zimbabwe - victoria falls

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today was the falls. first we did a guided tour of the Zambia side of the falls. wow, I thought the falls would be more like niagra falls in the USA, but then I knew from the flight they were not. the land on the other side of the falls is much closer. we had to wear ponchos for part of the time because of the mist. our lodge had cool ponchos, I pointed out to Shelly the lower class lodges. they had something more like a plastic bag. Yes, I have pictures.

so then we knew we had to go to the Zimbabwe side. our guide took us to the border. $30 and we got our zimbabwe visa. the we walked the bridge and the long walk to that side of the falls. Another $30 later (park entrace fee) and we were inside. ON the zambia side you could see more of the falls but on the zimbabwe side we could get much closer. it was great. I'm glad we paid the extra money. My back did start to really hurt so I opted out of the end. Shelly said I didn't miss much. (I hate getting old). after sitting a bit, I felt better and then we walked to look at the gorge and them back thru the border contols. Shelly bargined for a taxi to take us back to our lodge. we nap'd for short bit and then took a short swim to cool down. The heat here is tough. it's in the high 90's and very humid. (sorry CB folks we've seen you have been below 32 some in the evenings). shortly we will have dinner and the bottle of wine we bought in South Africa (very good) and brought here. We invited the manager of the lodge to share a glass.

the staff here is local and they like us because we talk with them. I guess this high in lodge many folks treat them not so well. I've enjoyed learning about them. Chris (or current butler) will get my old tennis shoes (i had planned to ditch) if his wife can't wear them, he will trade them. He wants to be a pharmistist and is trying to raise money for his school. he wants a better life for his kids. He loved my stories of his village and was so happy I loved visiting it yesterday.

ok, all for now. tomorrow, we ride elephants and do the jet boats on the river.



love you all



Claire and Shelly



ps. I'm really starting to hate the bugs. I have lots of bites. None itch but you can see them. Thanks for the malaria meds. We're taking them religiously.

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Photos

rainbow
from the zambia side

another rainbow
wqe have lots of picture

idiots
ifdiots on the rocks. one slip and it KILLS your day - your life. Zambia side.

border
the bridge is the border. this also show the gorge.