We got into Bulawayo, Zimbabwe last night around 10 and didn't spend much time there. We slept at a very over priced three star hotel that seemed to have more employees then guests. Maybe its just the off season. With our time running short between now and Friday (when we need to catch our final train to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania from somewhere in the middle of Zambia) we decided to make the journey to Victoria Falls during the day by bus rather than on a 12+ hour overnight train. What a decision! Aside from being the only white people on the bus we also seem to be the only ones who didn't get the sack lunch memo. Someone around me is eating this stick of unnaturally pink meat that the package advertises as pork. It only smells awful if you both smell it and look at the same time. Aside from that its your typical bus ride. All the overhead space is full, there's a box full of chicks about two rows behind me, and did I mention the bus had a boot on its tire when we got on? Additionally it's one of those buses with five seats across instead of four leaving a very narrow aisle and narrow seats. While on the topic of narrow, whoever built the roads in Zimbabwe didn't think to measure the width of two cars. As two large vehicles approach each other they flash their lights indicating who gets to keep both sides of wheels on pavement. It's pretty artfully done. Our bus has been getting the right of way a lot this ride, presumably because it's travelling somewhat over its alotted speed. Because this post has just been a loosely constructed ramble I'm going to change topics right here. Scratch that same topic. As I was ending that last sentence the bus slowed to a stop outside a school and ten people got on. The bus before this was full and now had some new arrivals. As I write this fifteen minutes after them getting on only one remains standing. Somehow everyone else found a seat. Several narrow three seat rows in the back now have four people.
It should be noted here that since the collapse of the Zimbabwean currency due to hyper inflation in 2008 everyone here uses the US dollar. Our hotel, street vendors, the bus driver, they all rely on this completely arbitrary idea of what a dollar is worth. As a Zimbabwean on our bus yesterday pointed out people here live day to day. They make enough money in a day to get through tomorrow but not next month or even next week. The prices are set accordingly. With this country being as poor as it is you wouldn't expect prices to be high but they are. The import tariffs here for goods like electronics that have no national competition are about 40%. For food stuffs coming from abroad its between 10% and 20%. What effect does this have on an economy that produces very little of its own? I can't help but wonder how little the economy here has changed since the currency collapsed. People no longer need a wheelbarrow of money to buy a loaf a bread (that was a real thing, I substantiated it with two Zimbabweans yesterday) but are they merely restarting a cycle of inflation or is the Mugabe regime making real beneficial economic changes?
What an intriguing and perplexing journey this is. I wish I could spend more time in this country discovering what it has to offer, where it falls short, and how its getting better.
We're about an hour away from Victoria Falls as I finish this. I'm beyond excited to see one of the seven wonders of the natural world. Expect pictures and maybe even a video once I get some solid internet.
That was really long. My apologies if you made it this far. Thanks for reading.
-Dan
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