Zimbabwe

Passengers on the truck to Masvingo...

As I promised ages ago, I want to tell you about my trip through Zimbabwe, which was actually the highlight of my trip so far. We have arrived by Overland Truck in Victoria Falls on October 23. The visit to the falls of the mighty Zambesi was impressive but even there you could sense the crisis the country actually experiences right now: besides our group there was only a handful of other tourists. And around the fence of the National Park there were people trying desperately to sell crafts to us, or to trade anything, even if it were just our empty water bottles. The small shops around the NP had just a dozen postcards and a couple of softdrinks lined up... it was difficult to judge which shop to go to to buy the two postcards for our two guides... Who do you choose? The supermarkets, though big and according to Western standards, are empty. Only a few shelves are filled, mostly just in the first row... and only which goods that can last a while. It was heart breaking. On my last day in Vic Falls I found a lovely guide (King George) who volunteered to show me around. We went to the local market, to his township, the football stadium and he didn't even want any money. He was just nice, friendly and interested. I gave him one of my sleeping bags in the end.

My two friends on the nights train to Bulawayo: Kimoyo and Ella

From Vic Falls I took the night train to Bulawayo and from there I went by truck (you sit on the back of the truck with at least 20 other people, it can be up to 50, but then everybody is standing, and that happens rather in Mozambique, not so much in Zimbabwe, where road restriction are more severe) up to Masvingo near the Great Zimbabwe ruins. Again I could make friend with lovely, friendly Joe, who went the same way and because he looked reassuring I asked him if he could take me along. Because actually, it works this way. Somebody nice might drop you at a petrol station indicating, that this is where you might find transport. Then there are touts which promise to look after you and find a lift. My tout looked rather dubious and anyway first wanted me to invite him to come to Germany (???) and when he realise that I wasn´t prepared for that, he kind of lost interest and was´t seen anymore. Only when Joe had found the truck for us, he suddenly reappeared and wanted money. I gave him the dollar for doing nothing, but he wanted two! And then we sat for about for hours on the back of the truck, people got on and off, they looked at me curiously because obviously I was the only white person and there aren't any tourists around anyway. But everybody is always friendly and welcoming, I felt safer than ever. They offered me to taste their local beer (dubious stuff, needs courage to taste it) and I shared water and oranges with them.

More pics from the trip to Masvingo

I arrived in Masvingo at dawn and immediately there was a volunteer to walk me to the hotel where I wanted to stay. There, after a bit of negotiating they accepted to have me paying with Zim Dollars, which is usually half the price from foreign currency. And then the security walked me to a restaurant, waited there until I had finished and brought me home. The girl at the reception had promised to find out something for me how to visit the Great Zimbabwe Ruins and when I came back she offered to go there with me the next morning. But that's a different story. Eventually I stayed in Masvingo for two nights and then took a bus to Mutare near the border to Mozambique. And that's another story. To sum it all up: Zimbabwe was such a nice experience and people there seem to be angels. It is incredible to see how they take the difficult situation at the moment. And the situation is extremely difficult. People suffer, there is nothing in the shops and therefore there is nothing to eat. Due to inflation their salaries are down to a few US dollars only. Recently university professors put down their work because they cannot live from it anymore. The same happens in schools. You can't survive on a salary of 15 US, so they are leaving the country trying to find work elsewhere. So-called brain drain is a big issue in Zimbabwe. All the capable people are leaving the country, and they are not to blame. Zimbabweans have actually touched my heart and I can't forget about their fate although it's been two weeks now that I have been there. I have never made so many friends in such a short time and hardly ever felt so well looked after. So I am actually thinking about what to do to help. I don't have a clue yet, but the first ideas are popping up. I'll keep you updated. So far for now, I hope to find more time later this evening to continue with my stories. Yes, and sorry, again no pics. I tried so often, but they cannot be uploaded here, the connection is too slow.