Don't Mess with Carla
We landed, taxied to the farthest end of the airport, and trudged inside the terminal. What a neat building!
We had been here once before on the way to Phinda for a change of planes, but didn't see anything other than the baggage carousel and restrooms. This time, a very nice lady led us through a door and surprisingly we were in the terminal with little shops! So we did what any red-blooded American would do - we went for the kill!
We didn't have much of a layover, and soon it was time to board our Airlink Flight to Victoria Falls Airport (in Zimbabwe). As we walk the tarmac, we spot the plane with stairs (again with these stairs -yikes!) As we climb and board, we are in a stare-down with the flight attendant with a very severe bun, perfect makeup, well-dressed, and without a hint of a smile or welcome aboard. I think we got a frosty 'hello' but I can't be too sure at this point - I just wanted to find my seat before I got in trouble 😕.
Our lone flight attendant's name was Carla. We all speculated later she may have been having a bad day, maybe she just broke up with her pilot boyfriend. She spoke over the intercom with a clipped accent, maybe with German or Russian undertones.
Her safety demonstration was precise and to the point - I thought she could seriously use some Southwest Airlines flight attendant training. Maybe her persona was just ultra-professional and she was actually flight attendant of the year .
Not too long after take off, she announced she would be coming through the cabin with a disinfectant spray, and spray she did! She held that can (was it Raid?!!) high up over her head and paraded down the aisle with a trail of mist following her from behind. She then told us lunch would be served and we had a choice of a chicken or pulled beef sandwich. We picked the chicken. The box she gave us looked like this:
There was chicken, but no bread. We dared not ask.
Finally, after nearly two hours we landed at Victoria Falls Airport. When the plane stopped, several people were getting their belongings from the overhead compartments, when the captain announced there was a fire in the terminal! We would not be able to de-plane until that was sorted.Looking out the window, we could see other planes around in the same predicament. Luckily, we were cleared within a few minutes (and so was everyone else😧).
We all hurried into the terminal that only had one double door entrance. The crowds surged and people were cutting in, it was hot and felt like we'd never get to that door. Finally we did. There was a man there who asked for our passports. He looked at the passports, then gave John a quizzical look (Oh Lord, are we in trouble in Zimbabwe?!) He told me "You pay me $60.00 for a visa" I thought this was some kind of scam, and said we're transiting, and no one told us we had to pay. Another gentleman comes up to him and they start speaking to each other - the first guy said something while looking at John and the only word I caught was 'Condition'. He told us to follow him, and reluctantly we did. When I realized what he was doing, I felt bad that I had miss-judged him. He saw that John looked poorly and wanted to take care of us so we didn't have to battle the long lines. I gave him the $60.00, our passports, and waited for him to get our visas. In about 15 long minutes, he came back with our newly stamped passports.
Once the group was together with our bags, we headed to the main terminal where our guide/driver Mackson would be waiting. We climbed into an air-conditioned bus, kind of exhausted (I could feel my knee and leg protesting all the stairs).
As Mackson drove us from the airport, he let us know he would be taking us to Victoria Falls for a 90 minute walking tour (insert audible groan here). We pulled into the parking lot and he told us it would be ok to leave our belongings on the bus, I didn't want to do that, because I was carrying quite a bit of cash, and John's backpack had all his medication. We were not allowed to stay in the bus, so we went with our backpacks. Mackson told us, that if we did the first 4 stations of the falls, we would see a great deal, and would be able to go to the cafe and wait for the rest of the group. That sounded good to us.
The falls were incredible! You could feel the mist in the air. The power in all that water was mind-blowing.
Mackson took this photo of us!
Once everyone was together again, we boarded the bus which took us across the Victoria Falls Bridge to the Zambia side of the falls. There were lots of people walking across the bridge, signs for bungee-jumping, and other thrills to be had.
We came upon the immigration office surrounded by very large lorries with their cargo tied down and covered with canvas. Uniformed guards with rifles patrolled around us. I didn't dare take a photo. After calmly being just feet from wild animals on safari, this place gave me chills. We had to get out of the bus and go into the immigration office - as we stepped off, several people got very close and were trying to get us to buy their wares, also kind of unnerving.
A stock photo of the immigration office
It was very crowded inside with people cutting in line, and finally Mackson asked if he could handle our 15 passports for us - the powers that be said yes, and we reluctantly gave them over and got back on the bus to wait.
A bit later, he came out and distributed our stamped passports to a sigh of collected relief! We needed to get off the bus (and so did our luggage), then walk through a full-size turnstile into Zambia to board a smaller bus with a different driver and guide.
We were kind of quiet as we drove through some small towns, getting a glimpse of Zambian life. We had to stop at a checkpoint, but the guard just looked at us and waved us through...Whew!
Before too long it got dark, and we were barreling down the road - the guide was filming the road through the big windows while we passed big lorries, and other cars 😨.
We saw a sign for Royal Chundu Lodge and turned down a dirt road filled with potholes, and uneven surfaces, but that didn't slow our driver down. It was pitch black outside except for the headlights. It felt like that road was twenty miles long! Our guide joked that we were getting an 'African massage'.
Finally we came to the lodge - the bus door opened and we were greeted by Aggie and Hassah with the most wonderful and smiling faces saying "Welcome Home!" The trials of the day just melted away in that smile.
We were ushered to the main area of the lodge where cold drinks were ready for us and the lodge's staff, gave us all neck and shoulder massage. We were home!
Wow after reading about your day, I needed that neck massage too! 😂
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