Ok, this post is for my third week here. I will keep it short because the trip to Chobe was insane. This week I did a ton of work and prepped most of my first case. Also, Ryan told me that I’ll be on my own in clinic starting next week. Scary, I will let you know how that goes. But more importantly, I networked with Mary in SA to get Elizabeth plane tickets to Bots and then China. So, if Mary gets the things done, ELIZABETH IS COMING TO BOTSWANA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok, fast forward to Friday.
Friday morning. We got Tshopo to take us to the Gabs airport and we took a 2 hour flight to Kasane, bots. We were picked up there by Chobe Safari Lodge. The lodge was amazing (see pictures). This was more of a tourist type place then Madikwe, but I didn’t mind. We sat and had a beer, waiting for the boat cruise.
The cruise was amazing. It was beautiful and the weather was perfect. We saw most of the big five and had drinks while doing it. After watching the sunset we returned to the lodge to clean up and get dinner. It was great, local food. Pap, Sam and Croc were my top three choices. We retired early, preparing for the big trip to vic falls in the morning.
At 7:45 we were picked up by Mike, an enthusiastic batswana, and he drove us through the Bots/Zimbabwe (zim) border. The desperate situation of Zim was immediately apparent. The roads were unfinished and the ferns climbed slowly into the road from both directions. The ~hour drive to the dying tourist town that hosted vic falls was made enjoyable by our combi-mates. A lawyer and an accountant from Botswana. They were full of questions for us. About the US, our time here. They were well spoken and extremely kind. I would later find out that the Lawyer also owns a popular grocery store all over Bots and the wife worked at a surgeon’s office. She also would end up inviting me to come see the place and work with the docs for a while.
Anyways, we started our day buying entry into vic falls (which was practically empty, another artifact of Zim’s poor economic state) and being persuaded into getting ponchos even though it was sunny and hot outside. The walked started with light mist, fantastic rainbows and amazing falling water. This soon changed. As we got closer and closer to the main falls, the mist got more dense and more dense. Half way down the path, it was fully raining, while the sun beamed over our backs. I was a bizarre and magical experience. This, of course, made the rainbows so much brighter. I’ve never seen anything like it.
Although the falls were by far the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, what I was about to do next toped all of it. The three of us, now soaked, made our way to the Zim/Zambia (zam) bridge. It represented a no-mans-land between the two countries, so we needed to get a special visa to get there. Our walk was shadowed closely by eager traders. People offering everything from wooden statues to copper bracelets. None of it was exciting merchandise, but it again emphasized how desperate people are in this area. Nonetheless, the people were kind, well spoken and seemed to enjoy our company (until we told them that we weren’t interested in what they were selling). A large group of them walked with us for the 15 min walk to the other side of the bridge. Let me just tell you, the view was amazing. It only intensified my excitement.
I was weighed and two numbers were written on my arm; my weight, and my jump position. I was #6. I walked to the middle of the bridge and the crew grabbed me immediately and began to suit me up. I was about to jump off the bridge into the Vic falls water below. I have never bungee jumped before, but between the encouraging (although planted to get sales) words from the locals and the see-through floor of the bridge, my adrenaline had never been so high.
The bungee safety consisted of two towels wrapped around each lower leg for comfort and one strap wrapped around them. This worried me a little, but I honestly was not thinking about it too much. After a small wait (due to camera problems) they walked me to the edge. I was looking down, to make sure I didn’t slip off. I could feel the grip of the kind Zambian behind me. He told me to look to the horizon, I did. I took a deep breath preparing to count my self down from 5 when behind me I heard 4..3..2. I took a quick breath and leaped as far as I could (made difficult due to the fact that my feet were tied together). The horizon disappeared as my body tilted head first towards the water 200 meters below. I know what it feels like to fly. Weightlessness combined with amazing speed and the atmosphere of vic falls produced a epinephrine high like none other. It felt endless, but it did end with a quick and painless jerk from the cord and a slow deceleration towards the water below.
The water was cold, I was close enough to feel that, but not close enough to touch it. The first rebound took me to the other side of the bridge, and also quite close to it. Another free fall and easy deceleration brought me rebounding back to the original side where I looked up and waved to where I thought the camera might be (above me). As I hung, upside down, oscillating below this wonderful bridge, I took in the view. The inverted view added to its foreignness. High ridges lined with green and its bottom (actually roof for me) filled with blue. It looked like an abstract art gallery where all the paintings were upside down. But for once in my life, I enjoyed this “art nouveau” as I waited for the guy to come get me.
He, eventually, collected me and brought me back up to the bridge. I then had a solo walk on the underside of the bridge to the other side, were I got out and was greeted by the locals. I was without words that the time, but I smiled and answered their questions using as few words as possible. I was letting my brain enjoy the moment.
I figured out how to get the video on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzdFtn3AEWU
"Wiedermann Bungee Off of The Victoria Falls Bridge"
The rest of the day fails in comparison to this event, and to keep it as short as possible, I will just sum up the rest of the trip.
We returned home, relaxed, showered, enjoyed the sunset and had dinner. Impala was on the menu today. Not too good, but how many people have had impala? The next morning we woke at 5:45 for a game drive. It wasn’t the best one I’ve been on, but I enjoy every chance I get to see the animals. The trip home featured a 4 hour lay-over in Maun. It was in the middle of bots, situated between the Kalahari and the Delta. Being that airport security is non-existent, we toured the town, played cards, and just enjoyed life. I made a friend on the plane ride home. Marshall was the head of security for the national bank of Botswana. A very interesting Batswana man that was full of insight about life. I enjoyed our flight together. He offered to show us around and possibly even take me down to Madikwe. Tshopo was excited to see us again at the airport and he took us home, but not before claiming that he loved us and wanted to go to America with us. Oh, Tshopo, you are a good man.
Anyways, that is the end of possibly the best weekend in my life. And, as I have already claimed to my parents and Beth, this is the best time of my life.
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