{"id":11840,"date":"2011-06-20T03:13:07","date_gmt":"2011-06-20T08:13:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/365saturdays.org\/blog\/?p=11840"},"modified":"2011-06-30T09:25:04","modified_gmt":"2011-06-30T14:25:04","slug":"a-whole-lot-of-wet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/365saturdays.org\/blog\/?p=11840","title":{"rendered":"A Whole Lot of Wet"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

From the Okavanga Delta we flew to a city on the edge of Botswana and made the border crossing into Zimbabwe by car.\u00a0 The contrast was immediate.\u00a0 Botswana is one of the best and most efficient African countries, with an average income of $14K.\u00a0 Zimbabwe has been torn apart by war and has an average income of $400.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As in South Africa, Zimbabwe made a transition from white rule to popular rule in recent times, but here the country was seized by a warlord rather than turning into a democracy.\u00a0 \u00a0One of the major changes was forced eviction and sometimes murder of white farmers as land was divided among the citizens. \u00a0While there are titular elections, the ballot boxes are stuffed and voters forced to vote in favor of the existing government.\u00a0 Between violence and famine, the country is still reeling \u2013 the population down from 12 million to 8 million or so.\u00a0 Tourism was down by 80% a few years ago and is now slowly climbing back, owing to an uneasy truce under a coalition government.\u00a0 Locals say that the coalition will continue as a military regime until Mugabe\u2019s death \u2013 he is quite elderly and some say ready to step down, but cannot because those around him have committed so many atrocities they dare not permit free elections.\u00a0 Once Mugabe dies we can expect to see a struggle among factions and hopefully the people will be able to achieve a democracy at that point.<\/p>\n

Yet in all this misery, there is one oasis that somehow all sides have agreed not to touch, and that is the tourism town of Victoria Falls, site of one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World.\u00a0 Within this town is the Victoria Falls Hotel, a comfortable holdover from British colonial days and the best place in town.\u00a0 We saw some fascinating native dances here, especially from the Zulu and Uganda-area tribes.<\/p>\n

Seeing Victoria Falls is a wet proposition and all visitors prepare for a drenching.\u00a0 The Falls themselves are a mile wide, stretching along a canyon about 100m deep and 100m across.\u00a0 They form a border with neighboring Zambia \u2013 Zambia has the Falls, but Zimbabwe has the view, and that is where the tourist dollars go.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Our guide Sim marched us along past successive viewing points.\u00a0 A rickety fence of brambles and thorns is all that separates you from a slip to death.\u00a0 No one has ever survived falling into the canyon.\u00a0 Visitors are rewarded with loud roaring, facefuls of spray, a colossal expanse of waterfall, and numerous rainbows.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The return path leads past a souvenir stand frequented by peculiar monkeys.<\/p>\n

After drying off and enjoying a bite of lunch, we dropped by the local souvenir market.\u00a0 The artisans here are tough and scrappy and they bargain like mad.\u00a0 Payment in the market can be in any currency \u2013 Zimbabwe no longer has its own.\u00a0 This is one of the few markets where they will accept a ballpoint pen or an old shirt or pair of shorts in trade.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of the most sobering items you can buy nearly defies belief:\u00a0 a one hundred trillion Zimbabwe Dollar bill.\u00a0 Talk about hyperinflation!\u00a0 The bill can still be used but only in the nation\u2019s capital city and it has an actual value near zero.\u00a0 Tourists pay $2-10 for a crisp note, depending on how hard you bargain.<\/p>\n

The people in Zimbabwe are just as nice and warm as anywhere else.\u00a0 It was a great pity to meet bus drivers and market vendors who spoke perfect English and were highly educated.\u00a0 They just do not have any other job opportunities here.\u00a0 Throw in an AIDS epidemic and the odds feel hopeless.\u00a0 Nevertheless, the town of Victoria Falls has persisted, anchored by an unbeatable tourist attraction, and is slowly on the path to recovery.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t