Loyal S&P Bloggers,
Our second to last blog! Insane! This installment has us in Zambia for just under a week, but what a week it was! We flew into Livingstone, in the far south, lying on the Zimbabwean border. Here is one of the two towns tourists base themselves to visit the majestic Victoria Falls. The other town is actually called Victoria Falls, on the Zimbabwean side, but since Robert Mugabe took over, tourism in that country has dropped off a cliff, or waterfall in this instance. Anyway, we had other business in Zambia and so it made sense to fly into Livingstone instead of Vic Falls to avoid paying additional visa fees. We'll get to that.
We didn't waste any time and immediately made our way to the falls. They are truly a spectacle! They are certainly one of most impressive sites we've ever seen, and can agree they are one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. We already are saying we need to come back again, mostly because of how different Vic Falls is during the late dry season. The rainy season just ended and the water volume is at its greatest now. What this meant for us was an magnificent display of raw power. The water came over at such a furious speed and immense volume that we had trouble comprehending what we were seeing. Actually, we really had trouble just seeing. The mist from the cascade was more like torrential rain. It's not like Niagara Falls where you can see it from far away and take the Maid of the Mist in close. Instead, the Zambezi River (on which the famed Dr. David Livingstone traveled while exploring the African interior) falls into a narrow but long gorge. Because of this, the only way to take in the whole thing is from a helicopter or getting up close. While we got real close, on the "knife's edge" bridge, we got real wet. On the bridge, with the incredible amounts of water and noise, it was somehow very peaceful - almost spiritual. We imagined this is a place where you could find God. Unfortunately a lot of the activities associated with Vic Falls, such as dangling your feet over the edge from Livingstone Island, were closed. The sheer amount of water flowing over the falls made many of the activities simply too dangerous. It was impossible to see the whole falls, hence our desire to come again when the falls are more of a "trickle". Still, we feel lucky to have seen it in its full glory. We are spoiled rotten - we are thankful we were able to see it at all in our lifetime, much less talking about coming back again in the dry season!
After a full day at the falls we walked to the Royal Livingstone Hotel, what has to be one of the most gorgeous properties in the world. Occupying a beautiful stretch of land on the right bank of the Zambezi, you could hear and see the spray of the falls only two thousand feet downriver. They have the most perfect deck built literally over the river where we enjoyed a vodka gimlet and a perfect sunset. A very romantic place. A place that would be perfect for a wedding. All your guests would have to put down (besides the flights) is a cool nine hundred dollars a night! Still, though, anyone reading this who has the means should definitely check out the Royal Livingstone - a true gem.
Since all of the other activities we were planning on doing were closed, we just laid low at our hostel and enjoyed their nice pool - a pleasant surprise since the room was only ten dollars. It was only for a day, however, as the next morning we caught a bus north to Choma for a night. Here we found a decent hotel and got to bed early for our once-in-a-lifetime (yet another) experience the following day. Lameck, a program officer for the World Bicycle Relief (WBR), picked us up at eight in the morning. The WBR is the organization Cecelia raised twenty thousand dollars for during her and Casey's cross-country bike trip this past summer. All of their hard work was realized just last month when three hundred brand new bikes (of which Cecelia and Casey were responsible for a hundred and thirty - they cost USD155 each) were delivered to Siamabbonko Basic School. The school is extremely remote, about fifty kilometers by dirt road outside Choma. Lameck drove down from the capital of Lusaka just for us, and drove us first to World Vision before going the the school. World Vision is another charity that WBR has teamed up with to track the results of the new bikes. From our time with the director there we could tell they were organized and passionate about the education of Zambia's youth. They have seen immediate payback from the bikes, they say. Some of the students attending walked over twenty kilos before the bikes were donated. Many days the pupils simply didn't go to school. Now getting there is fairly easy. The bikes, specifically built to haul a lot of cargo on difficult terrain, are specially designed from different companies - the frame is made by Giant, for example, while the handlebars, peddles, etc are made by others. They are called Buffalo Bikes by WBR, and they are a godsend for those who receive them. Other benefits of the bikes are that the family can use them on the weekends or after school to get to church or the market to sell their goods. After our visit with World Vision, Lameck explained how WBR worked as we made our way to Siamabbonka. Eighty percent of the bikes go to the students, while twenty percent go to school staff. There is a full time (and fully paid) mechanic to fix any problems that might arise in the future. In order to ensure the bikes are used correctly, WBR employs twelve "committee members" who sheriff the school and community in general. We met these guys and were impressed by the organization of it all. There is accountability, something that is severely lacking in most of what we've seen throughout Africa.
Upon entering the school area, we were already tearing up. The bikes were delivered not three weeks ago, and they were all parked together under a large tree while half the students were in class and the other half played a chaotic game of soccer. It was obvious white people rarely, if ever, visited Siamabbonka. The children were briefed somewhat about our visit, but they could not hold back there curiosity. The stares were intense but completely benign. We met the headmaster, some of the teachers, the WBR employed villagers, and finally the students. They gave us the grand tour of the school. It was primitive but very clean, one rare benefit of being in the middle of nowhere. We inspected and rode the bikes, and found them to be very comfortable - beyond their incredible usefulness. We took pictures with everyone. Finally we were able to speak with the students (through a translator - for now they mostly speak Tsonga). Everyone raved about the bikes, and they could not comprehend how Cecelia and Casey could simply give them freely just to help. They praised them and also us since we were there. We had a group hug. Pat played "sheep, sheep come over" with the kids, a Zambian form of red rover. The whole scene was very moving and emotional, and we feel beyond privileged to have been able to see it. Kudos to Cecelia and Casey - we can say with one hundred percent confidence that you both have done an amazing, life-changing thing for a hundred and thirty souls. Thank you to Lameck for taking the time to show us Siamabbonka, as well as Kristin in Lusaka for organizing it all - we will never forget this.
We left Siamabbonka in a daze and made our way back to Livingstone for a flight back to Jo'burg the following morning. As we said, we were in Zambia for less than a week, but almost every moment was memorable. From Jo'burg we spend just two more weeks abroad! We'll make our way across South Africa and end our travels in the vineyards of the Western Cape. For now we'll hold off on any feelings about ending our journey since this blog contains enough feeling already.
Until next time (the last time),
S&P
Our second to last blog! Insane! This installment has us in Zambia for just under a week, but what a week it was! We flew into Livingstone, in the far south, lying on the Zimbabwean border. Here is one of the two towns tourists base themselves to visit the majestic Victoria Falls. The other town is actually called Victoria Falls, on the Zimbabwean side, but since Robert Mugabe took over, tourism in that country has dropped off a cliff, or waterfall in this instance. Anyway, we had other business in Zambia and so it made sense to fly into Livingstone instead of Vic Falls to avoid paying additional visa fees. We'll get to that.
We didn't waste any time and immediately made our way to the falls. They are truly a spectacle! They are certainly one of most impressive sites we've ever seen, and can agree they are one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. We already are saying we need to come back again, mostly because of how different Vic Falls is during the late dry season. The rainy season just ended and the water volume is at its greatest now. What this meant for us was an magnificent display of raw power. The water came over at such a furious speed and immense volume that we had trouble comprehending what we were seeing. Actually, we really had trouble just seeing. The mist from the cascade was more like torrential rain. It's not like Niagara Falls where you can see it from far away and take the Maid of the Mist in close. Instead, the Zambezi River (on which the famed Dr. David Livingstone traveled while exploring the African interior) falls into a narrow but long gorge. Because of this, the only way to take in the whole thing is from a helicopter or getting up close. While we got real close, on the "knife's edge" bridge, we got real wet. On the bridge, with the incredible amounts of water and noise, it was somehow very peaceful - almost spiritual. We imagined this is a place where you could find God. Unfortunately a lot of the activities associated with Vic Falls, such as dangling your feet over the edge from Livingstone Island, were closed. The sheer amount of water flowing over the falls made many of the activities simply too dangerous. It was impossible to see the whole falls, hence our desire to come again when the falls are more of a "trickle". Still, we feel lucky to have seen it in its full glory. We are spoiled rotten - we are thankful we were able to see it at all in our lifetime, much less talking about coming back again in the dry season!
After a full day at the falls we walked to the Royal Livingstone Hotel, what has to be one of the most gorgeous properties in the world. Occupying a beautiful stretch of land on the right bank of the Zambezi, you could hear and see the spray of the falls only two thousand feet downriver. They have the most perfect deck built literally over the river where we enjoyed a vodka gimlet and a perfect sunset. A very romantic place. A place that would be perfect for a wedding. All your guests would have to put down (besides the flights) is a cool nine hundred dollars a night! Still, though, anyone reading this who has the means should definitely check out the Royal Livingstone - a true gem.
Since all of the other activities we were planning on doing were closed, we just laid low at our hostel and enjoyed their nice pool - a pleasant surprise since the room was only ten dollars. It was only for a day, however, as the next morning we caught a bus north to Choma for a night. Here we found a decent hotel and got to bed early for our once-in-a-lifetime (yet another) experience the following day. Lameck, a program officer for the World Bicycle Relief (WBR), picked us up at eight in the morning. The WBR is the organization Cecelia raised twenty thousand dollars for during her and Casey's cross-country bike trip this past summer. All of their hard work was realized just last month when three hundred brand new bikes (of which Cecelia and Casey were responsible for a hundred and thirty - they cost USD155 each) were delivered to Siamabbonko Basic School. The school is extremely remote, about fifty kilometers by dirt road outside Choma. Lameck drove down from the capital of Lusaka just for us, and drove us first to World Vision before going the the school. World Vision is another charity that WBR has teamed up with to track the results of the new bikes. From our time with the director there we could tell they were organized and passionate about the education of Zambia's youth. They have seen immediate payback from the bikes, they say. Some of the students attending walked over twenty kilos before the bikes were donated. Many days the pupils simply didn't go to school. Now getting there is fairly easy. The bikes, specifically built to haul a lot of cargo on difficult terrain, are specially designed from different companies - the frame is made by Giant, for example, while the handlebars, peddles, etc are made by others. They are called Buffalo Bikes by WBR, and they are a godsend for those who receive them. Other benefits of the bikes are that the family can use them on the weekends or after school to get to church or the market to sell their goods. After our visit with World Vision, Lameck explained how WBR worked as we made our way to Siamabbonka. Eighty percent of the bikes go to the students, while twenty percent go to school staff. There is a full time (and fully paid) mechanic to fix any problems that might arise in the future. In order to ensure the bikes are used correctly, WBR employs twelve "committee members" who sheriff the school and community in general. We met these guys and were impressed by the organization of it all. There is accountability, something that is severely lacking in most of what we've seen throughout Africa.
Upon entering the school area, we were already tearing up. The bikes were delivered not three weeks ago, and they were all parked together under a large tree while half the students were in class and the other half played a chaotic game of soccer. It was obvious white people rarely, if ever, visited Siamabbonka. The children were briefed somewhat about our visit, but they could not hold back there curiosity. The stares were intense but completely benign. We met the headmaster, some of the teachers, the WBR employed villagers, and finally the students. They gave us the grand tour of the school. It was primitive but very clean, one rare benefit of being in the middle of nowhere. We inspected and rode the bikes, and found them to be very comfortable - beyond their incredible usefulness. We took pictures with everyone. Finally we were able to speak with the students (through a translator - for now they mostly speak Tsonga). Everyone raved about the bikes, and they could not comprehend how Cecelia and Casey could simply give them freely just to help. They praised them and also us since we were there. We had a group hug. Pat played "sheep, sheep come over" with the kids, a Zambian form of red rover. The whole scene was very moving and emotional, and we feel beyond privileged to have been able to see it. Kudos to Cecelia and Casey - we can say with one hundred percent confidence that you both have done an amazing, life-changing thing for a hundred and thirty souls. Thank you to Lameck for taking the time to show us Siamabbonka, as well as Kristin in Lusaka for organizing it all - we will never forget this.
We left Siamabbonka in a daze and made our way back to Livingstone for a flight back to Jo'burg the following morning. As we said, we were in Zambia for less than a week, but almost every moment was memorable. From Jo'burg we spend just two more weeks abroad! We'll make our way across South Africa and end our travels in the vineyards of the Western Cape. For now we'll hold off on any feelings about ending our journey since this blog contains enough feeling already.
Until next time (the last time),
S&P
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