Saturday, September 23, 2023
This morning, I woke up early and took a long shower knowing that it would be my last one until we arrived home tomorrow afternoon. Jane & I packed out bags, ate breakfast, and then wheeled our luggage to the reception desk where we met with Fikret and Paula at at our pre-arranged time, 10:00 am. We spent a while settling our hotel bill and then our bill with the company that provided our rides. After the settlements, we left our bags at the front desk and boarded another ride to squeeze in one more sightseeing event before our journey home.
We were dropped off at the luxurious five-star Victoria Falls Hotel. This spectacular edifice was established in 1904 along the railway line originally developed by Cecil Rhodes. Its elegant accommodations and grounds were too expensive for us to afford, but we took our time exploring and imaging what a extravagant stay there would be like.
The indoor facilities, lobbies, dining areas, hall, etc., were magnificent and reflected the elegance of the hotel’s past. Walls were adorned with pictures of famous visitors including British royalty. The grounds were amazing with a huge landscaped back lawn sloping down to the Zambezi River with a view of the bridge and mist from the falls rising along the gorge’s edge. We browsed through an interesting outdoor display of stone artwork. At some point, I wandered off and was separated from the other three of my group. As I was making my way back to the front entrance to meet our driver, I heard lovely women’s voices singing. A train had arrived and passengers were being greeted as they disembarked and entered the hotel. Hotel attendees were sorting through a large pile of identical luggage. Eventually, a group of Zimbabwean men began singing and dancing beside the train welcoming passengers. Shorty, after the arrival ceremonies ended, our driver and the others of my group arrived and we headed back to the Shongwe Lookout.
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| Victoria Falls Hotel Entrance & Doorman |
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| Behind Victoria Falls Hotel |
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| View of the Zambezi River and Bridge from the Back Lawn |
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| Hotel Rear |
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| Flowering Jacaranda Tree |
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| One of the Displayed Stone Works of Art |
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| Fancy Victual Room |
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| Arriving Railway Passengers received a Zimbabwean Welcome |
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| Boarding Cem Air Jet |
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| Farewell Zimbabwe! |
The trip back to Johannesburg went smoothly with nice views of the terrain and city scape. At O.R. Tambo International Airport, we had to claim our luggage and go back through passport control to reenter South Africa. Then, upstairs from arrivals, we leaned that the Delta gates for our flight home would not open for over an hour. Eventually, we were able to check our bags and reported to the gate to wait for boarding of our 9:55 pm flight. Nearby, we got a bite to eat for supper (a personal pizza for me). While we waited at the gate, a Delta crew rearranged chairs and tables to set up an impromptu area for our flight’s passengers to go through yet another security check. Eventually, we were called to pass through this security, boarded, and departed on time.
Sunday, September 24, 2023
Opposite to the east-bound trip, I was unable to sleep much (2-3 hours) while Jane slept well on this flight. We passed from Saturday to Sunday over the Atlantic Ocean and arrived in Atlanta on time. After deplaning, presumably because of the extra security check in Jo’burg, U.S. passport holders of the entire flight were quickly processed through passport control; there was no need for us to use our Global Entry cards. In baggage claim, about a quarter of the passengers on our flight, including us, learned that Delta had left our luggage in Jo’burg and that we needed to file a claim at our final destination. Sigh! We checked our luggage directly with Delta at least four hours before departing! Either this was due to complete incompetence or (I believe) a deliberate act to manage weight on the plane. We were never provided an explanation.
We decided to eat breakfast at T.G.I. Friday’s. The service was very slow this time but the food and coffee tasted fine. Our flight from ATL and arrival at RDU went smoothly. We had received several text messages from Delta about our luggage but also filed a missing baggage claim at RDU. We quickly found an Uber driver to take us home luggageless. I noticed that the driver had zebras in the background of his Uber photo and it turned out that he was from Senegal. So we had a nice ride sharing our African experiences. He strongly recommended visiting the pink lake (Lake Retba) in Senegal.
It felt great arriving back home despite tree litter on the driveway from a recent storm. As usual, Will had left the place in great shape. Zorro was pleased to see us and we almost needed ear protection from his loud purring.
What great experiences we had on this trip! Yet, “There is no place like home.”
P.S. Our luggage had magically appeared on our front porch when I got up the morning of Tuesday, September 26.