We had a delicious Ethiopian dinner at my friend Lilay's place, which brought back fond memories of the six months I spent in Addis Ababa last year. A big thank you to Lilay and especially his wife Betty and his mother Netsanet for their very warm hospitality over the weekend. As I anticipated, despite our geographically distinct backgrounds we connected almost instantly over our shared experiences and in many ways remarkably similar cultures in Ethiopia and Romania. I've always been struck by the common strands running through non-Western / non-'modern' societies - for example the notion of the closely connected extended family - and this was another example of this.
With the crew size back to four, the next morning we left for the town of Livingstone, Zambia around 500km from Lusaka. Aside from a terrible stretch of road at the beginning, my parents got a great introduction to the beautiful Zambian countryside.
Livingstone, the former capital of Northerm Rhodesia until it was moved to Lusaka to be closer to the lucrative Copper Belt region in the country's northeast, is a pleasant town right next to the mighty Victoria Falls, or Mosi-oa-Tunya, 'the smoke that thunders' in local language. Indeed the place is now basically set up to cater for tourists to the Falls and is a base for a mind-bending range of activities designed to drain any visitor's wallet, from simple safaris in nearby parks and (somewhat dubious) elephant 'experiences' to ultralight flights over the falls. And, of course, bungee jumping over 100 meters from the famous colonial-era bridge over the falls connecting Zambia and Zimbabwe.
After settling in at the comfortable Zambezi Waterfront Camp, I wanted to take my parents to the splendid Royal Livingstone Hotel right above the Falls for dinner. I had already been to the hotel last year with my friends Lilay and Senay, and wanted my family to experience it. But again two of my worlds collided - the hotel was closed for a McKinsey corporate function for the week! Slightly disappointed, we went to the Avani Hotel next door and were compensated with live local music at a nice poolside restaurant.
Feeling down after missing out on the Royal Livingstone
We spent the next day taking in the incredible sight of the Falls at peak water flow, right after the wet season. I had had already visited during the dry season, when most of the rock face was dry on the Zambia side, but now it was like visiting a completely different place. The amount of water was just breathtaking, creating a mist so high that it could be seen from miles away. Because the thick curtains of water obscured the view from nearby, the best vantage point was from the bridge further down the canyon, where we could also see the bungee jumpers take the plunge.

The falls now (in wet season)...
...versus in November in dry season
Some time ago, a friend told me an amusing anecdote about bungee jumping at the Falls. Appatrently a few years ago as a girl was jumping, the bungee snapped and she plummeted into the raging rapids of the Zambezi River. Amazingly, she survived the crocodile-infested waters but the bungee jumping operation was closed for a few years. However after some time the Zambian government wanted to restart the activity given its importance as a tourist attraction. So, to reassure the public as to the safety of jumping, the President instructed the Minister of Tourism and local community chief to jump first! Needless to say, they were not too enthusiastic about the prospect but dutifully complied. I guess it's hard to turn down the President when you are 'voluntold.'
In the afternoon, we moved camp to Rapid 14, an American missionary center overlooking the canyon under the Falls. The views were phenomenal and the staff was very friendly, but we were a little bit put off by the very large gate and strong fencing at an organization purportedly set up for community outreach in one of the friendliest parts of the world...
From here, on to Namibia and Botswana!
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