ZAMBIA!

What a wonderful vacation! Five days in Livingstone, Zambia to see Victoria Falls. Despite my unfortunate stomach bug, which left me full of Cipro and no ability to drink on my birthday or Christmas, I had a fabulous time!

Our first day at Victoria Falls, and what we thought would be a 15 min gander over to Livingstone Island ended up being a 5 hr trek through slippery rocks and swamp in our bare feet. At one point, the guides had us swim across the river by cutting through the current so that we "wouldn't fall over the edge". That's how close we were to the edge of Vic Falls. At last, we arrived at Devil's Pool, a 3 metre deep natural pool at the very edge of Victoria Falls. We held onto the edge for dear life as we peered our heads over the Falls. Notice that our guides were hanging onto our feet :)



Some of the girls went white water rafting while I slowly recovered from my flu. We spent Christmas at a local orphanage where we had lunch with the kids and they performed some dances for us. On Boxing Day, I went on my first Gorge Swing. Some of you may have seen it showcased on the Amazing Race. I was strapped to a piece of rope that was tied to the middle of the Zambezi Gorge and then asked to jump from the ledge. I had a moment of hesitation, then free fell to the gorge below. Personally, I think the Gorge Swing is a better alternative from the bungee jumping. First, you get to swing upright. Second, you get to have a beautiful zen-like moment of dangling high above the Zambezi River with nothing but the sound of your body swinging back and forth.

All in all, two thumbs up for Livingstone, Zambia. I recommend staying at JollyBoys Backpackers in Livingstone. I also recommend the 5 hr trek to Devil's Pool, though you ought to bring flip flops if you want it to be 2 hrs long instead.