Zim-Bab-We

Great Zimbabwe Ruins: Who knew that Zimbabwe had ruins? Supposedly they are proof of how sophisticated the people of Great Zimbabwe were at the height of its existence. They build great stone structures and Zimbabwe actually means “Great Stone House” (Zi = Great; Mba = Stone; Bwe = House in Shona). The King was rumored to have 200 wives – that in itself certainly requires some savvy. I think because I had really low expectations for the ruins, it ended up being great! Our guide was very knowledgeable about the history of Great Zimbabwe and made our 2.5 hour exploration of it a good one. He referred to us as “Good People” (e.g. “Okay Good People, let’s move on to the conical structure…”) and had this quirky habit of ending each sentence with “Right?” as if questioning the validity of information he had just shared with us. While on our tour, we saw some baboons running amock and some people later exacted their revenge on thieving monkeys by shooting arrows at them. (Several people acquired bow-and-arrow sets at a nearby craft market and were testing them out. They almost always missed.)


Chimanimani: Next stop, Heaven. We spent two nights staying at the Heaven Lodge in the Chimanimani Mountains. The lodge itself had its heyday about 10 years ago and when we arrived, there was no running water and the bathrooms had been padlocked. Dollar beers provided some solace but they also attracted a lot of already inebriated locals to the bar. Apart from a rather bad first impression, you can picture how wonderful the lodge used to be – truly a slice of heaven. It’s set against this incredibly beautiful mountainous background and everywhere you look there are strikingly vivid flowers growing.


Some people elected to hike in the Chimanimani National Park, I chose to go with a separate group to do the Pork Pie hike. The national park was relatively expensive (~$25 for entry fee, guide, and transport) when Pork Pie was rumored to be free. We were told that Pork Pie has stunning panoramic views of the mountains and valley below. It did not disappoint! Six of us enjoyed a picnic lunch at the top of Pork Pie with beautiful views of the town of Chimanimani and the mountains.


On Food: After the hike, some us went to the Msasa Café for Lunch #2: Sadza, Spinach, and Stew (beef). It was $1 for some really great food! Sadza is Zimbabwe’s version of mealy maize porridge and they do it the best of all the countries in Africa so far. Msasa Café claimed to have Mexican food, but when Falcon pointed to the chalkboard menu and asked for a quesadilla, the server didn’t have the slightest idea what he was talking about. Going on six months without Mexican food, I continue to miss Papalote and Chipotle very much. As for Lunch #3, I had heard great things about a roadside shack’s $1 Sadza, Spinach, and Chicken:


Yes, I was already full, but I mean $1! I don’t quite understand why things were so cheap in Chimanimani, a fairly remote and out-of-the-way town, but I also walked away with 10 delicious oranges for $1 that day! (In Harare, for instance, Sadza, Spinach, and Stew cost about $5 and beers were $2.)

Harare: Lonely Planet says that there’s not much in Zimbabwe’s capital, and to me, that’s a pretty accurate assessment. We spent four nights in Harare mostly to sort out visa issues. Two highlights of our stay: Chinese food and soccer. Chinese food from King’s Take-Away was awesome because they had massive portions and sold a variety of random things like eggroll beef curried samoosas (pronounced samoosa all throughout Africa so far) and various teas: “Sex Tea,” “Constipation Tea,” Hypertension Tea,” etc. As for soccer, we had the privilege of attending a qualifying map for the Africa Cup between Zimbabwe and Mali. It was the most exciting game I’ve seen so far! Fans were shouting constantly and would hoo and hum based on play action. A lot of the shouting was in Shona but when the guy next to me wanted me to understand his frustration, like when Mali scored, I distinctly heard a “that’s bullshit.” The game itself: Zimbabwe scored late in the first half after two goals invalided by offside players. Mali tied it up early in the second half. Towards the end of the game, the crowd suddenly went wild and I didn’t understand for the longest time that it was because Zimbabwe got a penalty kick pretty much right in front of the goal. They missed. But then! One of the Mali players moved too early so we got a re-kick. Goal!!! Zimbabwe won 2-1. I’m not quite sure what happened but sometime in there, the Zimbabwe goalie got a yellow card and the guy he was perhaps taunting got a red card. One of our more vociferous companions would yell “Zim-Bab-We, Zim-Bab-We” over and over and at one point, galloped around the stadium to rally everyone in the stadium. In town the next day, no less than two people saw him and shouted “Zim-Bab-We!” Such good fun :)

Mozambique: Unfortunately, this beautiful country only gets a paragraph because it was but a blip on my overall Africa radar. We left Harare, got our Zimbabwe exit stamps, and then waited about four hours at the border for our transit visas. They speak a version of Portuguese in Mozambique and I found I had enough skills left from being in Brazil to converse a bit with the customs official. We bush camped just one night and then the next afternoon, we were getting our Mozambique exit stamps and entering Malawi. I have heard amazing things about Mozambique and really hope I get the chance to actually experience the country one day.

Next Up: Beach, beach, and more beach: Kande Beach, Chitimbah Beach, and Zanzibar!!! So excited for the sun!