Thursday, February 22, 2007

Well, I woke up before the alarm. I had a few pesky mosquitos that kept me awake. There's nothing like that buzzing in your ear! It was such a neat view as the sun was coming up. What a great place.

Had a nice hot shower in my plush bathroom, then wandered along the boardwalk through the trees to a light breakfast of toast and tea.

Started out on the first drive at 6:30. Saw tons of animals: giraffes, zebras, buffalo, wildebeasts, elephants, several species of antelope, lots of birds. We came back to the camp for breakfast, then got ready to head out for our final drive back to main camp, about 3 hours. Took tons of pictures and some video. What a great day. I will definitely come back here.

Got back to the Guest Paradise Lodge in Vic Falls at about 4. There had been some sad news. Simon, the village chief, had passed away at 4AM. Some of the team was out shopping with the family to gather food, blankets for burial, and a casket. There will be a funeral ceremony tomorrow.

Had a quick dinner, then packed for our overnight in the village. This is going to be an experience. We'll be sleeping on cots in the library:

Here are the bathrooms. The one on the right is for staff.

We prepared some food for the teachers, then joined them around the campfire for jokes and stories. It was nice getting a chance to talk to Spaeeway, the grade one teacher, and several others.