18th of September, 2018.
I am surprised that there is only one bus and by the smooth approaching coming from the guy of the company. He is really nice. Actually, all the workers of the company are quite different of the other travel buses I took in other African countries because they are calm and friendly. It would coast me 13 Dollars and he say we would leave at nine o’clock to arrive at 3 in Vic Falls. The bus is nicer the the last one, the seats are definitely bigger and they even give us a soft drink during lunch time! Best company ever! Well, for some one like me, is that what is need to make me like them. I knew we would leave at ten, but I did not argued with him an put my bags on the bus.
I have some time so I go to the supermarket to buy some butter (for the porridge), pasta and jam (to make the peanut butter sandwich more acceptable).
Outside of the bus, there are a few women selling food and drinks. One of them has a son, who is the most caricature kid I have ever seen. I guess. He has a upside-down smile, two huge cheeks and he look at you from down, like a completely snobbish person. It is so funny that I have to make a drawing of him, since I could not take a photograph.
During the last hour of the travel, I have no one sitting beside me, which is awesome. But after a while, one of the guys from the company sat beside and start to make conversation. He is nice tells me he will help me once we get in Vic Falls. And he does! He called his brother, who is living in their for a few years already (both are from Nyanga), and he would help me to find a place to stay. His brother arrive and we are now waiting for his friend, because in case we could not get any help on churches, we need another plan.
While waiting, are talking and he sounds like a nice guy, correct and polite. Unfortunately, his friend is not like that at all. He is rude and quite a jerk, saying that in case I do not find a place to stay, I could stay with him, but I should know that he would want something in exchange. He is even using a horrible vocabulary like mentioning my butts or his black dick. What a bastard! He is a tiny short guy, who spend too much time in the gym, just training arms, so he looks like the famous “funnel guy”. And for nothing! Every time he offers to carry my bag, he is dying after a few metres. And he is even sharing the weight with the other guy. Who at least is not complaining. Anyway, luckily at the second church we stop, they decide to help me. I am not actually that happy because of what the priest said: Something like that he had no choice. I think that after saying that he realize that is not a good thing to say, so he try another speech, that the church is there to help who needs. Uhum, sure…
Anyway, they guys leave and I talk with the priest Kusumbi and some kids for a while. I cook and after eating I put my tent inside the church. Next morning, I want to be early at the falls and remain in there the whole day.
19th of September, 2018.
I leave the church after 8 in the morning and the priest offer to walk with me. I am prepared to walk around two hours or something (I do not know why) until get in there. Actually in about 40 minutes the priest leave me in the beginning of a trail to the falls. Then I though – OK, now is a long path… No! In less than ten minutes I am at the entrance.
When I was in Harare, I searched and I found that to visit Victoria Falls, the simplest and cheapest way is by the Rain Forest and would coast 20 U.S. Dollars. So I asked Marcie to exchange for me 25 Euros in town, what would give me some more money to buy food to the travel and pay the transportation out of town to hitchhike (I did not know that Wendy and Tom would drive me out and pay the buses). For those 25 Euros, she got 37.5 U.S. Dollars, what would give me 41 Bonds. Out of those 41 Bonds, I would need 30 to enter in the Falls. In other words, 20 U.S. Dollars would be the same as 30 Bonds. OK.
I am quite nervous, I have to say. I cannot remember last time I paid for an attraction or I have been in a such important one. So when the guy tell me it is 30 U.S. Dollars, I freaked out! While still talking to him, I start to think that for 10 Dollars of difference, about 8 Euros, I could go back home and take them back. But them I ask the guy how much that was in Bonds. He answered 30 Bonds. What? Say it again! Laugh. Of course I did not mentioned anything to him but I just had save 10 bucks. I was actually paying 20 U.S. Dollars just because I exchange my money in town. So please remember of that, my dear readers, and have some money with, you exchanged in town, and not use your credit car, to save some bucks.
At five pas ten in the morning (according to my ticket) I am inside. I would leave before 4 in the afternoon.
The falls are really, really beautiful, I do not deny. But… I can also say that I would expect a little more after all the comments I always hear from everybody. Maybe it is because of the time of the year? Ahm… Maybe.
A simple walk from the first point of view to the end, with quickly stops, can take 40 minutes easily.
About the people I saw: in the morning, the groups were basically about very old people and all of them had guides; In the afternoon, the young couples started to appear. Dear, Loki! They were everywhere! Couples, couples, couples. Why you always have to travel with a partner? Your partner. OK, OK, I know that over 5.700 people get married every day so they might be all couples on honey moon but even so. Oh! People are so predictable and dependent. It is ridiculous! I think I saw two or three other people who, like me, were alone: two Oriental guys and a girl.
I remain most of the time sitting in front of the waterfalls, in a nice and shadowed place. In one moment, a girl is sitting in the other edge of the bench where I am, and her boyfriend is taking photographs of her. But I notice I will be on it so I just get up, politely, so she can be alone in the photograph. But then, for my surprise, she asks if she can take one photo with me. Why: I ask. You know I am not famous or anything, right: Maybe you are mistaken me for someone else. No – she answers. She just want to take a photo with me because I am white. She seems like a lovely girl. They both do. How could I say no? But it does make me sad. I wish nobody would be considered special only because of the color of their skin.
I walk the path two times and spend a long time in each stop. They are 11 or 12 in total and each one of them have a particularly beauty. For last, there is the bridge which connects Zimbabwe with Zambia, the famous bridge. Honestly, I also expected more. It is a nice bridge but I thought it was between the falls or something like that.
Here are some tips: you do not need to worry about you clothes, like sport and hiking clothes, as I thought. Apart of a few steps in the second stop and the rocks on the end (which you do not need to climb or anything, is just the path), there is no difficult level of hiking, so you can put that nice dress you like and want to appear in the photos, and a comfortable flip flop or sandals (not hills, please!). As I said before, it is not a long walk. In most of the stops, some of them much more than the others, you will get very wet so be prepared and not a spoiled child about that. As soon you start to walk again, the sun will dry you. Be careful with you phone and cameras though. In the biggest fall, you will probably see, some group of tourists going by swimming to the edge of the fall, called The Devils Pool. I know it does not sound that bad just reading now but once in there you will get very surprise. It looks insane! I do not know exactly how can you arrange that but if you are interested in high adrenaline stuff, you can search about.
I had planned leaving around 4 o‘clock because last day, the priest had told me about a “river” nearby, where the elephants, apparently, would come every evening to drink some water. So I would come back to the house, and together with the priest’s daughter, go to that “river” to see the elephants. I forgot to tell you but, when I was going around the town with him, I forgot to pay attention on the way, since I would have to come back alone later. Just on the last few minutes of the walk I took a look around. Coming back, luckily, I realize that there are some buildings and places and details that I had paid attention just for no reason, so those clues helped me to find my way back. Just when I am in the last turn, I have to ask for information. That showed me how I changed during the travels because I remember a girl back in Rio de Janeiro, who could not know at all from which streets had passed. Everything looked like the same that time.
Back at the church, I have to wait several minutes until she gets ready. I am exhausted but mainly because of the heat. I did not walk that much. Walking to the river it is when I realize that the “river” it is actually a small pond just at the same trail to the falls, where I was just half hour before. What? Why the priest haven’t told me that? I would have sat in there and keep waiting for the elephants instead of coming all the way back and then coming back again. Arhg! I am so tired! And guess what? No elephants. Of course.
That night, the light and the water went off. At least I had water to cook.
Next morning, before leaving town, I should have passed in a hotel in the way, asked to use their wi-fi to find an address of a Backpackers in Maun and preventing to have any trouble at the boarder. Ask me if I remembered that? Kisumbu shows me the way out of town. The boarder is just about 70 quilometres from there. After just a few minutes a guy in a car that looks like a taxi stops, but he is going to work in the boarder. He gives me a lift.
He say he is a police officer and I have to hear a lecture about how I should hitchhike at least close to someone because it is too dangerous. Again, does not matter for how many years you are doing hitchhiking or anything, police officers always will think they know more about it than you.
At least he helps me with the address thing. At the boarder, his brother made a research in his phone and give me a name and an address of a Backpackers in Maun. Done!
At the boarder, no problems. I am back to Botswana! Come to me, elephants!
