The one noticeable thing was how the country had "aged" and it felt like we were in some 4th world country walking around in the street of Victoria Falls Town. The town is in ruins with children begging and selling their local currency as souvenirs as it was worth absolutely nothing and poverty was at the order of the day. No Shop or even street vendors would accept local currency and you could even get a 100 Million Dollar note.
Very sad and tragic as many years back this was a beautiful and prosperous place. My new pair of red sneakers were very popular and it got to the point of feeling harassed as they would bargain with me to get my shoes. Even got offered a "Marble Handcrafted Chess Set" as a swop, and although tempted it really was my only pair of shoes I had for the trip. Dilemma, but I still have them and no chess set.
The trip was awesome and the Victoria Falls did not disappoint. We took a Sunset River Boat Cruise, walked the falls getting drenched and saw some nice wildlife around the hotel as the fences are not maintained resulting in animals even strolling around in town. Puts a new dimension on "Keep a Lookout", not knowing what you will come across. The hotel was great with a short walk down to the Zambezi River and excellent food resulting in guilty feelings as just around the corner children were begging in the street.
The highlight of the trip must be the "Flight of Angels" helicopter flight over the falls. Walking up to the chopper I noticed the pilot was a black man, a first for me and no racism intended. Honestly, for a split second I wondered, "How good can the training be in this place? " and then we were in the air and here I am telling the story. He was a excellent pilot by the way.
Flight of Angels
And so another of our trips ended with lifetime memories. A truly magnificent experience.
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