VICTORIA FALLS SUNRISE AND DEPARTURE

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Although we had a brutal travel schedule in front of us, we could not resist a 5:30 AM wake up call to visit the falls one last time, to view the sun rising behind the Devil's Cataract.

Quickly washing our faces, brushing our teeth, and putting on the clothes we had laid out the night before, at 6 AM we boarded the van that would take us back to the entrance of the park, quiet and deserted this time around, although the small market across the street was beginning to stir with the vendors beginning to set up their stalls.

We were the only ones there for this viewing and, thankfully, although we once again donned the heavy raincoats, the wind was calm and the spray was not as strong and furious as the day before.

We were taken to Point 4, a lookout across from the Devi's Cataract, the best outlook to see the rising sun, and we waited bleary eyed and shivering.

Little by little the intense red of the predawn sky began to disappear, and little by little the outlines of the falls started to become visible.

It was beautiful. Enough so that the subconscious thoughts that I should have stayed in bed longer on the only morning that we didn't have a wake up call completely disappeared. I may never be back. I'm glad I made the effort.

Soon we took the trail back out of the park and headed back to the hotel for breakfast and to get ready for departure but, on the way, our driver made a detour to show us an over 1,000 year old Baobab tree, the so named tree of life, in the area in all its early morning glory. There too there were already peddlers by the side of the road, with their many sculptures of wares.

We even caught sight of one last elephant on the way, noisily having his breakfast of broken branches from a small tree.

It was sad to leave Southern Africa.

One more hardy breakfast, a few last smiles at the mischievous monkeys in their daily morning harassment of the restaurant staff, and soon we climbed the van to take us to the border crossing to Zambia, another van to the Livingston Airport, then the flight to Johannesburg, the first leg of our long itinerary back home.

We had another 11 hour flight from Johannesburg to London, an almost 7 hour flight from London to New York, and finally one last flight home. Over 33 hours total including layovers, which were way too long.

I'm hoping that for my next trip, the airlines will have gotten their act together. The constant itinerary changes and cancellations, the long layovers in some cases, and almost missing a connection in others, marred what should have been a perfect vacation.

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Photos

Hotel
Early morning departure

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[Monica J Fina]

Que belleza Matty