The Islands of Siankaba Hotel

The Islands of Siankaba is situated on small islands in the Zambezi River, about 20 miles west of Livingstone. Judith and the kids dropped us off in the late afternoon, weary from our long, hot drive from Namibia. At the reception area, the hotel managers welcomed us like old friends and escorted us to a raft-like boat that would take us to the actual hotel.

The main area of the hotel is an open-air bar and restaurant, overlooking calm channels of the Zambezi River. There's a pool, a shop with rooms for massages. Comfortable chairs facing the river. It's a beautiful place to just hang out. We were greeted by our "host" and introduced to staff, and offered a seat and a tropical drink before we were shown to our "chalet."

The chalets are actually on a different island, all connected by an enchanting path of swinging bridges and catwalks. The structures are a kind of house/tent hybrid. Wooden frame, thatched roof, canvas walls. It doesn't look that extraordinary from the outside. But when we stepped inside and saw the claw-foot tub, teak floors, Persian carpets, and beautiful bed, and screen wall that unzips to a deck over the river, we both gasped. It was a perfect mix of old world and safari style. A fridge full of bottled water and cold drinks. Crisp white robes. Aromatic lotions and sprays. We felt like we'd landed in heaven.

We had a couple of hours to relax before dinner, which was more like a private dinner party than a hotel meal. We gathered for drinks and hor d'oevres with the only other hotel guests that night, Jose Luis and Pilar Maria from Spain. His English was halting and she spoke no English, so we struggled with pantomime and Spanglish, but we found them both delightful.

We sat for dinner at a large table with our new friends, our host, Stephen, and Milindi, the schoolmaster of the village preschool. We had read the posted menu and were aware that the first course was braised crocodile tail in pomegranate sauce. But Jose Luis would not believe it. "Mmmm... Is chicken?" When we finally convinced him it actually was croc, he had to admit that it was quite good. The second course was chicken, and the whole meal was absolutely delicious and presented with flourish.

We lingered over coffee and talked with Milindi about the preschool, which the hotel had just finished building for the village. He talked excitedly about the village and the hotel's dedication to its improvement, and we signed up for a tour of the village the next day.

The next morning, we had a luxurious three-course breakfast that included Eggs Benedict. Then we took the boat to the reception area, where we met Richard, who would give us our village tour. It was a three-hour stroll in already hot weather, but worth every bead of sweat. At the end, we were paddled back to the hotel through shallow waters in a dug-out canoe.

We'd signed up for massages before lunch. It's a little hard to fully enjoy a massage while you're sweating (the room's air conditioner was no match for that heat), but it was still wonderful. And after a delicious lunch, we lounged in our heavenly chalet until it was time for our "sundowner cruise."

There were two new guests that joined us for the cruise, Belgian journalists. She was the writer, he the photographer, and he carried with him a whole trunk of photography equipment and a lens nearly as long as an elephant's fifth leg.

With the river channels as shallow as they were in this season, we didn't do a lot of cruising. But we settled near a hippo pod, and the driver set up drinks and hor d'oevres for us. We watched the crimson fireball of a setting sun slip into a low-lying cloud on the horizon.

That night we dined with the Belgian couple and the hotel's owners, who had come just for one day to check progress on the village preschool. Simon had built the hotel with his wife and father-in-law. Jay the "(not so) silent partner" lives in London. Both are dedicated not only to making the hotel a place of serenity and enjoyment, but also to the education and betterment of their staff and to the improvement of life in the adjacent village.

The hotel has a trust set up for just that purpose. The preschool is their latest project, but they have also helped with the village elementary school, the clinic, and the education of several of their staff. Most of their employees live in or come from the Siankaba village. And every year, they have a huge fundraiser, a bike-a-thon from London to Paris, which they enthusiastically invited us to join.

We talked well into the night with the owners, who quickly felt like friends. Not just a couple of do-gooding enterprisers, they really care, and they question themselves with every step. "I lay awake at night sometimes wondering just how much good we're doing," Jay admitted. "Before this hotel, the village was subsisting, barely, but they were subsisting. We've helped them build a well and ... but really, is infusing our culture into theirs doing them a favor?"

That night Jay asked me if there was anything I'd missed experiencing in Africa. "Music," I said. It was African music and dance that first drew me to African culture, but I hadn't seen either since arriving.

The next morning, as our boat shuttled us off the island and to the reception place, we heard the most beautiful chorus singing. Jay had arranged for the choir of the local village church to come serenade us. We were overwhelmed, both by the beauty of these voices raised in harmony, and by Jay's thoughtfulness.

We rode in the hotel van to the airport with both Jay and Simon, who were on our same flight to Lusaka. They escorted us in and showed us where to pay our travel tax, check our bags, and then bought us drinks in the bar while we waited. Jay would be on our flight to London in two days. When he learned we planned to take the Tube to our hotel, he insisted on arranging a car to pick us up at the airport and take us back again for our departure. I'd never imagined such a warm, easy connection with the owners of such a place, but it felt like we were friends.

So our stay at this absolutely incredible place was made even more special by our experience with the owners.