We had a fantastic meal in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwae at a restaurant called Boma. Boma is the local word for "place of eating" and eating is certainly what we did. Upon arriving, we were greeted by two drummers and were dressed in traditional clothes.
We had some time before dinner was served, so I ordered a round of the local scotch for us to sip. After being seated at our table, we had a ceremonial hand washing and taste of traditional whiskey made of corn and gluten and then left in the sun to ferment. It was 3 percent good and 97 percent horrible crap, if you know what I mean.
The restaurant was in a large thatched roof hut with rows of tables moving outwards from a central open area used for entertainment. Everything was dimly lit but the place still seemed vibrant with colour. To one side was the buffet area which, of course, we frequented often.
Appetizers: traditional salads, butternut soup served in mini cauldrons, fresh bread, and crocodile tail. The croc reminded us of pork and was very tasty. I had 2 helpings.
Main course: sausage, chicken, sirloin, ribs, buffalo, warthog, impala, and jellyfish all made to order on an open grill right in front of you, and served on your own personal hot-plate. In another area, there was an entire lamb roasting on a spit. We all enjoyed everything, but we particularly liked the warthog for its tenderness and bold flavour. I had a lamb rib cut directly from the spit which was fantastic.
Dessert: a huge spread of everything, plus a crepe bar - made to order and sautéd in brandy. Also, Mopani worms. From the special Mopani tree, these worms were eaten by the tribes as a delicacy. We each ate one. Very crunchy and chewy, they took some effort to swallow but we were awarded certificates for completing the challenge.
After dinner, the entertainment started. Allison got some hair braids while Greg and I learned about the Boma Cocktail. An old man appeared and gave us this speech:
"the Boma cocktail is made of: vodka, which is alcoholic; cinnamon, good for the heart; lemon, for taste; honey, for sweetness; ice, or no ice; stirred with this special Boma stick. The Kenyans call it medicine. 4USD."
Greg immediately ordered two. They were so fantastic we had a couple more. This helped loosen is up for the ensuing drum lesson.
Every single person was given a drum and then a percussion band came on stage and have is a lesson. They had the whole place playing drums together. I loved it. It turned into a dance party, our table being the first to get up and bust a move.
We heard a sextet of singers, got our faces painted, and then ended up getting our fortunes told by a crazy guy in a hut on the way out.
Fantastic evening.
The next day we decided to take it easy. Breakfast by the pool, a walk around town, etc. We learned about a 2000 year old tree nearby so we decided to take a walk in that direction. Before we left, we were warned that buffalo and elephants sometimes came through that area, but that we wouldn't have a problem.
We found the impressive tree and took some pictures and continued our walk down the road. A truck came by and the people riding in the box told us there were elephants ahead! Greg and I were excited but cautiously continued on, Allison fell a few steps behind us so we'd get trampled first. Before we saw any elephant, the man driving the truck came back for us, and offered is a ride. We hopped in the box and we whirled down the road. About 30 seconds later, we had to stop the truck because there were three elephants standing in the road helping themselves to the vegetation! The driver pulled up slowly until we were about 5 meters away. It was apparent that the elephants knew we were there but they were quite obviously much more concerned with eating than with us.
We starred in awe for a long time, the man in the truck patiently waiting. Our pictures are surreal. I will try and post some next time I find a decent computer. When we were satisfied, the man have a lift back to town and refused any payment, just asked that we tell people about Victoria Falls and how awesome it is. Let this post be a testament to that!
Cheers!
Brad.
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