Victoria Falls
Taking advantage of the full moon and with about half of our therapy time remaining, we took a break and made a quick trip to Livingstone to view the lunar rainbow at Victoria Falls in Livingstone. Victoria Falls is one of the seven wonders of the world! It is also called Tokaleya Tonga: the cloud that thunders. On one side is Livingstone, Zambia & the other is Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. According to Wikipedia, "It is much larger than Niagra Falls. While it is neither the highest nor the widest waterfall in the world, it is claimed to be the largest. This claim is based on a width of 1,708 metres (5,604 ft)[3] and height of 108 metres (354 ft), forming the largest sheet of falling water in the world...There are no mountains, escarpments, or deep valleys which might be expected to create a waterfall, only flat plateau extending hundreds of kilometres in all directions. The spray from the falls typically rises to a height of over 400 metres (1,300 ft), and sometimes even twice as high, and is visible from up to 50 km (31 mi) away. At full moon, a "moonbow" can be seen in the spray instead of the usual daylight rainbow... David Livingstone, the Scottish missionary and explorer, is believed to have been the first European to view the Victoria Falls — which he did from what is now known as 'Livingstone Island' in Zambia, the only land accessible in the middle of the falls. David Livingstone gave the falls the name 'Victoria Falls' in honor of his Queen..." So much for the history lesson! Here's what I will remember about one of the Seven Wonders of the World: *the Japanese guy who stood in front of the audience and directly in front of me for about 95% of our viewing! *the Japanese couple standing in front of everyone (not related to the inconsiderate young man who blocked our view). They couldn't operate their camera, so they read their manual using flashlights. *the young couple from who-knows-where (again standing in front of everyone) making out. Excessively. Seriously, I will remember the breathtaking beauty and mighty power, the soft mist and perfect weather, the bright glow of the biggest full moon Ive ever seen, and the most spectacular, ever-changing giant moon bow. I will also remember calling Coy to have him hear the roar of the thundering waterfall in the background ... and wishing he was there, too. Livingstone wrote of the falls, "No one can imagine the beauty of the view from anything witnessed in England. It had never been seen before by European eyes; but scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight."
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