boat
shudders and stalls, everyone thinks the driver is joking as he tries
unsuccessfully to start the engine and the realization that we are stranded in
the middle of a lake only sets in after two other men attempt to start the boat
thinking that maybe they hold some sort of magic engine starting powers that
the other men lacked. Also two separate
people had to check the gas tank just to double check that it was indeed empty;
that maybe the first person did not look carefully enough at the completely empty
gas can. What does that say about humanity that we are unwilling to believe
something despite all the glaring evidence? Anyways, after about 45 minutes of
paddling with arms, legs, the top of the cooler, and a random piece of the boat
we were able to get close enough to shore to signal the only other boat on the entire
lake that we need assistance. Since I am writing this and you are reading this
I am sure that it will come as no surprise that we made it out alive.
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