Christmas in Livingstone

Being away from family and friends during the holidays has been a major challenge for both of us. We have never spent Christmas away from either mine or Erin's family so we were lucky in meeting Geoff and Sam.

Sunset cruise on the Zambezi River with Geoff, Sam, Erin, and I.

On Christmas Eve, we did a sunset cruise on the Zambezi with dinner and drinks. We arrived back at the hostel, aptly named Jollyboys, to continue the festivities. We arrived to a pleasant surprise because the hostel had invited school children to sing carols. We watched them and celebrated with Amarula, an African liquor made from the marula tree fruit.

Some local school children singing Christmas carols at our hostel.

On Christmas, we slept in and then made a pretty massive breakfast that we were both looking forward to. The day before, we had signed up through Jollyboys to go have lunch at a local orphanage. Since we had bought two toys as a donation, the lunch was free. Us four, along with about 20 others from the hostel, went down to the Lubasi Home and got the royal tour. We met the some of the orphans, of which there are 45 at the home, and then sat down for lunch. There was chicken, beef (the best we have had in Africa), ugali, rice, beans, green veggies, and soup. The kids got an extra helping of everything and they didn't waste it. We were amazed at how much they could eat. They opened the gifts and they all seemed very happy with what they were given. It was great to be able to be with people who don't have the option of being with family for Christmas.

This is Gifte and I. He sat next to us during lunch. Proper name around Christmas time, I guess.

We helped serve the orphans lunch before getting some of our own grub.

The kids can eat SO much and their plates were huge!

A group picture of everyone at lunch.

Geoff, Sam, me, and Erin at Jollyboys after dinner....Merry Christmas!

That night, we treated ourselves to a good Italian meal at a nearby restaurant with Geoff and Sam. They got everyone Christmas Crackers. This was a tradition we had never heard of which is hugely popular in the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, and possibly elsewhere. Usually they have a small "pop" to them like a firecracker, contain a small gift, and have a hat to where during Christmas dinner. We opened them at the restaurant and sported the hats for the rest of the night. We had some good beer and a bit more Amarula before settling in for an early night in preparation for heading to Namibia by overnight bus the next day. It was a good Christmas, but we are already looking forward to spending it next year with friends and family. Merry Christmas!

(Written December 29th)