The Smoke that Thunders

Hey Everyone,

First of all, a little bit of bad news. The place where we are now doesn't have a good enough internet connection to upload photos to the web. Hopefully when we get back to Lusaka tomorrow I can find a place where I can.

Yesterday, all of us went to Victoria Falls and there is nothing I can say that would do it justice. It is known as the "Smoke that Thunders" and stretches for over a mile between the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. We walked across a bridge to a small cliff "island" where we got to get some very good views of the falls, the bridge that goes over the river and gorge, and the bottom of the falls (called the Boiling Pot).

We saw many animals on our trek also including a variety of birds, huge spiders, and monkeys. Actually on our way back up the gorge from the Boiling Pot we were confronted with a large troop of baboons who were blocking out path. Cautiously, we walked around them passing within only about 3 feet from some of them. A couple of other people also saw 4 foot long Monitor Lizards, Skinks (small salamander like amphibians), and Hyrax (small rodents that kind of resemble woodchucks).

We also got our first chance at haggling in the open curio markets. All around the falls are many shops that pressure tourists into paying higher prices if they don't know what they are doing. It can be a little intimidating at first but I think we are all getting the hang of it.

Today, we are planning on going back to the falls and spending the whole day in the gorge looking for exotic species and tomorrow we will be traveling back to Lusaka. After spending the night their, we will be going to our first national park, Kasanka.

Until next time,
Zikomo,

Allan

From London to Lusaka to Livingstone

Hello Everyone and greetings from Zambia

Its been 5 days since the 15 of us left the US and already we have done so much. We explored much of London for a couple of days seeing things like the Tower of London, the Tower Bridge, Big Ben, and Buckingham Palace as well as touring the English countryside for a day.

Just this morning we arrived in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. All I have to say is it is night and day different from life in the US. We drove 6 hours from Lusaka to the city we are now in, Livingstone, passing through numerous small ultra-rural villages that are struggling to modernize but don't have the economy/tourists to do so. The fact that it is one of the poorest nations in the world is very apparent and my eyes have been opened to what it really means to live in a third world country. We have no idea how much we take for granted.

Livingstone is a larger city that is home to the world famous Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Tomorrow we will be taking a trip to the falls and hopefully down into the valley. I would have put pictures up but my internet connection is too slow right now, so I will try tomorrow.

Until then,

Zikomo,

Allan, the Zambassador

The Final Countdown

Bwanji,

About one week is all I have left until the 15 of us depart for London. While we are there we will see the Royal Geographic Society's display on Dr. Livingstone, the Museum of Natural History, and the tomb of Dr. Livingstone. I have a camera and will be posting pictures very soon of the trip so stay tuned.

Also, check out the official Blog of the trip at this site. It will have more pictures and stories from the perspective of the whole group.

Until next time,

Zikomo!

Allan