The Smoke that Thunders

Waterfalls are categorized by height, width, and volume of water. Victoria falls doesn't rank at the top based on any of those features but is said to be the 'largest' because of its combined height/width. It lies on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia and is part of the Zambezi river. We arrived in Zimbabwe yesterday, and as Sam mentioned, is the first dictator run country we've been to. Framed photos of Robert Mugabe greeted us at the airport and the hotel and I'm thinking most public places.

Lat night we had a very relaxing sunset cruise on the Zambezi - tons of hippos (literally!) and a few crocodiles.

 This big guy swam right in front of our boat:

The main cultural group in Zimbabwe are the Shona people. We were greeted outside the airport by this group of singers/dancers. Their music is very rhythmic, lots of call/response and multiple harmonies.  Another group of musicians entertained us at the boat dock.

The Zimbabweans we have encountered in the tourist industry have all been exceptionally pleasant and accommodating.  I suppose with an unemployment rate hitting 80% they quickly learn what makes the tourists happy! As expected, there are a lot of street vendors that can be quite aggressive at times.

On Sunday, just outside of Cape Town, we visited a large, historic estate winery for lunch - Vergelegen. It was founded in 1700 and has large, beautiful gardens; camphor trees planted hundreds of years ago and a lot of 'museum-type' displays showing the history.

Just heading out for our helicopter ride that was delayed due to weather (cloudy, a bit of rain). Hopefully have more pics to post from that!