That's right. I posess billions and billions of dollars. The inflation rate here in Zimbabwe is 100,000%. Funny how we get so upset when the inflation rate goes up a fraction of a percent back home. But more on that later because I will now update everyone on what I've been up to lately.
After Maputo I left for the tropical paradise of Tofo, Mozambique. I had my own grass hut on the beach for less than six dollars a night. Since it is the low season for tourism the place was pretty empty and my two fellow travelers and I practically had the beach to ourselves.
One of the highlights was when I got to go snorkeling with whale sharks. The guide rides the boat around and when she spots a shark fin in the water she tells everyone to jump in. It's pretty scary coming face to face with a shark and it takes a second to get over your initial reaction of fear. Whale sharks are just docile filter feeders and they won't hurt humans. At one point the whale shark went under the boat and I was the only one to follow it. It was a pretty cool experience being the only one swimming next to it for a few minutes and having the whale shark look me right in the eye.
Before I launch into my next Tofo adventure I think I should explain the minibus. The minibus is the main form of transportation between cites in most of Africa. They have different names depending on what country you're in but the concept is basically the same. Most are like 15-passenger vans or slightly larger and in general 75% of all surfaces are covered in rust. The drivers wait at the bus station until all seats are filled and then gets even more passengers to squeeze in before it will leave. Somehow I always manage to get the aisle seat (literally the seat that folds out into the aisle).
For the journey from Maputo to Tofo (by the way, I can never complain about the potholes back home ever again) we were driving along in our minibus when all of a sudden we started smelling smoke. The driver stopped the bus and removed a floor tile in the passenger area by the door to reaveal some flames. Nobody seemed too concerned and they just poured some water on it. A little bit of tweaking to some parts and a good Little-Miss-Sunshine-style group push-start and we were on our way.
In the time that we were sitting on the side of the road I got to meet Pedro. Pedro lives near the beach where we were headed. We hung out with him a couple times during our stay and one night he invited the three of us to his village. We had to walk along a path that included taking off your shoes to cross a swamp. He introduced us to two classes of school children, an old man who made me chug home-brewed coconut beer, and his wonderful family. We had a meal of coffee, bread, rice, and some small fish. He even climbed up one of the trees to grab us a delicious coconut. It was really interesting to see how the locals lived and we all felt very honored to be invited into his home.
While in Tofo I met two American guys that were headed in the same direction as me. We left together to attempt to cross Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe does not have very many tourists at the moment. In fact, we felt like the only tourists most of the time. Only just a few years ago Zimbabwe was a major tourist area. Great weather, beautiful scenery and incredible wildlife was what used to lure people in to the country. Now, people stay away because of politics and economy troubles. The official exchange rate is 1 USD to 30,000 Zim dollars. The actual rate is somewhere around 25 to 40 million Zim dollars to 1 USD. You can't even buy a Coke if you withdraw $100 USD from the ATM. You need stacks of money to pay for anything since their largest bill is 10 million dollars (less than 50 cents). It's very strange paying 40 million dollars for a beer. And it's gotten so out of control that their currency has an expiration date printed on it.
Everything is done on the black market here. The grocery store shelves here are empty. It's much more profitable to sell food to people on the side than sell it at the price the government says they can. People here have to literally "know a guy" that can get them some milk, bread, or petrol. The economy is really messed up but the elections took place yesterday. It's obviously a very rigged election so it will be interesting to see if there is any violence when the results come in.
Needless to say the people we met in Zimbabwe were very welcoming and eager to help the lone tourists in town. Besides the whole changing money on the black market headache, Zimbabwe is a pretty cool place. I went to a lion park in Harare where I got to go into an enclosure with two 8-month-old lion cubs to pet them. It was pretty cool. Other activities included seeing balancing rocks and climbing a mountain to see some ancient rock paintings.
I am currently in the town of Victoria Falls. I saw the falls yesterday and they were amazing! The area around here is beautiful and full of wildlife. There are warthogs and baboons running around everywhere. I even got to see three gigantic elephants on the drive to see "The Big Tree" (The tree Livingstone camped under).
I am headed to Zambia this afternoon. Hopefully many more adventures await.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Maybe It Was Fate
When I was in fifth grade everyone had to pick a country out of a hat and do a project on it. I was a bit jealous of the people in my class who got countries like Germany or Japan because I got a country located somewhere in Africa that I had never heard of before. I never imagined that twelve years later I would be sitting by the beach in that very same country attacking a gigantic platter of seafood with an Aussie and a Brit. I don't think that I took much interest in the school project at the time but I'm making up for it now that I am here in Mozambique.
It seems Africa is a place you experience more than you see. There aren't a whole lot of attractions or sights to see but there is incredible wildlife, breathtaking scenery and generous people. It's a faraway place you hear about or see on television but can't begin to comprehend until you're there.
After leaving Cape Town I made brief stops in South Africa's cities of Port Elizabeth and Durban. I got to see some amazing scenery that included ostrich farms, mountains, beaches, cows, grass huts and school children.
I ended up in the Kingdom of Swaziland a few days ago. There are about one million people in the small, peace-loving nation and probably about two million cows. I toured a traditional Swaziland village and my guide also showed me the nearby waterfalls. I also got to see the traditional Swaziland dance. On the walk back I had my first monkey spotting. There must have been fifteen of them just hanging out in the trees. I also saw a gigantic lizard that I thought might be a crocodile so it made me pick up my pace a bit.
I'm really liking the backpackers scene. I get to meet all kinds of great people from all over the world. The South Africans I met in Swaziland were originally from India and were incredibly generous and eager to share their cooking (they let me sample some local lizard that they cooked. Don't know if it was the same one I saw earlier that day) The Finnish people I met there were also great fun and "love to disco". I met a Brit and Aussie on the way to Maputo, Mozambique and we are headed up to the coastal city of Tofo together tomorrow (that's if the cyclone has passed).
To the beach!
It seems Africa is a place you experience more than you see. There aren't a whole lot of attractions or sights to see but there is incredible wildlife, breathtaking scenery and generous people. It's a faraway place you hear about or see on television but can't begin to comprehend until you're there.
After leaving Cape Town I made brief stops in South Africa's cities of Port Elizabeth and Durban. I got to see some amazing scenery that included ostrich farms, mountains, beaches, cows, grass huts and school children.
I ended up in the Kingdom of Swaziland a few days ago. There are about one million people in the small, peace-loving nation and probably about two million cows. I toured a traditional Swaziland village and my guide also showed me the nearby waterfalls. I also got to see the traditional Swaziland dance. On the walk back I had my first monkey spotting. There must have been fifteen of them just hanging out in the trees. I also saw a gigantic lizard that I thought might be a crocodile so it made me pick up my pace a bit.
I'm really liking the backpackers scene. I get to meet all kinds of great people from all over the world. The South Africans I met in Swaziland were originally from India and were incredibly generous and eager to share their cooking (they let me sample some local lizard that they cooked. Don't know if it was the same one I saw earlier that day) The Finnish people I met there were also great fun and "love to disco". I met a Brit and Aussie on the way to Maputo, Mozambique and we are headed up to the coastal city of Tofo together tomorrow (that's if the cyclone has passed).
To the beach!
Saturday, March 8, 2008
When You See the Southern Cross for the First Time
Cape Town! I've been having a smashing time so far here in South Africa. I easily got over the I-just-arrived-jitters. Fo me it seems as though your first day at a backpackers lodge is akin to the first day of college. You live in a dorm and everyone is open to meeting new people. I've also been hanging out with a friend of a friend, Hayley, (a native South African) and all her awesome friends.
Today I climbed the 3,000 ft Table Mountain. The Skeleton Gorge trail that we took was so steep in some places that there were ladders provided at certain points. It was exhausting! But the biggest surprise were the big pools of water at the top. It was a bit surreal. There was literally a beach on top of this mountain complete with pure white sand. And the views looking down on Cape Town were absolutely spectacular.
Yesterday I got to hang out with penguins! We went to a park where they're just lounging around on the beach. They don't seem to be afraid of humans so you can get right up close to them. They mostly sleep or clean their feathers when they are on land but occasionally waddle around a bit to everyone's amusement.
I went to Clifton Beach earlier in the week. It was another picture perfect location. The water is literally freezing cold because it comes directly from Antarctica. And because the weather was so steaming hot Hayley and I were brave enough to take a very brief dip. Very refreshing.
Because I've been able to hang out with some of the locals, I've gotten to learn about some of the issues South Africa is facing such as race, unemployment and rolling blackouts. But it's also fun to play I call it this, you call it that. Like traffic lights vs. robots or flip-flops vs. slops.
I'm starting to get used to cars driving on the opposite side of the road. That is a very good thing since it can be dangerous when you accidently look the wrong way for cars crossing the street. Funny thing is people walk on the opposite side of the sidewalk too. This has led to many an awkward stutterstep.
My next route will most likely be along the coast of South Africa up to the area near the border with Mozambique.
Cheers!
Today I climbed the 3,000 ft Table Mountain. The Skeleton Gorge trail that we took was so steep in some places that there were ladders provided at certain points. It was exhausting! But the biggest surprise were the big pools of water at the top. It was a bit surreal. There was literally a beach on top of this mountain complete with pure white sand. And the views looking down on Cape Town were absolutely spectacular.
Yesterday I got to hang out with penguins! We went to a park where they're just lounging around on the beach. They don't seem to be afraid of humans so you can get right up close to them. They mostly sleep or clean their feathers when they are on land but occasionally waddle around a bit to everyone's amusement.
I went to Clifton Beach earlier in the week. It was another picture perfect location. The water is literally freezing cold because it comes directly from Antarctica. And because the weather was so steaming hot Hayley and I were brave enough to take a very brief dip. Very refreshing.
Because I've been able to hang out with some of the locals, I've gotten to learn about some of the issues South Africa is facing such as race, unemployment and rolling blackouts. But it's also fun to play I call it this, you call it that. Like traffic lights vs. robots or flip-flops vs. slops.
I'm starting to get used to cars driving on the opposite side of the road. That is a very good thing since it can be dangerous when you accidently look the wrong way for cars crossing the street. Funny thing is people walk on the opposite side of the sidewalk too. This has led to many an awkward stutterstep.
My next route will most likely be along the coast of South Africa up to the area near the border with Mozambique.
Cheers!
Monday, March 3, 2008
Leaving on a Jetplane
Wow. I'm about to leave for Cape Town. Today I felt like how I used to feel in school the day before a big exam. That's really what it comes down to. I am setting myself up for the biggest test I've ever taken. This very moment I'm a mixture of excitement, fear, longing and uncertainty all rolled into one. However, I think the biggest jolt of emotions is bound to hit me somewhere over the Atlantic.
But I am grateful to know so many wonderful people who have encouraged or supported me in pursuing my endeavor. And yes, I am even thankful to have lots of people who worry about me. It was very hard saying goodbye so many times. I am going to miss you all terribly and I promise to send postcards.
I'm off to see the world!
But I am grateful to know so many wonderful people who have encouraged or supported me in pursuing my endeavor. And yes, I am even thankful to have lots of people who worry about me. It was very hard saying goodbye so many times. I am going to miss you all terribly and I promise to send postcards.
I'm off to see the world!
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