Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls is located at Southern Zambia, where it meets Zimbabwe. The falls flow from the Zambezi River. As we drove up to where the entrance is, many outside market vendors were selling their goods - hand made baskets, jewelry, wooden carved animals, art work, etc ... a nice variety of souvenirs. These outside markets are known for where one barters for what they want, at the price you want! Every seller wants you to come in and look at their goods, and most of them are quite bold in urging you to come and look AND touch! We were told that they often start at a price that is twice of what you can get it for, so when they give you a price, you start talking them down! Some of our crew even bartered with what they were wearing. Both Brent and Mindy "lost" their jackets to finalize a good deal, and I will let Matthew tell you one of these days about his experience of "losing" the shirt off his back! These sellers really don't want to lose the business, so often when you say that you will just look around and check out the other prices, they come down to your price, so they won't lose the sale. We also found out some "American" things that they really like, to help out in the bartering....our pens, hair clips, pony tail holders, and the wrist bands (like the cute ones so many of us had for little Livi). This bartering stuff is not for everyone, but most of us got fairly good at bartering for a good deal! When we talked to some of the guys, we found out that some buyers even give up the shoes on their feet and walk out barefoot, to seal a good deal. None of us were that radical; we kept our shoes on!
Close to these outside markets is also a curio shop, but there's no bartering in there - the price marked is what you pay. So Mother spent most of her time in there. She doesn't enjoy the bartering anymore! I think we all enjoyed when Given was with us; he seemed to know what a fair price was, and he helped us get some good deals! I'm sure many of them look at us Americans and think, "Here comes someone we can talk into buying something!"

Upon entering the falls, the first sight is amazing - the falls are 2 KM in length and 103 meters deep!! I have never in my life seen so much water falling in one place! Since the rainy season ended a few months ago, there was a good deal of water. We are told that just before the rainy season, there might not be much water, and one can see the entire way down to the bottom! When Ken comes, we will go again, and it will be interesting to see the difference; there will definitely be less water. This time, there was a lot of mist, but we could still see a lot of the falls. During the rainy season, we hear that it can be all mist, and no one leaves dry!

There is a big bridge that crosses over the Zambezi River to Zimbabwe, but we stayed in Zambia. As we walked through the path to look at the falls, we got closer and closer to a foot bridge that crosses over the river, where some brave souls go white water rafting (at least in some of the seasons, but I don't think during the rainy sesaon!) The closer you get to this bridge, the greater the mist. We turned around as we were getting closer to the bridge, since we didn't come prepared to get wet. (However I heard later on that they sell raincoats for 1000 Kwacha, which is only 25 cents, so if I had known, I would have gotten one!) Anyway, we walked up toward the top of the falls and we saw beautiful rainbows ... some double ones as well. While we were up there, Matt looked down to where the foot bridge was and I could see the longing in his eyes ... like any 15 year old boy would have! It didn't take long for him to ask me if he could go across. He always wears layers, so it came in handy this time! And he was quite prepared ... to my surprise, under his long pants, he was wearing his swim trunks! So I thought a little about it, and even though Nana wasn't in favor, I knew that if his Dad were here, Matthew would be going across, so I made sure Pop-pop was fine with it, and gave him my ok to go. I was going to walk with him, as close to the bridge as I could get without getting
soaked, and would let him walk across it by himself. It was safe, but it WAS wet, so I made sure he knew the importance of being careful. He was delighted! Then just as he was getting ready to head down, Brent offered to go instead of me - that was so kind of him! He didn't mind getting wet, so he went further than I would have! We were pretty far away, but as long as the mist didn't cloud our view, we knew we would be able to see him. As he was getting close to the bridge, a lot of mist clouded our view, but just as he got on the bridge, it lifted, so we all had fun watching Matt cross the bridge, waving his hands at us after every few steps! It made Matt's day! Both Mindy and Doug had great zooms on their cameras, so they got some excellent pics. Hopefully, Sarah will post some pictures of it after she
gets some from Mindy. (Thanks Mindy!) It was another day of marveling at our Glorious Creator!

There is so much in my heart to share, but that's all for now. So many
needs, so many people to help, so many things to think about.

Thanks for your prayers.

Leza Amulongezye - Beth