Victoria Falls is in Zimbabwe, next door (geographically–bureaucratically it’s miles) from Botswana. Borders of the two countries are about twenty feet apart but crossing from B to Z involves going into an immigration “office”, forking over $30 and waiting two minutes for a Zimbabwean visa, a government money machine. We went first to our hotel on the Zimbabwe side (the Falls are on the Zim/Zambezi border) and then into the entirely missable town, a haven of souvenir shops and men hawking dubious goods.
The Falls, while not word’s highest or widest, are considered the largest existing sheet of falling water. They were “discovered” by David Livingstone in 1885 –he’s one half of the probably apocryphal quote, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” uttered by reporter Henry Stanley. Livingstone, the first European to see the falls, was suitably impressed, naming them in honor of Queen Victoria. The more colorful name, still in use is Mosi-oa-Tunya—”the smoke that thunders.”
Our local guide walked us from one end of the falls to the other passing through rain forest vegetation. You get delightfully wet here and there. Along the way you climb down a longish flight of stone steps to see the Devil’s Cataract and then up to view Horseshoe Falls, Rainbow Falls, where the water yields a perpetual rainbow, and other sections . Towards the end of the path is the Victoria Bridge where guys bungee jump, screaming (with fear, delight or some combo of the two) as they plunge. (I passed.)
Leaving the park there is a statue of mining magnate Cecil John Rhodes who was Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896 and is now very un- PC due to his imperialistic attitude and setting the template for apartheid.
This recipe has nothing to do with the Falls or Africa but water is part of the name and it makes delicious soup.
Watercress Soup
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 large white potato (12 ounces), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice (2 cups)
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
3 cups low-sodium chicken stock
2 bunches (14 ounces total) watercress, thick stems trimmed, coarsely chopped
Lemon wedges, for serving
Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oil and garlic, cook until sizzling and fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in potato and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook 1 minute.
Add stock and 1 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in watercress. Return to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Divide among soup bowls and squeeze a lemon wedge into each bowl. Serve immediately.
Serve as a first course or a light lunch with bread and cheese, perhaps a salad. There are lots of excellent South African white wines to drink with this although not all are easy to find in the U.S. Good hunting.