Hungry, Hungry Hippos
Now I’m not here to say that these dates might be wrong, but when we started to have the conversation about which country was next, dad wasn’t the most confident, so just go with it. In April 2000, after flying from San Antonio and going through Cape Town, South Africa, the crew arrived in Lusaka, Zambia. After they got briefed and settled, dad quickly met these two American brothers, Doug and Mike, who moved to Zambia after meeting two Zambian women they would later marry. They owned a construction business and supplied the labor for the embassy project.
Note: Before they left for Zambia, they packed some things for some missionaries that were over there. They requested things like Big Red, Dr. Pepper, and peanut butter (all essentials). When they dropped them off, they cried tears of joy. (I mean who wouldn’t? That beautiful MAROON CAN gets me every time).
After being there for a few days, dad realized that going somewhere for lunch could take anywhere from an hour to two hours because no one was in much of a hurry. He noticed that there was an abandoned building on the embassy grounds with kitchen equipment in it. It used to be a café, but people stopped going there and it became vacant. My dad asked the DCM (Deputy Chief of Mission) if they could use it if they cleaned it up, and he gave them the go-ahead. Now, they had to find someone to cook for them. A local man named “John” cooked for the marines at the embassy and dad asked him if they could hire him to cook, and he agreed. Dad bought the food, he cooked them lunch, and American Roofing paid him. When they were done eating, there were always several leftovers, and people at the embassy started asking if they could get in on the lunch gig, and it caught on. (Dad found out that the embassy actually hired John after they left.)
One day, they got invited to Mike’s (mentioned above) house. They had a view of a polo field as they drank at the bar. His house was walled with cement and they had a gatekeeper. They also kept trying to convince my dad to go camping and fishing on the Zambezi river, but he said no several times. For reference, I found an article about whether or not it is safe to swim in the Zambezi river. “The water-borne parasite bilharzia, prevalent in water sources in Africa can cause a debilitating illness (which is treatable). However, it does not breed easily in the fast-flowing waters of the Zambezi. Crocodiles, however, are a serious threat. They are everywhere in Lake Kariba and the Zambezi River (even if you can't see them).” That might be why he wasn’t keen on fishing there, but who knows? Doug and Mike weren’t too hurt by his rejection because they still send dad a Christmas card every year.
Gig ‘Em. Also, spoiler alert, this will not be the last time you see this t-shirt in this blog.
One weekend, some people from the embassy were going to take a trip to Victoria Falls (pictured above) and invited the crew to go with them. It was about a 3-hour drive along rough roads with rough drivers. Dad mentioned that not very many people had much money there, so they were able to stay in a really nice hotel for about $30 a night. They stayed in a place that had a casino and an all-you-can-eat buffet with exotic animals to eat. He said that everything was delicious and they were able to see Zulu Warriors perform a ceremony. The next day, they walked around Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe side and stayed up late. They were approached by men asking if they wanted to do a river tour and THIS they said yes to. Dad, Joe, Abel, Chuy, and Jimmy were able to talk down the price and set out to explore the Zambezi river. As they go down the river in the boat pictured below, giant heads begin to poke out of the water. The guides asked if they want a closer look and I imagine that the looks on their faces probably varied. They come across a pod of hippos (about 20 or so) and as they got closer, they began to sink down in the water. The guides proceed to tell the guys to hold onto the poles of the boat because the hippos are going to try to turn the boat over. I’m not sure if any of them left with dry pants, but like I always say, that’s why they call it an adventure. They began to bang on the underside of the boat, but the crew made it out okay.
Hippos can open their mouths at a 180-degree angle and their mouths can open up anywhere from 2 feet to 4 feet. They are the third-largest land mammal on Earth behind elephants and rhinos and dad was lucky enough to see elephants right after the hippos as well. Since it was wintertime, the water was at its’ highest. They were about a mile from the falls, and they came up to an island in the river. One of the guides points out an elephant in the distance. Dad looks over and sees the trees moving, and they aimed the boat for the island. Two female elephants come out of the brush flapping their ears at them to which dad says “I think we need to move.” He couldn’t quite explain how big these creatures are, but said there was nothing like what he experienced that day.
After they got off the boat, they headed to the Falls where he said it’s hard to capture how massive they are with all of the mist that comes up. I later found out that the falls were originally named Mosi-oa-Tunya which meant “the smoke that thunders.” They went across a wooden walkway to get a good view and he mentioned the roar of the water. It gives me chills just thinking about it. It is wild to think that one of the world’s largest waterfalls is found along the course of the Zambezi river. I can’t help but think about the people who first discovered the falls and what they felt in that moment. The never-ending rainbow that arches up and over the falls, near all of the wildlife that inhabits that area a few feet away. Did they tear up? Did they think “holy shit, we should probably warn the people that are about to swim over?” or was it just another day? Anyways, after the adventure of a lifetime that occurred in one weekend, they caught a ride back to Lusaka to finish up the embassy. You know dad couldn’t leave without some souvenirs, so before they departed, they found a village that was known for wood carvings, and dad bought some for the house. Zambia is also known for minerals so he bought some gems, and bought mom a new wedding ring. They returned to the states in June 2000.
