Boat Drinks

The Zambezi River Sundowner Cruise is a bit of a misnomer. A sundowner is the southern African tradition of having a drink at the end of the day. This would imply one river, one beverage, one cruise. This was not the case.

Our cruise passenger list included five Japanese youngsters, two English girls, a South African family and a group of rowdy Aussies. Apart from the Aussies, the trip up river was fairly quiet, but about three beers in the mood changed. The boat crew was so busy replenishing drinks that we knocked into another boat as they cut across our bow. We were frustrated by a perpetually submerged hippo, but as the boat turned downstream towards the falls the groups were intermixing and taking each others photos.

We chatted up the Japanese students beside us and learned that this was their graduation trip before they started their new job and grad school, respectively. Despite their shaky English (and our non-existent Japanese), we had a great time. We made two new Facebook buddies and invited them out for drinks that evening.

As we turned back from the falls, we finally got the hippo sighting that everyone hoped for, including a small calf. The ride back to the dock was cheerful, and I think the whole experience added greatly to international diplomacy.