More Flatdogs Fun, Mfuwe Market

More Flatdogs Fun, Mfuwe Market



Our adventure continues as we have fun here at Flatdogs. We have been able to keep ourselves in provisions by checking at reception to find out if they are making a shopping run to the village of Mfwue. They will let you ride along and do your shopping which is quite nice. There is an area with several vegetable stands selling what is fresh at the moment. We have been able to find delicious tomatoes, onions, garlic, carrots, cabbage, green bell pepper, green beans, large pumpkin squash, potatoes and eggplant. They also sell different kinds of beans which we did cook up a big pot of that were quite delicious.

There are other markets where you can find a few canned meats, and canned baked beans. There is a frozen meat store where we have found chicken thighs(which are really some thigh and back), chicken legs(which are leg and thigh), tilapia, steak, sausage, ground meat (called mince) and ribs. They have been out of chicken breasts since we have been here. The distance the refrigerated truck has to come to reach this village, I am glad to see what they have. At this store they also sell apples. Occasionally, they have cheese here also.

There are several places that sell eggs, and there is a bread stand with two types of fresh baked bread that is delicious toasted! We have also tried out some of the peri peri sauce which is very spicy, and Robert found two different kinds of chutney to season things. He also found rice, milk, and cooking oil so we are able to come up with some varied meals.

Just being inside the Flatdogs perimeter, you see quite a few different animals. Robert did get to see a giraffe out on the road from Flatdogs when he went into town with Johan to pick up some supplies. When he rode in with Mike, they went and visited with the people that sell solar cookers there in the village. They say you can even cook beans with them! We had some varied adventures with the elephants in the campground and Robert was tracking the elephants that had come up near our tent and saw some puka out near one of the Flatdog tents. Of course we are constantly entertained by the hippos in the background and carrying on down in the river.

There is always an interesting group at the bar. We spent a great deal of time visiting with Johan and Nancy about their life and experiences in Afghanistan. We also met two English girls, Charlie and Becks that had been doing a medical internship in a remote village in Zambia that had some interesting experiences to share. There is a room with a wide screen TV that draws the sports fans to watch various events. Whether you know what team is playing you can always join in the fun!

We also have met a couple that have been Baptist missionaries in Zambia for 20 years and their daughter and her husband. Small world, Mike grew up in Lake Jackson, and when Lindy was young her father was a minister at a church near Llano! There son in law is working for the National Fish and Wildlife Service and is in charge of the manatee research at one of the national parks in Florida.

They invited us over to their campsite one evening for peach cobbler cooked in a Dutch oven over the coals in the fire! They asked us if we had any Bluebell ice cream to go along. The next day they were out on a self-drive safari and the baboons managed to break into their locked cooler and when they arrived back at their campsite, the baboons were sitting at their table eating the peach cobbler. Some of the items that were in the cooler had thawed, they didn't want to take with them and so gave us some of these. Imagine our surprise and delight at finding in one of the containers the making for a frito pie. Comfort food at its best!