Wednesday 31 August 2011

I spoke too soon!

There I was boasting about the fact that I had remained healthy throughout the whole Zambezi trip, and then I started to feel a little 'odd'.  A few days later the 'oddness' had changed to downright illness and my body size was getting smaller due to me not fancying anything to eat at all - and that's when I knew I was just not right!
Another member of the team emailed to say he had been diagnosed with the parasite Giardia lamblia, so I headed off to get tested, and low and behold I had also managed to smuggle some little bugs back with me too.
Giardia lamblia is associated with the consumption of contaminated water and, as we had been drinking The Zambezi it is probably safe to say that that's where we got it from.  If you need to see what it looks like just Google it - I wish I hadn't, as now I can imagine all those little bugs running around inside me!
So, with only ten days to go before I fly out to Poznan, Poland for the World Masters Rowing Championships, I needed to do some exercise but couldn't actually get my breath if I exerted myself.  Luckily I have just found an area of hills that I have not explored before, so out came the walking boots and a friend and I headed off to the North Downs for a bit of hill walking.  What a great walk we had too - hardly anybody around (on a Bank Holiday weekend I suspect they were all packed into the Lake District!), and we found a great pub for lunch in the beautiful village of Shere - The William Bray.
Now the antibiotics have done their job (I hope), I am back to getting real food down me again, and have a craving for natural yoghurt, which is not only great for the probiotics I need to help get my healthy bacteria up to speed, but also can be used in so many things, not only sweet - yesterday I made a delicious dhal with lentils and coconut oil and lots of great spices and topped it with natural yoghurt sprinkled with cumin seed fried onions.  Today I was in the mood for creamy sweet citrus, so gently stirred homemade lemon curd into creamy natural yoghurt and served it over strawberries, with lemon zest on top - heavenly.
I don't think it's going to take long to replace the weight I lost!

Sunday 21 August 2011

Please take me back.....!

What a culture shock, to return from the banks of the Zambezi back to London - it really highlights the differences between our two countries.
But what an amazing trip - to start in Lusaka, drive all the way up to Angola and then paddle just under 1000km down the great Zambezi river to finish just above Victoria Falls.
There were obviously some bits that were not so amazing - not being able to wash for up to five days, or having to get up at 5.30am, pack up sleeping bag, tent and all kit for a 6.30am  breakfast, still in the dark and very much in the cold.  But the upside was sculling down the middle of a beautiful river, surrounded by wildlife (crocs, hippos, stunning birdlife), knowing that I was seeing something that not many people would ever get the chance to see, including most of the people who live in Zambia.
And meeting those people was such a pleasure - they are the happiest, calmest people I think I have ever met.  I was told by a friend who lives there that the Zambians never shout - it wasn't until I returned to London that I realised I had not heard a raised voice for over 3 weeks!
Needless to say I have returned a little lighter than before - we had great food cooked by our support team, but it was hard to fit in time to eat enough to sustain the exercise we were doing.  A few of the team came down with stomach issues - we were having to drink the Zambezi as well as row on it, as there is no other water in a lot of places.  We used sterilising tabs and also filter bottles, but for some this was not enough.  I had recommended Bio-Kult probiotics for everyone before we left, so some of us were better at dealing with the strange bacteria.  A couple of us also took Higher Nature Oregano oil capsules which are anti-bacterial, and I think this helped too.
Being vegetarian wasn't really a problem, as meat was not so easy to store anyway, so lots of great veggie dishes were cooked - gem squash stuffed with cheese and sweetcorn, green beans cooked in Coconoil and spices.  We were even treated to freshly made bread and, on special occasions, chocolate cake or apple crumble - I was amazed and delight at the inventiveness of Jana our great support girl.
One of the greatest treats was fresh fish, caught by one of our guides - I have never seen anybody catch fish so easily as this guy - he just seemed to know exactly where the fish were, and he reeled them in, one after the other.  Local bream was certainly very tasty, but the most impressive to look at was tiger fish, although eating them was tricky as they have lots of bones, and when eating by torchlight this becomes even more of a problem!
Typically conversation around the campfire always turned to what we would eat if we could, with everyone recalling their favourite meal, or dreaming about what their first meal would be on returning home.  It was like torture!
And now I am home, what I would really like is to be sitting around a campfire listening to all those great dishes all over again.