Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls, dubbed one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World by CNN, lies on the Zambezi River between Zimbabwe and Zambia. Called “The Smoke that Thunders” by the Tonga people, it is 5,604 feet wide (more than a mile) and 354 feet tall, twice the height of Niagara Falls.
Visitors to the town of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe have several options for activities. A stroll through the Rain Forest park includes spectacular view of the Falls and the occasional encounter with baboons (harmless if you leave them alone). More demanding trails are also available to climb down into the gorge when weather permits.
A trek across the Victoria Falls Bridge includes opportunities for bungee jumping, riding a zip line, or taking a close-up guided tour explaining the bridge’s construction.
Shopping includes open air markets with stalls of local crafts. Each resort has its own restaurant. Coffee shops offer a variety of light fare, including cappuccino and sandwiches, or for the more upscale, high tea at the Victoria Hotel. An evening river cruise offers views of hippos and other wildlife.
Something for the history buff, the nature enthusiast, and the adrenaline junkie: Victoria Falls offers it all.
Life goes on
Around 4:00 Mom wanted to go back to the cemetery. It had already been a long day, with Daddy’s funeral in the chapel followed by a graveside service and quiet conversations with cousins we wouldn’t see again until the next funeral. We had gone home tired. But Mom wanted to go back, so we went.
It was September 4, and it seemed like everything was over. It was late in the day and late in the week. Summer was gone. Even the floral arrangements heaped on the grave site just a few hours earlier had begun to wilt.
But there was a bee among those flowers. I watched it for a while, crawling over the roses and lilies looking for pollen. For me, the day was about loss. For the bee, life went on.
That’s when I understood. We say it many ways: the circle of life, sunrise/sunset, for everything there is a season. We love, we lose, we mourn; and we carry love and grief with us, compounded as the water of our tears, as we go on.