For pictures and video from this eclipse, please click here.
An experience I had during the November 3 1994 eclipse perhaps illustrates the power that this phenomenon has upon the mind and body. We were in Chile near the border with Bolivia at 4,380 metres elevation. I had a bit of altitude sickness, with a splitting headache. As totality ended I realized that my headache had gone... it just disappeared at the moment of second contact. It returned to plague me and was back at its full crippling strength within an hour, but the flood of chemicals in the brain at totality had just wiped it out! I didn't really recover until we drove back down to the army base at about 4000 metres; I had been just over my limit of altitude acclimation.
For those of us in North America the next cheap eclipses will not be until 2017 (from Oregon to South Carolina) and 2024 (from Texas to Maine). These paths cross in Missouri, which might attract more people to that state than average weather conditions would warrant.
Airlines routinely overbook their flights, and though the eclipse community warns them against overdoing this in the vicinity of eclipses they persist anyway. It means that except for flights we've specifically chartered, we must make sure we're at the head of the line to get boarding passes. Obviously it does us no good to wait for the flight the next day if the one to today's eclipse is too full. The result is that much of our travel time is waiting about in the airport well ahead of take-off time so our check-in can go smoothly.
Several of the people on our trip were from the U.S., and as we were in the bus waiting to leave for the hotel I heard one say to some others "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto". A reference, I think, to the sea of black faces everywhere. This is Africa, though, and the population has none of the angst that so characterizes race relations in the States. The people were all very friendly, and once they overcame their shyness were quite curious about us. A salient feature I noticed was that as we drove out of the airport there was a big billboard showing a cartoon figure giving something to a kneeling figure, and the words "Do you want him to be dependent on you forever? Don't give alms to beggars" underneath. Though both the figures were black the message was clearly directed at the foreign tourists arriving at the airport. Zambia's government at least has recognized the debilitating effects of mendicancy.
The hotel in Lusaka, like most of the establishments we stayed at, had a sort of tired and worn out appearance, though it was clean and comfortable. There was a city tour laid on, but I didn't feel like going on it. Lusaka is not greatly different from most cities in tropical poor countries, and there were no tourist attractions to be seen or shopping opportunities that I couldn't bear to miss. I climbed up the hotel's water tower and got a shot of Venus and the old crescent moon, 34 hours prior to the eclipse. I was jet-lagged anyway and couldn't sleep so there I was at 04:00 local time waiting for the moon to rise, being strafed by bats surprised to find me there, and listening to the roosters challenge one another all over town. All the nice houses in the city have masonry walls around them, some even with broken glass embedded in the tops, and/or razor wire. Each house has a big lot, perhaps an acre, and chicken coops, gardens, etc in the back. This is apparently typical of African cities.
The staff in the hotels fairly doted on us, since their establishments had been empty or nearly so for months. We eclipse chasers were just about the only tourists that had come to Zambia in some time. Robert Mugabe's excesses have essentially killed the tourist trade in Zimbabwe and the effects have spilled over into the much less developed Zambia as well. This especially since Zambia has no direct flights to Europe or North America and most of its tourists arrive via Zimbabwe. Ironically even the violence in Zimbabwe is directed not at tourists at all but only at a small minority of commercial farmers, their employees, and anyone suspected of harbouring support for the opposition party. The issue of the farmers being white is just a smoke screen for generalized anti-opposition violence. Mugabe lets his supporters loot the farms and other establishments to keep himself in power.
The school was a masonry building painted white on which we could clearly see the high water mark of the floods, about half a metre from the ground. It had apparently stayed flooded for weeks, and the school's books and furniture had gotten badly waterlogged. We had bought (in Lusaka) a bunch of notebooks and pencils, as well as some posters of the human body, the heart, the solar system, etc. to give to the school. We figured it best to avoid giving money away, since we then couldn't be sure about where it went. We had a little ceremony with the Headmaster, and he got the students to bring out a bunch of the school benches from the classroom for us to eat lunch off and put some of our gear on. The hotel had prepared box lunches, and mine was an actual T-bone steak (cooked and then refrigerated) as well as bananas, oranges, and buns. We also had a couple of coolers full of soft drinks, though none were of the diet kind. Like in India, losing weight I guess isn't a big issue in Zambia. There was some food left uneaten, and we got the Headmaster to distribute it among the students as he saw fit (presuming he would know which of the kids might be more likely to be suffering hunger than the others). The boxes the lunches came in were even scavenged by the students and cleaned up a bit. Presumably they could find some use for them.
Great crowds of students gathered around us as we set up our gear, and the eclipse viewers were received with much enthusiasm. One young lad so pleased by his that he was wearing it while riding his bicycle. The original idea had been to supply each of the tour members with one and then give away a few to the locals. Most of us on the tour had our own filters on binoculars or cameras, though, and I think we gave away just about our entire supply to the students and teachers. English is the official language of Zambia, though there are some dozen different languages and perhaps 50 or 60 more or less distinct dialects spoken. The students thus spoke with accents, but not too difficult ones. They were extremely curious about us, where we lived, what it was like there, and so forth. One student asked me how much my camcorder had cost. I hesitated a bit but decided to tell him the truth (about US$1,000) despite knowing that the figure probably represented a decade's income for a peasant farmer. He seemed intelligent and articulate, and said that he wanted to go to a trade college in Lusaka, but that he couldn't afford it. Apparently half the population of Zambia is under 16, and the country would be hard pressed to educate all its citizenry even if there were no corruption in government at all.
The skies were as perfectly clear as anyone could have hoped. This may have contributed to the fact that we saw second contact shadow bands quite clearly against the ground. These were not as bright as at Curacao in 1998, or Turkey in 1999, but we didn't need the white banner as a backdrop. A large detached prominence was visible throughout the entire eclipse at about 2:30. The corona was spectacular, with oodles of fine filamentous detail. Just above and to the left of the large prominence was an area of noticeably brighter inner corona, and a huge coronal spike extended way off to the upper right from that area. Two coronal holes showed near the top.
Unfortunately we weren't looking for third contact shadow bands as one of our group's daypacks had been stolen right at second contact by one of the students. He took off into the bush with his loot, which included airline tickets and passports. Just after totality ended I managed to find the Headmaster and in minutes the alarm was raised and what seemed to be most of the student body dispersed into the woods after the miscreant. The sound of the school bell and the yelling may have panicked the thief into abandoning the pack, because it was found some distance from the schoolyard and returned in a triumphant procession like a newly killed warthog. The Headmaster expressed 'disappointment' that this had occurred and implied that he had a very short list of suspects to interrogate later. I offered Ron and Elaine some immodium, but they laughed and said they didn't need it anymore since the bag had been found. Before we left there was a show put on by some of the students, singing unaccompanied and dancing. Then it was on the bus again for hours of driving back to Lusaka.
We had a supper party at the hotel and there met with Lori Wagner and Tim Mullings, who had been on our India eclipse trip in 1995, and had come north through South Africa to see the eclipse from Lusaka. They had been at the airport, and watched as about a dozen 747's flew in, parked, and disgorged their passengers onto the tarmac for a few hours before gobbling them up and flying off again. Most were from South Africa. Lori related how people had roped-off a 'technical area' and restricted access to it, but that the main criterion for access seemed to be skin colour, and not equipment or expertise. They had been staying at a religious retreat in Lusaka, and so they decided to go into the 'technical area' but bring several of the nuns with them. The security guard balked at letting the nuns in (they weren't white) but Lori was so insistent that he finally gave in and let them through. Lori said the nuns were very cute sitting in their habits staring up at the sky with their eclipse viewers on. Unfortunately we had to get up at 04:00 the next morning for our 06:45 flight to Mfue, so we didn't really do much post-eclipse partying.
Mfue is the airport nearest the South Luangwa National Park, along the Luangwa river. Here we boarded open landrovers that had extra bench seats bolted across the back, and before even going to our quarters we headed off into the park for a game drive. This didn't mean we were driving the game anywhere, we just driving around looking at the game. We had been warned to be very quiet and not move too much in the vicinity of potentially dangerous animals. I was lucky enough to be in the first truck to run into some lions. The young guy behind me leaped up and yelled 'Look... lions on the road'... we all went 'sshhh' and he then repeated 'But there's lions on the road!' in excited tones. I was almost ready to tell him 'Shut up or I'll fling YOU to the lions so they won't try to eat ME'. The driver-guide stopped the vehicle and turned around whispering urgently that we shouldn't make any sudden moves or talk. There were three lionesses so close that I had to zoom out to wide angle to get a whole lion in the field. They lazily got up off the road and wandered off as our truck slowly drove by. Apparently the lions, and indeed most of the other animals, see the trucks as a single unit, and don't recognize that the people inside are separate critters. The whole, one supposes, looks to them like some sort of deformed and flatulent elephant... not prey but not really a threat either. A person who gets out, though, makes a different appearance entirely, and one could well suspect that someone standing up in the truck and shouting might be re-evaluated by the lions in terms of the food chain. I joked a bit with some of the Jewish eclipse chasers with us that maybe the lions were Jewish too and we weren't Kosher enough for them... or perhaps they were Muslim lions and we weren't up to Hillal standards either.
We split the group up because none of the lodges had the space for 43 people at a time. I was with the group going to the Wildlife Camp first, and Kafunte Lodge later. The Wildlife Camp was the more rustic of the two, especially after the main transformer exploded and there was even less electricity. With the path and yard lights on one had to be careful making the run from the cabin to the washroom at night, without them it was notably more exciting. Hippos, elephants, warthogs and even lions are known to wander through the camp on their way to and from the river. Each trip had to be preceded by a careful look round with a flashlight to make sure nothing was out there. Don had thought to set up his six inch travel scope to show off the Southern Sky on a nice bit of flood plain right in front of the bar, but Herman (the boss man at the camp) showed us where some lions had made a night kill a few weeks previously in front of one of the cabins, and pointed out that hippos (territorial and very easily irritated hippos) grazed in those areas. So we made do with a spot on the low wall at the front of the bar and just put up with the overhanging trees. In the southern hemisphere we can look into the heart of our Milky Way galaxy, whereas in the north we can only see the 'outer suburbs' as it were. The views are therefore spectacular, and even without an eclipse to chase, every lover of the night sky should cross the equator at least once in their lives.
The food at the Wildlife Camp was basic but good, and mostly barbecued; especially once the power was lost. No diet cola could be had anywhere near South Luangwa, so my bottle of Lemon Hart rum acquired at the Calgary Duty Free went almost untasted. Hippos and crocodiles littered the riverbanks in front of the lodge area. The male hippos are really quite cute. They mark their territory by spraying dung on the riverbank. As they defecate their tails thrash furiously back and forth, whacking slices off the emerging turd and flinging them several metres on either side of their expansive butt. Just like hitting a fan...
There were game drives in the morning and in the evening every day, but I only went on two daytime drives and one night drive during my whole stay there, as I was still tired and was trying to find the time to assemble the video for presentation at the General Assembly on the way home. Being a guide is a prestigious job, and they have to take courses and pass tests to be able to work. They start out being the guy that holds the spotlight on night drives or the gun on walking tours, and then can advance to being drivers, and finally if they are good enough they can become walking guides. The walking guides have to have a very good understanding of animal behaviour, since there is no vehicle to protect the people. The assistants carried .458 calibre rifles, with impressively large cartridges. If the gun ever has to be used in earnest you want it to have an immediate and noticeable effect on whatever you're shooting.
All sorts of other beasties abound. One morning I found a large but torpid centipede on the steps of our cabin. I started to take a video of it and got Don to put his hand in the field for scale. As the wee beastie started to move a bit more actively the thought occurred to me that centipedes are predators, and that most of them have venom to help subdue their prey. 'I think these things might bite' I said to Don, upon which he quickly removed his hand. After I later described the creature to Herman he assured us that in a list of the most painful bites and stings (where hornets didn't make the top 50) this particular centipede was number two. Don was very impressed.
At Kafunte Lodge the managers had given up their house for four of us, since there was a shortage of space. The house and the other cabins also had ensuite washrooms, which alleviated the necessity of sneaking out in the dark of night with flashlights looking out for wandering animals. The food and meals here were very elegant and there was even a small swimming pool by the bar. Game drives from this camp went across the river into the park on a hand-hauled ferry just big enough for one of the little trucks. The cables that run across the river for the ferry have to be taken down before and then remounted after the rainy season, since the river in flood is three or four times wider than during the rest of the year. The flood plain in front of the lodge was larger than it had been at the Wildlife Camp, and we could see impalas, puku antelopes, the usual hippos and crocs, as well as baboons and the occasional zebra or buffalo. At night the elephants would wander through the camp tearing up vegetation, and of course the hippos passed through on their way between the river and their grazing areas. In the camps themselves little lizards and squirrels scampered around, and of course geckos and tree frogs inhabited the thatched roofs.
We drove by bus across Cecil Rhodes' 1905 bridge between the Zambian and Zimbabwean customs stations. There on the side of the bridge was attached a large platform and what appeared to be bungee jumping going on over the gorge of the Zambezi river just downstream from the falls. The falls themselves are called 'smoke that thunders' in the local language, and can be seen for miles by the mist that is thrown up. The consensus seems to be that the best way to see the falls is by ultralight... essentially an oversize hang-glider with a motor. The helicopter is probably a bit safer, but the view isn't as good. You can hike up to various lookout points near the falls, but with all the spray it's hard to see much. Worse, whenever the wind shifts in your direction a deluge of water cascades over you. The effect is so strong that there are zones of tropical rainforest adjacent to the falls, with plants and animals not seen elsewhere within thousands of kilometres.
The Sprayview hotel was relatively modern, with a nice swimming pool and extensive bar and restaurant facilities. And diet cola was available, so I could start in on my rum supply. We had by this time lost the use of my camcorder completely (due to contamination on the tape heads), and both Don's and Andre Sirois' cameras had shown suspicious signs of incipient trouble. As a result the second half of the video for the General Assembly presentation was done with very minimal editing, but at least I managed to get an acceptable version that I felt I could present. So now I had time to relax, and I signed up for a bungee jump.
The bridge deck is 126 metres above the rainy season high water mark, but now, part way through the dry season, it was probably closer to 140 metres. I paid my US$90 and they wrote on my wrist my weight (110 Kg) and sequence number, and then I stood around 'on African time' waiting for my turn. None of the other people waiting around were less than 20 years younger than I, and many of them showed visible signs of being under the influence of some sort of drugs. I had a good opportunity to watch the operation while waiting. They first strap you into a full body harness, with a safety tether that is separately attached to the bungee cable from the ankle harness. You don't get to step onto the platform, through the little door, under the bridge handrail, until your tether is safely clipped to the platform safety line. 'My name is Vanilla' says the operator, 'Welcome to my office'. Vanilla then describes how the harness works, and tells you to keep your arms spread out and your eyes on the horizon. This is because if you look down as you jump, your body will tend to go where your head is pointing and you will roll forward. This is not a bad thing until you come to the end of the bungee, upon which you unroll very rapidly... which can be hard on your back and neck. A nice swan dive whereby your body is just coming to the vertical as the bungee starts to pull on your ankles is the desired thing. Don, Kirby, and Greg were going to videotape me, and of course I gave all my pockets' contents and glasses to Don beforehand. It's a long way down. As I dropped, concentrating on stable body posture, I was thinking to myself 'The technology is good', 'those other guys came back', 'the technology is good'. As the bungee started to pull on my legs I thought 'YES... the technology IS good!'. The second drop was almost as much fun as the first one, but then the ups and downs became smaller and smaller until the guy in the winched harness came down to pull me back to the bridge. I do remember looking up and seeing the first quarter moon on the opposite side of the bridge on the first rebound.
There was a floorshow of dancers in costume. The athletic young men in some of the dances were dressed as warriors, with cowhide shields and clubs, and I couldn't help but envision them running down the fleeing survivors of the 24th Regiment of Foot after the battle of Isandhlwana on January 22, 1879. The British army lost over 1200 men that day due to seriously underestimating native fighting capabilities. The dances were an even more impressive spectacle with this great victory of Cetswayo's in mind.
Back to Harare via Air Zimbabwe we went, to the Bronte hotel. This place dates from the glory years for sure. It had a huge courtyard with enormous tropical trees at least 50 years old. There were little sitting rooms or smoking lounges along the courtyard, and I could imagine staid British gentlemen in pith helmets calmly sipping their gin and tonic in the heat. In Harare I was at last able to get an 8mm head cleaning cartridge, and got my camcorder working again. We also ran the cartridge through Don's, Kirby's and Andre's machines. We had another group dinner party, and I tried on two occasions to order a rum with diet cola. The first time I got, I think, lemon gin, and the second time something called cane. After that I went back to my room and filled my Lariam pill container with 'vitamin R' from my own rum bottle. The staff could manage to bring me diet cola successfully, and I just mixed my own.
Something went amiss in Toronto with the luggage system, for it was almost two hours before the first of our bags started to appear on the carousel. I missed my flight to London (Ontario), but happily they have them one an hour or so all afternoon, so I was able to get another flight OK. A quick cab ride to Fanshawe College followed, and I arrived at the banquet just as people were lining up for the buffet. Calgary delegates Dennis, Shirley, and Susan had already registered me and gotten my room key, so after the banquet I could haul all my gear to the room and collapse on the bed for a bit. Not too long, however, for I had to check out the conference room facilities to make sure that I would be able to display my eclipse video. Also, there was a 'hospitality suite' reserved by the London Centre for late night partying. It was a set of rooms intended for wheelchair accessibility, and so was somewhat larger than the normal suites. With my internal clock set to African time I was ready to party quite late, until general exhaustion overtook me. The next day, Sunday, I slept much of the afternoon, but roused myself in time to hear the last of the presentation preceding the eclipse workshop. This was a fellow from the Sudbury Neutron Observatory, who basically said that they had solved the solar neutrino problem.
The tape went over very well, though since we had copied it to VHS and then projected it a lot of detail and colour had been lost. We had a brief discussion afterwards. Then the National Council meeting ended and the councilors who had missed the video wanted to see the tape again. They got to see a better version even on the little LCD screen on Don's 8mm VCR. Doug George commented as the 'Dawn in Africa' sequence began "You missed a good chance for a gag here..." and then as the first horn strains of 'Also Sprach Zarathustra' (the theme music for '2001 a Space Odyssey') were heard continued with "...no you didn't".
Another evening of debauchery in the hospitality suite followed. The bar has been raised by the London Centre, and future GA's will have a time to match the party performance of London 2001.
On Monday Mark Kaye gave me a lift to Hamilton Airport, and since I was quite early for the flight (having expected to have to take Greyhound) I was able to tour the Canadian Warplane Museum just beside the airport. To as great an extent possible the planes are restored here in flyable condition, and flown from time to time to make sure. Unsurprisingly the flight back to Calgary was uneventful, but since there was work in-house at the office I couldn't take a few more days off to recover from jet lag.