The Road to Zimbabwe

Since I was so close to Victoria Falls, it was such a waste not to see it. The only question was whether to see the Zimbabwe or the Zambian side.
- Zimbabwe was the closer option. The safari company would be able to drop me off at the city center, so no logistics involved.
- Zambia was the safer option. The damn visa, however, would cost me $135!

Dilemma, dilemma, dilemma...All the Americans I met on the safari told me I was nuts to go to Zimbabwe. The US government apparently has some sort of warning about the country (not that I take their warnings seriously) and many insurance companies refuse to cover anyone who goes there. But, the safari staff all told me that Zimbabwe is a wonderful country and perfectly safe. Plus, the falls are supposed to be MUCH better, covering a larger area than the Zambian side.

So...being the cheapo that I am, I decided to go to the Zimbabwe side. The safari company had a shuttle bus that took me to the Botswana/Zimbabwe border, got my visa ($30), and dropped me off at Victoria Falls city. They were quite confused when I told them that I had no accommodation prebooked and just wanted a ride (I don't think they cater much to independent travelers).

Anyways, I ended up at a great guest house - 2 adorable dogs and a friendly host. I was their only guest so we had a lot of fun! He took me to the supermarket (I read about the food shortages, but wow...there really wasn't much in those aisles. The meats were frozen completely solid, like they've been there for months. Not appetizing), and cooked me some traditional Zimbabwe food. I forgot what they were called, but something similar to couscous with tomato and onion sauce (yummy!). He grilled some sausages for me too, but I could only take a bite : ( We watched a lot of hip-hop videos (amazingly, they have a GREAT cable TV system) and chatted about work issues. We were 2 disgruntled employees : ) OK, that's wrong - I'm unemployed now....

Zimbabwe - so far, so good!