The Smoke that Thunders

by Laila Arnesson (Sweden)

A leap into the unknown Zimbabwe

Mosi-oa-Tunya, The Smoke that Thunders -the reason of my visit. A droughty landscape great my eyes as the cab speeds down the road towards the town with the same name as the iconic waterfalls. Trees stand barren and the ground is cracked from the lack of moisture. I have a clear goal for my stay. One: see the Victoria Falls, and two: throw myself from the bridge between Zimbabwe and the neighbouring country Zambia. It is early afternoon as I make my way towards the bridge. The temperature is just shy of 40 degrees celsius as I drag my feet on the hard concrete, feeling conflicted in continuing onwards. To my left, a stonewall and to my right, semi desert. Not much to distract me from my racing heart and raging nerves. In the distance I hear the faint thundering of water plunging over the cliffs towards the awaiting river. A river I am to jump towards from a height of 111 meters. I feel sweat drip of my nose -not only as a result of the midday suns pulsing heat. “Are you going to jump?” a man call out as he walk up next to me. I nod and he introduces himself as “Ice Cream”. “Everybody knows it and everybody likes it. I hope they will remember me when I use this name.” he explains. He has a peculiar look - almost timeless- and if asked I would not be able to tell whether he is in his 20´s, 30´s or 40´s. But his eyes are kind, smile reassuring. “Have you ever jumped before?” I ask as the bridge finally comes into view. “Four times!” he exclaims proudly, and then conspiratorially “The trick is to take a deep breath. You breath in, jump, and the most important thing is to scream!” I laughed and explained my sore throat, that I up until yesterday had not had a voice, even if I wanted to scream I would not be able to produce any decent sound. “You will scream.” he promise me. “It will force its way out and you will feel good because you did it.” I remember those words as the last adjustments are made to the harness. “Why am I doing this again?” The one making the adjustments looks up at me. “Because you can”. Right, that is precisely why I do this. Because I can. I am lead towards the edge of the platform and as I gaze down the Zambezi river seem to be miles away. A view which would normally steal my breath away make my breath hitch for a very different reason. Oh no. “Arms out” I changed my mind! “Eyes on the horizon” I cannot! “5-4-3-2-1, bungee!” I jumped. And just as Ice Cream had predicted: I scream. When I run out of air I continue to scream. And then I laugh. I fee like I might die but never have I been so alive. The air rip all sounds from my mouth as the river grow closer. The adrenaline coursing through my veins like nothing I have ever felt before. The wind on my face and my heartbeat is the only things I feel. The sound of blood rushing through my veins the sole thing I hear. “You scream very good.” Ice cream inform me with a big smile once I had both feet back on the secure concrete. “It was like Mosi-oa-Tunya, very powerful.” With a bounce to my step I make my way back towards town. In the distanced I can hear the sound of thundering waterfalls.