The End and the Long Trip Home

Hello everyone!

And so here it is, the last installment on my amazing trip-of-a-lifetime. Hope you've enjoyed reading!

Day 21/Aug 20th

This morning Shawna and I celebrated taking down our tent for the last time! No more fumbling around with tent poles (or losing them), no more rolling thick canvas up in the dirt and dust, no more struggling to reach the top hooks which were the hardest to manipulate, no more making mistakes and starting over again. No More Tent!! Tonight we'd stay in a lodge, with everyone else, and we were SO glad.

Today we're crossing the border into Zimbabwe, so as per usual, it was a rushed and mildly stressful morning. We arrived at the Botswana exit-point in no time, but weren't quite prepared for the general chaos on the Zimbabwe side. THIS is why Colin wanted to get going each morning: people were everywhere. There was a tiny little office that could reasonably fit maybe 15-20 people? Three times as many tried to shove themselves through the doors. Apparently there was a queue, but you couldn't tell until a security guard showed up and started attempting to re-direct us all. None of our group was together. It was a mess.

For some reason Colin was able to successfully collect our entry forms, passports, and Visa fees, and stand in line for us. It still took forever, of course, but at least we were able to stand outside in the shade, and Colin got the entire group done at one time. Zimbabwe deals in American dollars. Apparently their own currency was so worthless that the bank notes numbered into the billions. People just couldn't carry around wads and wads of cash and bills anymore. So they switched to USD. Probably a good move.

Incidentally, do you know how much a Visa to enter Zimbabwe is? Well for Colin, a native Zim, of course it's nothing. What about Germans? $30. Not too bad. What about Australians? Also $30. Seems decent. What about those mild-mannered, polite Canadians? How about $75. Whaaaat!!? Seems hardly fair. Not to mention that we were not told to have American dollars at the ready, and we certainly wouldn't have thought to have $75 each anyways. Lucky for us our wonderful Australian friends were able to help us out until we passed the border, got to a bank machine, where it spewed out, yes, American dollars (never seen THAT one before). This is a very expensive trip.

Once we extracted ourselves from the border chaos, it was a short drive to Victoria Falls where we were to spend the last few days of our adventure before the long trek back to BC. Colin drove us around town where we saw beautiful hotels, shops, street vendors (very pushy street vendors in fact), and the beautiful personality of this town. It was touristy, sure, but it was a welcome sight and I wished we could have had more time there.

Our first stop was to a booking office where we had optional activities that we could book for the rest of the day and next. We had a tour of Victoria Falls already coming to us, but we were also interested in the "Walk With the Lions" Rehabilitation Center and treating ourselves to some time at a Garden Spa. We also had to fit in dinner at The Boma which was a fantastic restaurant right next to where we'd be staying.

Then we checked into our shared lodge with Vyv and Carol and got all settled in. There was a big mosquito next over our beds and I think this might be the only time on our trip that'd we'd actually use it. There have been so few mosquitoes that it was surprising. We were initially paranoid about getting bitten, but truthfully, even when we were next to lakes and rivers, they weren't abundant. They were certainly nothing remotely close to what I'd experienced in Bowron. The fact that I wore long sleeves and pants all the time probably helped, too.

Off to Victoria Falls. Oh, wow. There's no doubt as to why this place is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the world; it's breathtaking! It's also really wet and we were handed rain slickers at the entrance. The sound of the falls is heard well into town and the closer you get, the more the mist fills the air. Shawna and I marveled over the many rainbows and sheer size of this amazing place. You can't take a bad photo, although you do have to take care that your camera doesn't get too wet. There is one section of the falls where the spray is like thick rain - a downpour. We had raincoats on and were still running to get out of it. Awesome. It was simply amazing.

Our later afternoon activity was called "Walk With the Lions" and Shawna had her heart set on it as soon as she'd heard about it a few weeks back. We didn't know too much about it, but it sounded like an incredible opportunity. We not only got to walk beside lion cubs (still rather huge for only 18 months old), we got to pet them, rub their bellies, and pose for photos with them! And yes, there were rules, too: no walking in front of them or by their head, and no eye contact. Remember the wolf? It was like that except with the addition of 5-6 men.

The African Lion & Environmental Research Trust sets up this activity to support the Rehabilitation work they do with orphaned/adopted lions over the course of 4 stages and many years. The public will never interact with a lion that is beyond 2 years (indeed almost all human contact is eradicated at that point), and lions that have walked with humans will never be released into the wild completely. But newborn cubs that have been raised completely by lions with no human interaction will be truly wild. Anyways, I cannot remember all the details of the program (read about it here: http://www.lionalert.org/pages/ALERT-projects.html), but suffice it to say, Shawna and I felt great about it. Our money was donated directly to rehabilitation and conservation efforts. This wasn't some woman feeding porcupines in her backyard; this was actually making a difference to Africa, its peoples and its wildlife. Yes!

Back to the lodge and time to get ready for dinner at The Boma. By far the best place we'd eaten on the whole trip. When you walk in, they dress you in traditional garb (basically a brightly patterned sheet tied over one shoulder), paint your face (tiny white marks that indicate your gender), and seat you amongst a sprawling buffet. There were food and people everywhere! First, our server brought snacks, which included a selection of hot and cold nuts, and a small portion of local beer for everyone to try. It was thick, and fermented, and white. We laughed as we watched each other's faces while trying it. They gave each person only a taste, except Colin, who "grew up on that stuff."

The food was amazing. In the entree area, you chose which meat you would like, and they cut & cooked it for you on the spot while you waited. You could have almost any kind of meat you wanted, including kudu, ostrich and crocodile. There were 2 salad bars with appetizer-like choices, there were pastas and roast animal on a spit. There were desserts and a crepe-chef. In fact there was probably more that I missed, because I ate so much I had to stop before I got all the way around the place; that's how good it was. We'd been waiting 22 days to eat like this! What a treat. During dinner we were entertained by African singing and dancing and drumming, and we found out that after we'd left they'd brought around black worms to each table to see who would be courageous enough to eat them. We weren't sorry to miss that, and we heard all about it from the 2 German boys on our tour who had both earned certificates for doing it. Yuck!!

We could have easily stayed there all night, eating and drinking and dancing and enjoying the atmosphere & people. However, we had one more thing to do: we had booked a Garden Spa appointment for the end of the night. We were picked up from The Boma, and taken to the Spa. It so happens that the Spa is located right behind the backpacker's lodge in Victoria Falls. And it was Saturday night, and the bar was open. So while we were relaxing and being pampered, we watched and listened to 20-somethings dance and yell and sing and drink. Our spa was far enough away that we could enjoy the music and laugh at all the bad singing, from a distance. We weren't disturbed by it; on the contrary, we found it totally amusing and entertaining. T. I. A.

In talking to Cheryl, my personal pamperer, I discovered that you must go to school to be an esthetician just like here at home. The program is about a year long and she said that she enjoys her work very much. She has three kids under the age of 5 and she admitted to being 25 years old. Sometimes I wonder at all the young mothers I see. What do they think of motherhood - is it something they pursue, does it happen by accident, and do any of them feel that they have a choice? Those are questions I think about a lot myself, and I am ten years older than Cheryl. I wonder what she thought of me after hearing my age and the fact that I have no children. Life is so different there for women. Again, here I am feeling lucky for all the choices and opportunities I have had and continue to have.

We loved being pampered on the last night of our tour. Camping and environmental conditions really took a toll! It was such a nice thing to do for ourselves, and besides, it was ridiculously cheap - $40 USD for three separate spa services. That's a steal!! We were driven back to our lodge. What a crazy day. We loved it.

Day 22/Aug 21st

The only thing we had to do today was get-up, pack, eat breakfast and wait for the shuttle that would take us to the airport. We said goodbye to Carol & Vyv and were so sad to see them go; they had been our allies and counterparts this trip. They were extremely generous and funny. They want to visit Canada in 2013 and we can't wait to see them again! For a retired/near-retired couple, they have an amazing spirit and sense of adventure.

We ate breakfast with the German family and talked about all the activities they'd planned for their extra day in Victoria Falls. Hugs all around, well-wishes and goodbyes. Then we put together the items that we had brought to donate to children/schools (Shawna brought some school supplies, and we had each purchased soccer balls), and handed them off to Colin. We had been so impressed with his dedication to the local people on this trip. If he needed firewood, he'd buy from the village instead of the camp. He'd regularly find people to give our leftovers to. Food that we would throw out because it was unsightly (but otherwise fine), he'd make sure got to a local person or family. We'd catch him giving change or a few bills to security guards or other people in need. When he said that he knew which schools that generally didn't receive tourist dollars, we knew it was going to the right place.

And so we said goodbye to Colin, our steward and protector. Not once on this tour did I feel nervous, unsafe, worried, in danger, or vulnerable. Colin was incredibly knowledgeable and supportive. He had a stressful job coordinating the needs of all the people in our group - and sometimes the stress did show, but overall he was excellent. We knew he had everything covered, we knew he had our backs. He was our guide, cook and driver, but he was also a friend and companion. He's going to be missed.

Shawna & I were flying to Johannesburg from the Victoria Falls airport. Once we got there it became apparent that this small airport wasn't the same as other small airports I'd been to. Most noticeably, they hand-wrote our boarding passes and luggage tags. There were only 2 gates and we walked haphazardly across the tarmac to get to the plane. The flight was short and a long layover in Joberg was ahead of us. Lucky that the airport was nice. We both had a few items we needed to buy but my only real goal was to get a chunk of time on the internet so I wasn't weighed down with writing 10 days worth of stories once I got home.

Lucky for me, Shawna wheeled & dealed an under-the-table arrangement at one of the airport lounges, and we got to use their computers and eat their snacks for a small fee. :) We both used the internet, and when Shawna was done she patiently waited for me to finish as I raced through the days in my head and on the keyboard. Then we did some shopping, and ate some dinner. I was so tired at this point, that when I ordered lasagne I remember thinking how strange it was that there was ground beef in it. Then I remember that that's exactly the type I eat at home all the time.

When we headed to my gate for my flight to Washington DC, I was patted down by security and subsequently yelled at when I walked back to where Shawna was waiting to say goodbye. I didn't care about their threats that I'd have to do the search again - I wasn't leaving without a goodbye to my friend, my rock, my supporter, my conspirator, and my lifesaver for the past month! (Can you imagine if I had done this tour on my own like I had originally planned? I shudder at how lonely I would have been). Shawna and I certainly got to know each other very well on this trip. She's thoughtful and generous and sensitive and beautiful (which she needs to realize more often) and a great listener and has a wicked sense of humour. She's awesome!

My flight to Washington DC was pretty good. I sat next to a young South African guy and we made some good conversation and had some good laughs. He tried to convince me that noise-cancelling headphones were the best thing since sliced bread. He also asked if we had done a township tour as one of our optional activities, but we had not. I talked to him about not feeling "right" about entering the shantytowns or extremely poor villages and that it made me feel like people and their lives were some kind of sideshow. However, he kind of changed my mind about it as he explained that people really enjoy having visitors. They like being treated as humans who have a story to share, they want to participate in conversations, they want to show how they live. He says that you don't wear any jewelry and you don't dress flashy or carry expensive things, because theft will definitely occur. When people don't have food, your watch is suddenly a lot less valuable to you than you might think. But anyways, I really liked the idea of people getting a chance to tell their story, and I kind of regretted not doing a township tour.

The flight to DC stopped over in Dakar (which is in the country of Senegal), and the guy got off with about half the plane. And lucky me, nobody came to sit beside me afterwards! So I had the next leg of my flight with 2 luxurious economy seats to spread myself over. I didn't sleep as much as I should have. During the 17 hours of that (total) flight, I watched 4 movies: Africa Cats, The Adjustment Bureau, Water for Elephants, and The Lincoln Lawyer. Shawna had recommended African Cats, but I was so tired and seeing all the wild animals was too fresh, so every time a tough scenario came up for one of the cats, I started welling up. Thanks, Shawna. :P

The next two flights were uneventful. I arrived home approximately 42 hours after I left. As Vancouver became clearer and clearer through that little airplane window, I was sure I had never seen anything more beautiful. Breezed through customs, totally astounded that my bag showed up on the luggage cart. T picked me up. Finally, my heart is home.

xo
E!