Victoria Falls

Susie and I opted out of all the optional excursions.  Iva, Phil, Kay, Fred, Linda, and Colleen went on the Elephant Back Safari. Noreen, Mindy, and Steve Zip Lined and did the hand over hand Bridge Tour.  Colleen and Bonnie toured by Helicopter.  Everyone picked a fabulous opportunity.  Susie and did not set an alarm clock.  Oh heavenly day!  We were up before 7:00 anyway!

We wandered slowly down to the breakfast buffet by the pool side and enjoyed omelets, fruits, rolls and hot chocolate or tea.  We checked e-mail and news and at nine headed for the hot, dusty walk to ‘Town.’  We first made our way to the famed Victoria Falls Hotel.  Classic British Colonial but quite different from Raffles in Singapore.  It was built as a railroad hotel in 1812.  The whitewash glistened and the broad veranda captured the breeze for those contentedly rocking in wicker chairs.  The twin winding staircases passed before massive tall white walls adorned with hunting trophies of the “Big Five” and others like impressive Impala horns of an approximately ten year old animal.  Hunting of these gifts of nature is no longer permitted in many countries and when allowed on private reserves carries a costly price tag.  Hunting without permit incurs an even steeper price tag in the way of a fine or, in some cases, death.  The poaching laws are zero tolerance and a shoot first ask questions later mandate.

Passing into the main reception area we let the desk clerk know that we were just going to view the gardens and walk through the public rooms.  The elegant but comfortable large overstuffed furniture was very tempting for us to have a rest.  Everything was very posh and gentleman’s club in style.  But the wide double doors were flung open to the warm sun and the broad lawn beckoned to us.  We walked across it to the edge where the view of the historic bridge and the falls spray became a classic picture.

To one side was a cobbled walk towards a lovely outdoor restaurant framed by elegant shutters like you have seen in African movies before.  Beyond that was a pristine swimming pool edged by broad lounge chairs and flowing white curtains that offered privacy to massage tables.  To the back was a white cushioned lounge.  Going further we entered the gallery of ebony stone sculptures.  

Here we stopped to chat with Julie and Ron whom we had met at the entrance.  They were traveling from Australia and were just stating their trip.  We exchanged e-addresses and we will see what we will see.

Knowing that our time was limited we reluctantly left the elegant and historic grounds and made our way to the open curio market.  Here friendly vendors introduced themselves and then hustled you to visit their ‘shop.’  These shops were no more than a piece of cardboard or paper spread on the ground or in the shelter of the open market building.   Cleverly carved out of various woods the tiny hippos, elephants, giraffes, and leopards were joined by bowls and trinkets of all kinds.  We probably only made it about a quarter of the way through the stalls before tiring of the gentle harassment and bargaining and returned to the hotel.

Poolside we met our friends and enjoyed our choices for lunch.  After a brief rest we set out again.  We met Fred and Linda returning for the first time after their elephant ride and being dropped off in town.  The heat and the dust, and the hill was getting even to me.  The rest and chat under the shade of the tree felt good.

We continued on our way to the Comessa Market.  Tucked a couple of blocks off Livingstone Street was a long, low ceiling, open sided building. Here every type of commerce was available.  I suspect a lot of the clothes and shoes had been donated by one philanthropic organization or another.  I guess the sales of these things would do more good for the families than the having of the items. 

Women lounged atop some of the piled up goods or even napped.  Men spoke loudly to each other of everything but of the trying to sell stuff to each other.  Children cried, whined, laughed and danced among the jumbled heaps. We couldn’t escape the chaos, smells, and close quarters fast enough.  The vegetables outside were beautiful, bright temples of fresh color – ripe red tomatoes, large oranges, deep green peppers, apples of every shade.

We walked a different direction than we had come from and passed a large supermarket.  Walking through the neat aisles demonstrated that many items were the same as we might find on our own shelves at home.  And prices were very reasonable.  We bought a two liter glass bottle of Coke with a twist off top for a dollar.

Going along the dusty roads back to the bright white Sprayview Hotel I was trudging up hill and stopped under every tree to catch my breath.  Since Susie plays tennis several times a week her stamina is much greater than mine.

We caught up, again, with friends by the pool and had about an hour before getting ready to go to dinner.  I took a hot shower and dressed in my African style pants that I had brought from home.  They are so cool and comfortable that they will be in my travel bag every trip for some time to come.

We were very lucky that the one extra tour we planned to take, which was the dinner cruise on the Zambezi above the Falls, was now an included dinner as a farewell celebration.  Not everyone is going on to Cape Town for the added extension.  Lia, Peg and Noreen will leave us when we fly out tomorrow and head for home.

The dinner cruise was a delightful conclusion to mesh all our new friendships.  Our tour bus picked up four people at the Victoria Safari Lodge.  The grandmother, mother, and a niece and nephew from Botswana joined us.  As we were having our first cocktails, a group of ten completed the entourage and we set sail in the fading light.

An Elephant waved a Bon Voyage from the shore and we admired the mile wide river lined with the lights of lodges and other boats along the shores. Lively conversation ensued and for the first time in the what seemed to be the whole trip we could have a relaxed, adult, dinner time not confined by the end of the dusty trail at the beginning and the enforced return to our separate cabins at the end.  It was a truly delightful ending of a perfect day.

After the short drive to the hotel we seemed to each want to extend the day with  a few minutes poolside checking email and saying goodbye to our new friends.