Scenes From Africa
Our trip to Africa starts off in Lagos, Africa's largest city. Getting anywhere around town seems to be an impossible task with the never ending flow of traffic. Street vendors and hawkers are on every street corner, and the massive crowds of people everywhere adds to the congestion. In order to go anywhere, using the bright yellow danfos (buses) are almost a necessity - they're virtually everywhere in the city. But just when we thought the traffic was bad enough around our hotel - one of the local markets spills out onto the streets. This in turn forces one of the main roads to shut down and everything comes to a complete standstill for a couple of days. We're limited to touring the city by foot at this point, but at least we get to check out many of the beautiful goods that the local markets have to offer.
After our stay in Lagos, we start traveling East - right into the heart of Congo. All the roads from this point forward are dirt covered - which potentially makes rainy season a real headache. Fortunately for us, we don't run into any problems for the time being. Along our way, we get to meet numerous tribes, observing their rituals and getting a chance to see how the locals live. The mud and thatched roof huts they call home have been a mainstay for thousands of years - and we can see why, noting their sturdiness and ease of build.
Our next stop in our African journey is northern Tanzania where we take our Jeep through Serengeti National Park. The views from the ground are amazing, almost immediately spotting large herds of elephants, giraffes, and zebras. However, to get an even better view, we decide to board a hot air balloon instead. It's wildebeest migration season, and we get an excellent birds-eye view from our balloon - also finally spotting a couple of lions on the prowl as well. Once we get back on the ground, we finally start to make our way out of the park - but not before stopping a few times to let a herd of Giraffes make their way across the road.
We board our plane and arrive next in Madagascar, being sure to see it's famous Avenue of the Baobabs. Not only are they perhaps the world's fattest tree, but they also can live for 2,000 years or more - they're truly marvelous as they tower high above us. However, just as we make our way out of the area, we're met with an unexpected surprise. We thought we left the traffic back in Lagos - but evidently we were quite wrong, getting stuck in a cattle traffic jam on numerous occasions.
Once we make it back to the mainland, we travel a couple hundred miles West and make our way across the Zimbabwean border. After getting lost more than a couple times and finally getting some much needed help from the locals, we're able to locate Great Zimbabwe, nestled in the middle of the Zimbabwean foothills. Once the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe, all that's left is a collection of ruins scattered around central and western Africa. Despite their current state, you can still get a sense of the power and greatness that these walls once held.
Our final destination is perhaps Africa's most famous - Victoria Falls. One of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, these awe-inspiring falls truly live up to the title. Once we get there, we're sure to try out a little whitewater river rafting - it's the middle of the high season and the river is in full force. However, there's still something that's a little more dangerous that we have to try out. Our tour guide takes us back up to the top of the falls, and we board a small boat to Livingstone Island near the middle of the Zambezi River. We slowly move our way across the lip of the falls, careful not to take one wrong step on any slippery rocks along our way. Finally, we reach our destination - the infamous Devil's pool. We take the plunge, and the only thing protecting us from a 300+ foot drop is a small submerged rock barrier on the edge. We take a deep breath, carefully leaning over the edge to catch the view of a lifetime.
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-korver
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