Dear friends:

I’m getting behind on life here. I still haven’t told you about the hike to the waterfall. It was wonderful, but I am not what I once was! As we approached this hike, I am envisioning a nice nature trail like in the state parks we camp in. They’re usually about 2-3 miles, nice cleared paths where you can usually stroll hand-in-hand. Well this is Africa, and it wasn’t anything like that!

We walked 3 miles on a train track (or beside it)-one of those big no-no’s in Mom’s eyes! Our experienced guide, a veteran missionary, said there shouldn’t be a train until afternoon and he was letting HIS 8-year-old daughter do it, so I decided it was okay. There were some breathtaking vistas of the valley floor and the mountains beyond and a great view of the RVA campus from about 2 miles away (I took a picture). Then we turned off to the waterfall onto a very narrow path. The path was about 8 inches wide and overhung with all types of vegetation. Around each curve I expected to see the waterfall, but the path just got narrower and more overgrown! At one point we were warned not to stray off the path because, although the vegetation somewhat camouflaged it, there was a steep, steep drop of maybe a hundred feet to the river bed, just one step to the right of the path.

Then we arrived at the river. The boys and guide took the river route over huge stones through the water. Steve and I opted for the slightly less rigorous path. This still entailed grabbing onto vines and pulling yourself up vertical banks as tall as I was, bending down to go under fallen trees that were just 3 feet off the ground, etc. The boys were great troopers and even though we heard occasional splashes as someone fell into the water, they loved every minute of it. Finally we reached the first of the seven falls. It was beautiful even though it was only about a third of its usual volume. Our guide and the kids went on up to the second and third falls, but Steve and I opted to watch since this consisted of primarily vertical scrambles.

We ate lunch and rested a bit, then trekked home, tired but triumphant. Total mileage approximately 10 miles. This was the hike I’ve wanted to take since I was in high school-but I probably wouldn’t have hurt so much the next day had I been in high school!

God’s creation is so varied, so beautiful, so awesome. I am grateful for the opportunity to see this part of it. I’m sure we will bring the dorm boys here to enjoy it too. Hopefully I’ll be in better shape by then.

Bless you all,

Nancy