Arrived into Livingstone, Zambia Wednesday afternoon, it was a very short drive over the border, but took several hours as we had to wait for 16 visas to be filled out by hand and pasted to our passports. That evening we had a farewell dinner and said goodbye to most of the group. Only 5 of us would be continuing on to Cape Town from those who started in Joburg. Thursday was a free day, and it felt good to sleep in; I needed it after a terrible night of fighting off mosquitos. In my month of travel through Africa I had probably only been bitten 3 times, but here in Zambia I’ve gotten 10x as many; near the falls the mosquitos are really bad and the bug spray seems to do little to deter them. I spent the late morning viewing the falls on the Zambia side. Although from Zimbabwe you can see more of the falls, I found the view from Zambia was much more spectacular; you are physically closer, giving a better feel for the raw power of the water cascading down. You also get much more drenched, but it was totally worth it. I only could have wished for a waterproof camera, but I did manage to get off a couple of shots between drenchings. I remember the first time I saw Niagra Falls, I was so disappointed, its natural beauty was totally eclipsed by the Las Vegas like development surrounding it. I sincerely hope that with increases in tourism, the same doesn’t happen to Victoria Falls as it would be a tragedy. As it is now, the area in front of the falls is a National Park, so it feels natural and wild and makes the experience more authentic.
I took a taxi back into town and chated about US politics with the driver; in fact as I have been traveling through Africa, when I tell people I’m from the US, the first thing they ask is “how is Obama?”. Since his father was Kenyan, it is not surprising he is so popular here. Outside the hotel there was a local woman selling avocados the size of Ostrich eggs, so I bought one for lunch. They were so creamy and flavorful, I went back and bought 3 more and had one for dinner as well.
