Thu Feb 10, 2000
Youth Hostel, Bulawayo.
Well, I was tired and desperate last night and lost a shitload of money to some crooked taxi driver and his big friends. I won’t say how much ‘cause then it will haunt me for the rest of my life.
Today was great. There are so many Canadians staying here. I hooked up with this guy from Montreal and did some touring today. In the morning, we did a Township tour and saw arts and crafts production, and a traditional medicine market. Benson (the guide) even took us to his home.
Caught a minibus taxi - never thought I’d survive that. After lunch at Nandos, we took the tour to Matopos National Park to the amazing Matobo hills and saw Cecil John Rhodes’ grave. We then saw some Bushmen paintings before heading back.
The whole lot cost $2850 (Zim). The currency exchange is too confusing, so it’s lost on me. I do know, if I’m wise and careful, accommodation and food can be negligible - BUT there are separate prices for tourist areas for foreigners and locals. Because of the fuel crisis, Mugabe has doubled prices in an effort to milk the tourist income for all it’s worth!
This is real fucking Africa in all it’s glory. The people here are super friendly, when it rains the phones don’t work, and as a “Kiwa” (white), I stand out like a sore thumb (or sitting duck).
This journal entry has been transcribed from the handwritten original. For more information about this transcription project, see this blog post.