Out of Congo

As soon as I got on the airplane, I knew I was on vacation. The flight attendants were speaking English. When I landed in Johannesburg, South Africa, I felt like I had landed on another planet. Everything I encountered seemed to be a refreshing change.

Victoria Falls is situated between the two countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe. There is no way to describe the beauty and the power of the falls. It is one place where the word "awesome" fits. Photos are pretty skimpy on telling the whole story. One needs to hear the roaring sound of a gazillion gallons of water per second crashing hundreds of feet below and feel the sensation of being soaked to the skin by the spray. If you haven't been there yet, I hope you can go someday. I don't think it will run out of water any time soon.

On the world famous bridge that spans the two countries over the Zambezi River, we witnessed bungi jumpers throwing themselves out to fall over 300 feet actually going head first into the rushing water below. It was terrorizing just to watch from a safe distance. For those less (!) courageous, there's a zip line stretching across the gorge. No, I didn't even ask how much it would cost. Cheaper than a casket?

Friend Carole and I spent our first three nights at the Victoria Falls Hotel, a stately and elegant resort that has hosted the Queen of England and who knows who else. Our meals were included and we made sure we got our money's worth. Ostrich kabobs was one of our favorites; crocodile, pretty tasty; the cappuccino mousse, yummy; and the apple pudding hard to beat. Choices for breakfast included rich croissants or warm baking-powder biscuits. Guava turned up in many forms. Litchi fruit and fresh pineapple were regulars.

On our first afternoon there, we set sail on a sunset cruise. Much to our surprise, we encountered, among other animals in the wild, an overweight white male who chose to go "sans habilles." I'm saving that photo for an adult-only audience.

We took advantage of the luxurious pool, afternoon high tea and great wine. During dinner, traditional singers and dancers performed under the full moon. The temperature was ideal for being outdoors all day and night. No, I didn't get one mosquito bite. After the third night, we were chauffeured to Botswana, about two hours away, where we enjoyed a jeep safari in the late morning and a sunset cruise on the Chobe River. We saw a great variety of water fowl, monkeys and baboon galore, more elephants than people, tons of hippo, impala, kudu, water buffalo, crocodile, a couple of giraffe and one zebra. The cats were not visible due to the long grasses. FYI, Botswana is the size of Texas with a population of about 2.2 million.

We returned the next day to the Kingdom Hotel in Victoria Falls. We made fast work of spending some money on some of the local crafts, then headed back to Johannesburg where we spent an additional overnight and the next thing I knew I was back in Ndjili, the Kinshasa airport. Welcome back to the jungle.

Thanks so much for giving me the chance to share this fantastic experience with you.