Zimbabwe - Bulawayo & Harare

Its really been a strange couple of weeks.  I kind of feel like we've been in Zimbabwe for a month.

After leaving steaming hot and expensive Botswana, we were very excited to get to Zimbabwe.  Several people have mentioned to us how much they like the country and we were hopeful we would have the same sentiments.  Unfortunately, we discovered that Zimbabwe is just as expensive, and we're not so sure how we feel about our experience here so far.

Figuring Things Out
Our first stop was Bulawayo, the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and an obligatory stop once you've crossed the border.  There is not much to do in Bulawayo, other than marvel at the fact that everything is so expensive, and the quality of the products and services does not meet the cost.  Accommodations are higher than what you'd pay in the U.S., and appallingly dingy and run-down for what you pay for.  We stayed in a decent hostel for a few days, before finding a cheap YMCA where we stayed the remaining few days in Bulawayo.  It felt a bit like we were staying at shelter, and there was no hot water, but the staff was friendly and we were relieved to not have to pay our entire daily budget on accommodations.

Zimbabwe is kind of a strange country.  Just a few years ago, the U.S. dollar was illegal here, and now it is the currency used.  The dollar bills look as though someone retrieved them from a mud puddle, and that they will disintegrate in your hand at any moment.  The inflation here was absolutely out of control a few years ago, and of course there are the "controversial" politics of Zimbabwe (refer to Guy's blog, he did a nice job describing the situation here http://choosingmyownadventures.blogspot.com/2010/12/dollar-dollar-bills-yallin-zimbabwe.html), all adding to a feeling of unease about what to expect here.

Luv Dat Chicken
Well, anyways, while in Bulawayo, we did check out the local cuisine.  The first kind (the terrible, disgusting and of the U.S. McDonald's type) included the "Inn" monopoly.  Everywhere you go in Zimbabwe, you can find a row of dining options including "Chicken Inn," (whose slogan is Luv Dat Chicken) "Pizza Inn," "Baker's Inn," and "Creamy Inn."  There is also the grocery store "Express Inn."  We took the plunge into Chicken Inn and have yet to return.  When we left I told Guy that I had to pretend I was on the show "Fear Factor" (you know, that show where they have to eat cow hearts and millipedes to win $100,000) in order to finish my meal.  The chicken tasted like it was rescued from the dumpster and fried in the oil I put in my engine.  The rest of the "Inns" were ok, but left a lot to be desired. 

Then we moved onto the "real" food of Zimbabwe.  Sadza is a very traditional element of Southern African cooking, and is a cooked corn meal that looks a lot like mashed potatoes.  Paired with it is either beef stew, chicken, fish or beans.  When we went to a local establishment to try out this delicious dish, we were a little nervous that we wouldn't "do it right".  We tried to stealthily look around to see the proper way to eat sadza.  You wash your hands before and after the meal, as the waiter comes by to pour water over your hands.  You take the sadza with your hand and dip it into the stew to eat.  I thought it was tasty, and for a $1 or $2 per meal, a great value.  The clear winner of dining options over the "Inns."  Other than that, there really are no options in Zimbabwe.

Mid-Night Train
From Bulawayo we decided to take the train to Harare.  I was a bit apprehensive, since I've read the trains are unreliable here and can break down, leaving you stuck for hours.  But, I had never really taken a train before, so I thought it might be an interesting experience.  It was.  It was an overnight train, so for $10 we would be able to travel and sleep, a bargain only as good as sadza in this country.  When we boarded at 7:30 pm, we were met with our little sleeper compartment, with two beds and lots of filth.  After an hour, we were on our way.  The doors were in desperate need of oiling, and so every time someone opened their door, it let out an ear-piercing screech.  The family of four next to us had someone coming or going every 60 seconds or so.  As I tried not to touch anything in our compartment (except the train bedding that I courageously used) I fell into a bit of sleep, but certainly not restful.  I really tried to not use the bathroom the whole trip, but caved after 12 hours.  It was by far the most disgusting bathroom I have ever seen (and I've seen some really nasty ones on this trip).  I don't think its been cleaned in 20 years.We arrived in Harare at 11:30 am the next morning.  15 hours.  It takes 5 hours to get there by bus. 

Party Like Its 1999
In Harare, we were lucky enough to find a host through couchsurfing, so we had a home to stay in for a few nights.  IdirIdir has done a lot of traveling and had lots of interesting things to share with us.  That night, he wanted to take us "out on the town" so we obliged.  He brought us to a local club, which was pretty small (and seemed like it was trying to hard) with an interesting mix of people.  He told us he needed to go to another work party, and would pick us up in an hour.  So, after making his appearance at a FEW parties, he came back to pick us up, only to bring us to yet another party.  This was at someones home, right next to the Chinese Embassy.  It was packed full of people, (mostly ex-pats) and plenty of people appeared to have come from money.  Guy and I were ready to go home, not really accustomed to the club scene with our REI travel clothes and hiking boots, but stayed amused doing some people watching.  When it came time to leave, we realized the security guards (yes, at someones home party) had packed way too many cars into the yard, making it nearly impossible to leave.  Idir was visibly upset, yelled at the guard, and proceeded to repeatedly ram into the shrubs and trees surrounding his vehicle.  Guy and I, outside of the car, were trying to slow him down and direct him, not knowing whether to laugh or be horrified.  With a branch sticking out of the car's grill, Idir announced to the guard "Why must you do this?  See, I have destroyed the garden!"  At this point Idir wanted to take us to another club that we were about to enter before we got a call from his friend to go to this party, but we politely said we were ready to call it a night.

The next day was a bit more mellow, as we were invited to Idir's friend's house for a delicious lunch of homemade couscous.  Again, it was a very interesting group of people, consisting of people from Algeria, Egypt, Ireland, France, Zimbabwe and the United States.  We were very grateful to Idir as he was a fantastic host and very generous to us during our short stay. 

Getting Robbed!
Idir had to leave town to go back home and travel for a few weeks.  Sunday morning, he left very early to catch his flight, leaving us to a lazy morning getting ready to head into town to find new accommodations.  Our plan was to walk up to the main road (about 45 minutes) to catch a combi back into town.  As we left that morning, we had decided to pack everything into our backpacks, to make it easier getting on and off the bus.  Normally, we keep our smaller bags separate, containing items such as the camera and other important things.  This was probably the only time we've put EVERYTHING in our large bags.  We set off on our walk, which was very long and hot.  Guy was carrying both of our bags for quite a while, and when we were just blocks from the main road, a car pulled up next to us, offering us a ride.  This is the type of thing I would NEVER in my life do by myself, but since Guy was with, I agreed to get in.  He told us we could put our bags in the trunk.  We have hitched a few other times with very kind people, so although cautious, we weren't too worried.

The two men in the car were very friendly, asking us how we liked Zimbabwe and how things were going.  As they pulled onto the side of the road, Guy offered them a few dollars for driving us to the road.  They vigorously shook their heads "No!," refusing anything from us.  As we got out of the car, Guy went to open the trunk, which he did successfully, when they hit the gas and sped away full speed, with EVERYTHING in our bags.  Guy yelled at them to stop and chased the car for a few seconds, while I stood there, dumbfounded.  Guy pointed out that the car had no license, as he tried to see what the number would be as it drove away.  That should have been a clue to us that these men were not to be trusted.  My very first thought was "those stupid men...they don't realize that they really got nothing from us."  For us, things like our pictures, mean the world to us.  To them, all they got was a camera that they probably won't get much for, a bunch of dirty clothes and toiletries that may just get dumped in the trash.

From that point, we encountered people that were totally unsympathetic and people that felt awful for us and were worried that we hated Zimbabwe because of our experience.  We assured them we knew there are thieves everywhere and no reason to judge an entire country on one bad experience.  We were, ironically, right across the street from an Army base, where the front guards seemed oblivious to what had happened to us.  A very kind man was very concerned for us and was very helpful getting us to the police station.  The police station was quite archaic, and the women there were having a very difficult time understanding our story.  We of course knew that the thieves were most likely never be found, but wanted to get a report for insurance purposes.  As we stood there waiting, we slowly recounted all of the things we had lost, and would need to purchase.  Even at that very angry moment, I couldn't help but feel incredibly relieved that we were safe, had our money, our passports, and each other.  Really.  Getting robbed definitely puts things in perspective very quickly.  I felt incredibly violated, and feel even more cautious than I did before, but really, I feel incredibly grateful for what I do have. 

What Do You Mean, JuJu??
After our robbery experience, we tried to slowly get ourselves back together, both emotionally and physically. We made a trip to the American Embassy for advice on different things, and while they were somewhat helpful, we've taken care of things pretty well for ourselves.  We found some fairly cheap accommodations in Harare where we would stay a few nights.  While there, Guy told group of guests about our incident (to my horror).  After this dramatic event, I find myself more cautious (as I mentioned) and nervous to announce such things to people.  A day later, the owner of the hostel came to our room, and told us he needed to change an outlet in the room, and that also, there was a man up front to talk to Guy about the robbery.  So, while I waited with the outlet man in the room, Guy went up front to talk to whomever this man might be.  After what seemed like an eternity, Guy comes back to tell me "That was really weird."  Oh great, I'm thinking, now what??  Apparently this man heard from someone else in the hostel about our robbery and told Guy that he would be able to help us get our things back.  All I'm thinking is, great, this man knows the thieves, and we're REALLY going to be in trouble now!  I tell Guy "This is what you get for telling everyone in the hostel what has happened to us, you need to keep your mouth shut!"  Guy continues with the story, where apparently the man tells him that juju is what can help us.  Not knowing much about juju, Guy explained to me that it is the art of African witchcraft.  The man wanted $50 up front to "get the juju" which Guy would then "take" and then our things would show up at the hostel. Then Guy would pay him $150 for our things received.  At this point I had to laugh.  This was getting out of control.  It was obvious this guy just wanted to make a buck off of us.  Guy asked how the thieves would know where we are to give us our things back since they were no where near where the robbery happened.  The man then gave up, "then the juju will not work, if they don't know where you are."  Guy mentioned it was time to get out of there, and I agreed.  On to find yet ANOTHER accommodation.  While we were looking at hotels, a bird pooped on my head.  I've heard that is good luck.  It might have been.

A Ray of Light
After looking at a few places, we went to the Internet cafe to look up some other accommodations, since things are so expensive here.  My friend Lorie had sent me an email letting me know a friend, Michelle, knew some people in Harare that we could connect with.  We sent them a text, and very graciously, without meeting or even talking to us, they let us stay with them!  They are a wonderful couple teaching at an international school with kids and dogs and a whole cottage for us to sleep in!  They fed us and made us laugh and we are very grateful to them for taking us in.

Random Things
There have been other amusing things since the robbery.  One was our trip to the Harare police station yesterday to get a copy of our police report.  Other than the fact that this huge building is a free-for-all in terms of people coming and going with essentially no security, we were surprised (well, not THAT surprised I suppose) to find that copy meant HAND copy.  And that the police investigators are not mobile - they have no cars.  I imagine that makes it a little difficult to get your job done.

Shopping for new clothes in Harare is a bit hilarious.  As we went from store to store across the city, I realized my choices were confined to the following: Southern Baptist church lady (grandma) clothing (including the fabulous hats and all), authentic African clothing (which as much as I'd like to think I could pull it off, I just couldn't) and clothing for teenager's going to the club.  My favorite experience was in a store where I tried to explain to a young man what I was looking for, and he kept coming back with: white stretch pants, hot pink pants, and a shirt with a giant silver bow.  Not quite the travel/hiking attire I'm looking for.  What is strange, though, is I saw young women wearing very cute clothes on the street, but where did they find it???  Luckily I came across a few items that work, which is really all I need.   The last humiliating fact about shopping in Africa...I am a size XXL here.  Wow.

As we wait for my sister to arrive for the second half of our experience in Zimbabwe, I am open and ready for anything.  Hopefully some fun and wonderful things will be included in that experience.

P.S. We have no pictures for Zimbabwe so far because A.) It is ILLEGAL to take photos in public in the city here, and B.) We have no camera. :(

botswana

Since hearing from several people how expensive Botswana is, we knew our time here was going to be limited.  Our combi ride from Mafikeng over the border to Gaborone (the capital of Botswana) was hot and crowded, though relatively short.  Apparently locals have a slightly different tolerance for heat than I do, seeing that every window but mine was slammed shut and folks were wearing sweaters in 90-some degree weather!  Even my window managed to be snuck shut whenever I wasn't paying attention.  Inferno.

We noticed quite quickly how much more we were getting stared at than when we were in South Africa.  I think there are far less tourists here than South Africa.  There is definitely a different feel in Bostwana.  Our time in Gabarone was fairly uneventful (not much to see or do) other than staying with a great couchsurfing gal serving for the peace corp.  Though I almost died of heatstroke while there (how could the weather keep getting even hotter?!) Michelle briefed us in on all things Botswana, the good and bad and challenging times she's had here.  Though there is economic stability in the country, due largely to the diamond mining industry, there is speculation as to what will happen to the country when that resource runs out (in the next few decades?) and of course there still exists the AIDS epidemic as well as poverty.

Since our time in Botswana was limited to a week, we headed north to the country's largest attraction, the Okavango Delta, where we spent the bulk of our week, with a quick stop in Francistown, before heading to Zimbabwe.

Our 10 hour bus ride was interesting...cramped, frantic and long.  As things turned dark I witnessed the most incredible sunset - a rainbow of colors across the entire dome of the sky.  Children were running toward the bus to meet parents, suddenly appearing as if from nowhere from the vast savanna.  Just as I was feeling peaceful and relaxed from those beautiful sites, we arrived in the city of Maun, where we spent the next hour with our taxi driver trying to find accomodations, since everything in town was booked!  Just when we afraid we would have to shell out $100 to stay somewhere, we landed at a fantastic (and one of the cheapest) place right on the water.  Here we had a cute tent with "real" beds, outdoor bamboo bathrooms where you could shower under the stars, and a huge waterside bar and restaurant.

The Okavango Delta is a huge 16,000 sq km mass of channels and islands, and the traditional method of transport through it is through the mokoro boat.  A mokoro looks very similar to a canoe, but is hand carved (our guide made his own over a 3 month period) and sits lower in the water.  Upon first seeing a rather fragile looking mokoro, I wasn't sure it would support me, Guy, the poler (functioning much like the gondolier) and all of our loot, but of course it did just fine.  Our poler and guide, Teman, skillfully glided us through the reeds, pointing out birds, frogs and plants along the way.  There were beautiful waterlillies everywhere we looked.  The ride was so peaceful, it was more relaxing than any massage I've ever received!  All that could be heard was the wind rustling through the reeds and the gentle plop of the pole into the water every few seconds.  So tranquil.
 

After our ride we landed on a large island where we ventured on a lengthy game walk.  Teman warned us of what to do if we ran into different animals, but also warned us we might not see ANY animals.  Almost immediately we spotted an elephant...it was amazing!  It was also a little unnerving, knowing he could cut across the field and charge us at any moment!  We also saw a warthog, antelope, a buffalo skeleton and several birds. 

After our quite lengthy walk, we were exhausted and had a break before Teman "poled" us back.  As wonderful as it was to be floated along the river, I felt bad for all the work Teman did as we just sat there!  We of course wondered just how much he was getting paid for his work and how much our hostel owner's cut was (considering Teman's lunch was a large piece of pound cake and he had a rather swollen ankle that looked as though it needed attention).  When we asked whether he like his job, he said yes, and mentioned something along the lines of getting paid more fairly now.  I hope that's true.

The Okavango Delta certainly made our brief time in Botswana worth the trip, with incredible tranquility and lots of natural beauty.