A Far Away Place

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

A Far Away Place

Yesterday, August 27, we were in 3 different African countries! We left our
pretty hotel in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe and traveled 1-1/2 hours by bus to Botswana. At the border crossing we were stamped out and our visa reviewed by the Zimbabwe crossing guards. Continuing on, we road approx 300 years to be stamped in by the friendly Botswana immigration authorities. We explained that we were only transiting through on our way to Namibia. Back on another jeep we traveled 45 minutes to the border crossing and were checked out once again. Finally, we walked a short distance up a dirt hill to the Namibia customs area and they stamped us in. Whew! It wasn't over yet. We transferred to a 25 ft river power boat for a ride through a meandering channel that connects the Chobe and the Zambezi Rivers and then down the Zambezi to our final destination, a lodge on the Impalila Island, a slender eastern arm of Namibia. Impalila means the far away place.

Sunset on the Zambezi River

The lodge appeared suddenly in a bend of the river. Kaza Safari Lodge is very pretty and we have our own private little African hut that is gorgeous with a large king-size bed with a deck overlooking the winding river. After checking in, the group went for a sunset cruise. We spotted hippos, crocodiles and unusual birds e.g., the Goliath and black herons, African skimmers, yellow bul-buls and even a monitor lizard. After a lovely dinner under the bright stars, we called it a night.

African Skimmers

The next day began with a 3 mile walk through four of the local villages to learn about how the people live. There are 2,000 people on this small island who work as fishermen, cattle farmers and in other assorted trades. As in Zimbabwe, they live in small villages in huts that they build with termite mounds or with stones and mortar. Most use candles at night; a few are lucky enough to afford solar panels or generators. It made us feel so grateful for everything we have. It is like looking back to a time that just doesn't exist in the U.S. The people seem happy. Little children came out to greet us and wanted to be picked up or hugged. As the guide explained, they don't know anything else. People barter for goods. Since this country has more money than Zimbabwe, they do have free schools for the children and a clinic staffed by 3 nurses.

It's Sunday today and the guide pointed out a small Catholic church. He said most of the people are Christian. It seems like everything slows down here on Sunday. We have another boat ride planned for this afternoon. Tomorrow they will take us fishing and if we are lucky, we will snag their local delicacy, a tiger fish. They promise to cook it for us if we land one!