Today we were supposed to have breakfast at 5 and leave at 5:30. I say supposed to because some people had a little bit harder of a time waking up this morning than others ::cough cough Mike was drunk last night cough cough::. So we headed out around 6 am, with hopes of arriving at Victoria Falls around 2 pm, with plenty of time to explore our surroundings between today and tomorrow :).
In order to cut down on travel time, we packed ourselves sandwiches for lunch (I'm not sure I'm going to be able to eat another PB&J (which I've been eating pretty much every day for breakfast) anytime soon...
We drove straight onward (with more sleeping/reading/coloring/listening to music, etc. etc.) until we arrived at the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe around 1 pm. While it only took the 11 of us about 20 minutes to clear border patrol, it (again) took the truck longer. Nearly 2 hours. Little did Jon and I know we were only about a 5 minute walk from our hotel that entire time. Awesome.
After going through the Zambia border, we drove along the bridge that separates the two countries and encountered... the Victoria Falls Bungee Jump Experience.
This was what I had been waiting for/dreading about Vic Falls. Knowing that I really wanted to bungee jump there, and also being petrified of the experience (and already wanting it to be over!) The whole time we were at the border, all I could think was "I wish I just went while everyone was waiting at the border. It doesn't even take that long to jump. I could have already jumped by now!!" But alas. At the border we waited.
Once the truck was cleared, we piled back in once more to drive to our hotel. Literally 5 minutes away. Ugh. We quickly stopped at the bank to pay back all the American dollars we had borrowed from our guides for our visas (they can only be paid in USD and Zimbabwe is the only country that provides USD through ATMs/banks (at least for now, it's possible their main currency could be switching to the Chinese Yen any day...) and then arrived at our hotel - N1 Lodge. We said our goodbyes to our guides and travel companions, hopped off the truck (HUZZAHHHHHH!!!!!!!) and we were finally on our own after several weeks!!
AND FREEDOM TASTED SO GOOD.
It's funny because obviously we were free to do as we pleased during the tour...buttttt not really. No one ever ate where they wanted. Or really shopped where they wanted, or did anything separate from the group because that was where we were herded together. It was VERY nice to finally be deciding our own schedule and not dependent on others.
So now that we were free of our bags, I immediately asked what time bungee jumping closed for the day, because again, I knew I wanted to do it, but ABSOLUTELY wanted to get it over with! Turns out our time at the border made it quite a close call. It was now 3:30 and they closed at 4. And it was a 20 minute walk back to the bridge. And to pay with credit card we needed to wait for someone from their office across town to BRING us a credit card machine to run our card. Umm, what?
Jon waited for credit card machine man while I changed into what I considered "jumping" clothes - capri pants, a short sleeved shirt, and sneakers. When the guy arrived, he offered to drive us to the bridge. WOO WOO. He drove us to the border patrol where we got a "day" pass to travel to the middle of the bridge (since technically the place you jump is in no-man's land between Zambia and Zimbabwe). From there, it was a quick walk to the bridge...during which it started raining...and then the lightning came...and then the thunder. UGHHHHH.
I was so nervous I didn't want to think about what the weather was doing, but I also knew the bungee place was going to close in the next 20 minutes. We got there, I signed my life away with waiver forms, and was then told the conditions weren't safe for me to jump. Shocking. During this time, Jon and I figured out how our new GoPro worked (because, ya know, the best time to figure that out is when you actually want to use it...) and waited, watching the lightning in the background as we sat in a cafe overlooking the bridge.
My nerves had finally caught up to me and I was FEELING IT. The woman with the waiver forms came over and informed me that the workers on the bridge had said the "rain" was only mist from the falls, and that the lightning was far away and I was cleared for take-off. Umm, again, what?? I wasn't at ALL sure about this, but I also knew that they do this every day and *hoped and prayed* they knew what they were doing!!
After they marked my arm with my weight and jumping order, we set off for the bridge. When we got there, a guy who had just jumped came up from his jump. He didn't look super thrilled, but he had survived and that was good enough for me at that moment since I had already made up my mind to go through with it lol.
I proceeded down onto the platform where several lovely individuals helped to secure allllllll my ropes/carabiners/bindings/etc.etc.etc. (because there certainly were a lot. And I was very ok with that!) While securing my legs with towels (to protect them from the ropes), I accidentally looked down. What an awful idea! All I could see was the rushing water hundreds of feet below me. TERRIFYING!! That was when I decided I wasn't gonna look down until it was actually time to jump. They finished securing my bindings and I was asked a bunch of questions on camera about what I was feeling, etc., before two guys helped move me to the edge of the platform. I was SO scared. They told me to edge further and further onto the platform until finally my toes were dangling off. When I got to this point, I just kept thinking about the advice I'd received from my wonderful friend, Amy, who I had studied abroad with in Rome and who had gone bungee jumping in New Zealand. Her advice? When they countdown from 5 - just jump. Don't think about it. You know you're going to jump because you want to do it. So just jump when they get to 1 and don't think, otherwise you will psych yourself out.
I'm fairly certain I might not have completed the jump if it wasn't for Amy's advice. THANK YOU LOVE!!
So there I was on the edge of the platform. These two men holding my arms out as they VERY QUICKLY counted down:
5-4-3-2-1 JUMP!
AND I WAS OFF!!
While at the bottom waiting to be brought back up, I spun, a lot, felt SUPER dizzy, and felt grateful to be alive (although my vision did begin to blur slightly from the force of it all and my anxiety/adrenaline.) After about a minute, another worker swung out to grab me where I was dangling and brought me up to the lower portion of the bridge. From there, I clipped into safety cables and walked over to the Zimbabwe side of the bridge, where Jon greeted me with a hug, a smile, and a shake of his head. Sometimes I think he wonders what he got himself into when he married me. But I think he has always known I'm a little bit crazy, so hopefully all the hoops I pull him through aren't too unbearable :-p.
After recovering, we walked back up to the cafe, where they showed me my pictures and videos (which we of course bought because I am NEVER bungee jumping again) before walking back to our hotel room. The whole walk back I just kept looking at Jon and saying "I can't believe I did it", "I just jumped off a freakin BRIDGE", and "Thank you for always letting me do the crazy things I want to do and supporting me along the way." I really am quite lucky to have such an understanding husband who is always by my side :).
At the cafe with the bridge in the background!
We got back to our hotel about 5 pm, both of us feeling grateful that the jump was behind us and that we could really just enjoy our next full day at the falls! After changing, we headed out for an early dinner at a restaurant in town called Shear Water. It was probably the most American/touristy restaurant we could find in town, but after 3 weeks on the road we were feeling like we needed some comfort food. Jon's burger and my chicken were absolutely BEYOND delicious. Not only that - we got them in about 20 minutes!! The food came out so quickly that we thought there had been a mistake!! It was REALLY nice feeling happy, comfortable, well fed, and with the anxiety of the jump totally out of the way :).
We got back to our room around 8:30 and honestly it is time for bed. Looking forward to a relaxing day around Vic Falls tomorrow!
Jess' highlight of the day: crossing a major item off my bucket list - bungee jumping!!!
Jon's highlight of the day: both the tour and Jess' bungee jump being over
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