Sundays in My City--Vacation Day Four

I have so much to say regarding Raphael and his passing and the medical system here plus some good news regarding the care we're able to give babies here. For now though, please sit back and enjoy photos from one of the most beautiful places on earth!

The day we took the bus down to Livingstone we had booked a sunset cruise to see the wildlife along the banks of the Zambezi River as well as to see the sunset (of course!). As the day passed I realized we were cutting it close in our arrival time at our lodge where we would be picked up by the van that would take us to the boat. We called Jollyboys (our backpackers lodge) to tell them our expected arrival time. They assured us we would be in time.

As soon as our bus arrived in Livingstone we hurried to the lodge and checked in. They said the cruise van had just left but would be right back for us. We changed and then waited outside. and waited. and waited. Finally, we went back inside and the lady at reception called the company only to find there had been a mis-communication and the boat had already left. No!
No worries though. The van came back for us and told us we would get to take smaller boat out on the river to catch up with the slower moving cruise boat.

As we drew closer to our boat we saw elephants on the shore. Because we were in a small boat we were able to get right up next to them. 

Aren't they beautiful?

I was worried about how to get from the small boat to the larger one but there was a convenient little ladder. 

The cruise was really nice with a three course 'dinner' and unlimited drinks included in the package. Everyone milled around taking pictures and having a good time.

We saw impala on the shore and do you see the holes in the side of the cliff?

That was home for these brightly colored birds.

Very exciting for me was seeing hippos for the first time in the eight years I've lived in Zambia.

Did you know they are considered the most dangerous animal in Africa?

Debbie had a great vantage point when she climbed the stairs to the captain's level.

I had to pretend I was five years old and crawl around between people's legs.

The sky was too cloudy for a perfect sunset but we'd see that the next day.

As it was the scenery was amazing!

Sadly, I missed out on getting a good shot of the waterfall's mist billowing up above the treeline. It is what David Livingstone saw when he first caught a glimpse of Victoria Falls and saw why the natives called it Mosi O Tuna (pronounced Tune-ya) meaning-- The Smoke That Thunders.

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