We woke up to a beautiful sunny morning with roosters crowing on the lawn outside our windows. At 7:45 AM we met our guide for our helicopter ride over Victoria Falls. The van took us four minutes to the heliport where we were photographed, weighed (ugh), and oriented to the ride. Soon the helicopter landed and we jumped on. I got to ride up front with the pilot. Chuck was in the back, but able to take good pictures. Our 13 minute ride included two big circles over the falls, the Zambezi River above the falls and the gorges below the falls. It was a breathtaking and spectacular experience which ended far too soon. Of course, we bought the DVD! Back to the hotel for breakfast. The fresh pineapple was good as was the warm chocolate croissant.
At 11AM we all boarded the bus for a short ride to the local craft market. There were many wooden carvings, stone carvings, fabric pieces (table runners, wall hanging, etc.), bead work, etc. I started by looking for a carved wooden 3 piece Holy Family. Word went out. Soon men were running from every direction wanting to show me their wooden carvings of a nativity. I didn't buy anything at that time. Saw some very colorful fabric that I liked. After much negotiation, I ended up with a long piece with a giraffe on it and a wider piece with elephants. Now it was time to look for the wooden carving again. Finally went back to the first place, but we couldn't agree on a price so at Chuck's urging, we turned and walked off. They called and accepted our price. We looked some more, but time was up.
Around 4 PM, we went down to the terrace for afternoon tea. We had our choice of tea. A three tiered tray was delivered. There were egg salad, salmon, cucumber, and cheese sandwiches on the bottom, scones with clotted cream and jam on the second, and cakes: carrot, chocolate, custard, and Boston cream cake on the top. It was a special treat.
Tonight we had our cultural connection. We boarded the van and went to a nearby village. Five of us were guests at one house. We were greeted by a young man, his aunt, and 10 children. The relationship of the family members was vague but they all lived in that house and were a functional group. Our host, Bright, spoke very good English and was a delightful person. He is 25 and operates a second hand clothing store. We sat in the living room around a coffee table which was set with side dishes. The aunt brought us each a tray that had a plate of mealy (polenta) and chicken and/or beef stew. We each helped ourself to the kale with peanut butter, smoked worms, fried minnows, carrots and beans, plain kale and peanuts. He showed us how they eat: make a ball of mealy, make a whole in the middle with your thumb, scoop up the food and eat it. Chuck ate with his hands. I opted for a fork. Later we were served tea. After the meal, the children were invited in and entertained us with two songs: "Let it Be, Let it Be", "When you get to Heaven", and the Zimbabwe National Anthem. Meanwhile the 2 year old crawled under the coffee table, tickled my feet and then fell asleep. The two hours passed very quickly--filled with informative conversation and wonderful sharing.
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