Upon our arrival in Shiwang’andu, I was amazed by how empty the streets were. Having been “created” 3 years ago, this was still a growing town that had a lot to offer. Known for their lake, hot springs, and crocodiles (andu), Shiwang’andu is an incredible place to simply relax, enjoy the pace, and my favorite part, looking up into the night sky. And on this particular night, as we stood outside the lodge, we were in the middle of a syzygy—when three celestial bodies align (probably not what you originally thought, huh?). We saw Venus to our east and Mars rising directly to our west; not to mention Jupiter directly above us. Although in the technical sense, these planets were not fully aligned, it felt as if they were. But what really stood out to me that first night were the stars. Everyone always talks about how amazing it is to stargaze and be able to see constellations, but very few people will have ever experienced something quite like this. Even though I’ve been camping all over the United States and been to places with minimal light pollution, this was so…different. Maybe it’s because I’m in the southern hemisphere or it was unexpected, but with no lights shining, the town was completely dark (save one or two lights in front of a store) and as we stepped out to get water bottles from a general store, I was blown away by how clear the sky was.
There it was, a clear 360-degree view of all night sky and though I still cannot comprehend the wave of awe and emotions, I remember that I just stopped walking and stood there, my neck craned back and my breathing slowed. There was the milky way, and Sagittarius shooting at Scorpio. Libra had Jupiter in its midst, while Leo pawed at Venus. Capricorn held onto Mars while Saturn stabilized Sagittarius. But even before I learned about these constellations, I just watched the night sky, imagining that each of these stars had travelled light years to reach my eyes. Each one existed somewhere far beyond me. Beyond the course of humanity. Yet, this was not a moment in which I felt small or overpowered by nature. Rather, I appreciated the fact that only in Zambia had I been able to experience this. Yes, they do burn their trash without proper incinerators and they do have no catalytic converters on their cars and they do use fossil fuels for a portion of their electricity, but nowhere else has the sky been so clear that I can witness this sight. Nowhere else (besides Kentucky for now), can I see a lunar rainbow because the moonlight is able to pierce the air and shine onto a waterfall’s mist. While we may give crap to developing countries for their actions towards the environment, it’s interesting to note that at least they have not reached America’s level of pollution that the sky can still be seen. I hope it remains this way.
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