The Front Room

After flying for 16 hours to Joburg, we were on a quick 2-hr hop to Cape Town, seated next to a South African lady.  She was clearly very professional and clearly knew that we were tourists, restless from hours of travel and itching to start our vacation.

As I picked through my fresh fruit and salad (unable to actually eat any of it), G struck up a conversation with her and she wanted to know where we were going to visit.  When we told her we were starting with Cape Town, she nodded, told us what a beautiful city it is, and then said rather nonchalantly, "You know, Cape Town is not very representative of Africa.  The rest of the continent is so...different."

Cape Town view from the base of Table Mountain

A stunning view on our drive around the Cape

After a few days here and a few days on safari, we were wondering what was in store for us in Zimbabwe.  We expected to be impressed by Victoria Falls, and we were.  Keep in mind, these pics are from the dry season.

On one of our last nights in Zimbabwe, our van driver was asking about our trip, and after we gave him our Cape Town/safari overview, he nodded and said very politely and cheerfully, "Ahhh, I see!  You have seen Africa's Front Room, eh?  Now in Zimbabwe, we show you the Back Room."

He wasn't kidding.  Zimbabwe is one of the poorest countries in the world, and I think it is accurate to say that we have seen the very best part of it, and even that was...eye opening.

On the drive from the airport to our (secluded - isolated by an electric fence) hotel, we saw police officers in full uniform, complete with weapons, hitch hiking on the side of the road because they had no vehicles.  People walked along the road, layed down almost indiscriminately, leaned against trees, swatted at flies and at children...

In preparing for the trip, we read country summaries provided by our travel agency and they mentioned the fall of the Zimbabwe financial market in 2009.  I knew it was bad, but I have such a limited concept of economics that I almost had no frame of reference.  They experienced a five billion percent inflation.  Billion.

One of our local tour guides was willing to answer some of our questions about it and he said that overnight, he lost his entire life savings.  Poof.  Because of the inflation of currency, he was considered a quintillionaire, and the computers simply would not register all the zeroes involved in how much money he owned, so the bank just gave up and his money was gone.  Not only did he have to start over from scratch (along with the rest of his countrymen), but he started off in debt because the bank converted all mortgages, loans and other debts into U.S. currency.  It just didn't bother to convert anyone's money along with it.

In all honesty, Zimbabwe was a good place to finish up our trip because it was an easy place to leave.  Peddlers surrounded you as soon as you left the hotel grounds, trying to sell $50 Billion dollar bills of their currency because it is so worthless.  Some stores sold coffee mugs with decoupaged $20 Billion dollar bills on them for decoration.  It was mind boggling.

We were not entirely sure if it was safe to walk around town, but our tour guide told us that he could guarantee that although the peddlers would hassle us, they would not touch us or try to steal our stuff.  He actually said, "Oh, stealing from you would be their death sentence."  He then explained that the country is so desperate for the money brought by tourism, that stealing will land people in jail.  And jail is likely to get them killed.  A jail cell designed to hold 20 people is more likely to fit 60 or more, and if a person spends more than 3 months in jail, their chances of dying from disease increase exponentially.

I realize this is a buzzkill compared to our other posts, and yet I have to include this.  If I left it out, I wouldn't be giving you the full picture.  This move has pushed my limits and I found myself, even half a world away, mentally calculating expenses and stressing about money coming and going over the next few months.  So, that said, Zimbabwe really put things into perspective for me.  Not just about finances, but about things like literacy and access to clean water and real medicine.  To fruits and vegetables that are safe to eat.  A space like this blog to express myself and my experiences.  The ability to own pets and actually have the resources at hand to take care of them.

More Africa stuff to come.