Bulawayo

We had the tent packed up and were on the road by 07.00. It was a nice sunny day with a light breeze and no sign of rain. The early morning traffic in Masvingo was gridlocked and we crawled through the town, before turning westerly on the A6 . This main trunk road has a 100kph speed limit and it was easy to see why as cows as donkeys wandered aimlessly across it, sometimes just standing in front of the car for a while. The further we went the heavier the clouds, the blacker the sky became and we saw the occasional flash of lightening coming from them. By the time we reached Mbalabala and turned north on the A5 the rain was all around us. Double speed windscreen wipers were only just sufficient to maintain visibility. The drops exploding onto the windscreen seemed to be marble sized.
When we reached Bulawayo it was a similar situation to when we had reached Norma Jeanes campsite, it would be impossible to put a tent up. We went to The Granite Parks Lodge where we had booked a pitch, it looked lovely, even in the pouring rain. We would happily have taken a lodge there, but they only had a vacancy for one night and were fully booked for Friday. We decided to try and see if we could find somewhere where we could stay for two nights, as the forecast was for the rain to continue. It was not so easy to fund somewhere in our price bracket, up to $100, which was not booked. We were unfamiliar with the city layout and in the pouring rain it was not always easy to identify exactly where we were. We needed cash so we went into the City centre and paddled our way from bank to bank as the ATMs rejected our Travelex Card and refused to give us any money. We began to fear that the violent thunder storm had caused a problem with communications to the U.K. Finally we found a Barclays Bank which delivered the goods, or rather, dollars. It seems bizarre than one country is using another country's currency. From the ATMs we get genuine brand new U.S. dollar bills, with all the usual U.S. insignias and decoration. Where do they come from? How are they obtained? How do they get here? It becomes even more weird as only U.S. $ bills are used, coinage is in South African Rand. Prices in shops are in U.S. $s and cents, but your change is given in rand coins. If the item you are buying is, for example $1.50 and you want to give the exact money you could pay $1 and ZAR50 (ZAR= South African Rand). Some how it all seems to work, but I'm not sure how.
After several attempts at finding accommodation, too expensive, fully booked, and in one case decidedly grubby, we ended up at Parrot Lodge, a quaint little guesthouse run by a Swiss couple, on the outskirts. We have a nice room with a little open corridor outside looking out over the inner courtyard, with some beautiful palms and trees, where we have put our camping chairs. It is spotlessly clean and very comfortable. We sat in the corridor, under the overhang and watched the rain. It was cool, 18C. We were early to bed, where we heard one mosquito, so pleased we have heard one. We plugged in the electric thing and didn't hear anymore.
This morning the rain had stopped, the sun was a bit watery at first, but got stronger as the day went on. We set out to visit the Khame Ruins, an off-shoot from Great Zimbabwe where Shona people set up another vigorous community between 15C and 18C. They are about 22 km from Bulawayo and the journey should have taken 20 mins. It took us 2 hours. There was virtually no signposting. I don't know whether there ever was. When we asked about the lack of road speed limit sign posting, we are often never sure whether we are in a 40, 60, 80 or 100 kph zone, we were told that they used to be there, but they have been stolen and the metal used for other purposes. We did see a 40kph sign used as part of the structure of a roughly built house. So maybe there used to be signs, maybe there didn't. Our long journey was not a waste of time, we drove through many townships, people going about their daily tasks, working the ground, selling a few things by the roadside. At no time did we feel uncomfortable or ill at ease. When we finally found the correct road, we still weren't sure as it was only a dirt track, nothing like the grand entrance to Great Zimbabwe. A man came out of a hut and unlinked a chain to let us in. We were the only people there. In some ways the site is more impressive than Great Zimbabwe itself, being miles from anywhere and completely in the bush. It is nowhere near as grand, you can stroll round it in an hour or so. The highlight is probably the magnificent example of the intricate stonework the Shona developed. This has been partially and painstakingly restored under archaeological supervision by groups of young volunteers from several African countries and France. France spearheaded the initiative, provided a lot of the skill base and some of the funding, some also came from UNESCO. Just as we were leaving we were amazed to see as least 4 mini-buses arrive and disgorge lots and lots of young people. We spoke to the group and learnt that they were archaeology students and other interested people and volunteers, they were predominantly black but there there was a very good scattering of young white people amongst them. As we left they were being organised into groups for various activities.
We drove back to Bulawayo and got lost again, ending up on the road leading from Victoria Falls. This caused us to come face to face with a police roadblock, where eery car was being pulled over. It is compulsory in Zimbabwe to carry at all times your driving licence and the original registration document to prove ownership of the vehicle, or in our case the Temporary Import Permit we had obtained at the border crossing from S.A. When we left this morning John knew he had forgotten to bring it, it was at the Guest Lodge, but decided to busk it. Not a good decision! We had already been stopped twice, close to going Khame ruins, and again when leaving. On both occasions we had talked our way out of it by engaging the policeman in conversation about The Ruins, our travels, how much we were enjoying our time in Zimbabwe. On both occasions, thus distracted the policeman had not asked for our papers, but just waved us on our way. However this was a serious road block, on a much larger and busier route. Initial attempt at conversation didn't work, we admitted we knew that we were in the wrong, but not really culpable as we were strangers. A higher authority was called over, there were several imposing looking officers standing together under a tree. One approached our vehicle. He was in khaki with several pips and  he sported a peaked cap with badges on it, and was carrying a 'twizzle stick', like an old style British Army Officer. Quite a lot of banter followed, he said we would have to pay a fine, I said I thought that would be unfortunate as all our other experiences in Zimbabwe had been so good. The banter continued, and we ended up laughing together. He has written down his rank and name for us, he is a Major General, and his personal phone number. If we have any problems anywhere in Zimbabwe, or if we need any help we are to phone him, he will be waiting for our call and will always be ready to help us. We waved him goodbye and went on our way. We didn't pay a fine.
We continued on into Bulawayo City Centre, where we got some money and went to see the travel agent I have been corresponding with about the possibility of finding accommodation at Mbilizi, on the Zambezi River, after we leave Victoria Falls, if we arrive there in the rain and are unable to pitch a tent. We have exchanged phone numbers so that we can make sure there will be vacancies on the dates we decide to go. Bulawayo was a different place today, in warm sunny weather. The traffic wasn't quite so hectic and we didn't have to paddle. Considering it is Zimbabwe's second largest city it has a comfortable, relaxed feel to it. No-one hoots at the traffic or makes a fuss, they just dip and dive and give way to pedestrians. There were one or two beggars, but less than we saw recently in Granada, Spain. We received no hassle at all, just smiles. Yet again we were surprised at thee state of the country, after what we had heard from the British Media. Of course there is rural poverty, people eking out a living from a small piece of land and a few animals, much as know they do in Greece. Here they may not have access to electricity or piped water. In the countryside we see many women carrying large buckets of water on their heads, from lakes and rivers to their homesteads. As we know, poverty is comparative, and it is difficult to compare this sort of poverty with families in the U.K. who may only have electricity when they can afford to put money in the meter and may have scarcely enough money for food until their Social Security Allowance arrives. In Bulaway there seemed to be the same sort of affluence we would expect to find in a U.K. city, people carrying iPads and Smartphones, well dressed and happy. We ate at a Nando's, which was very busy, three young boys, probably in their early teens, were playing with their smart phones, families came in with small children, groups of young people together.
All the infrastructure here is much better than we expected, by and large the roads are good, despite the lack of signposting. This is the second place we have stayed at with a WiFi connection. This is not a country on it's knees, struggling to survive, people we have spoken to are contented with their lives and happy bout what is going on around them. Will I ever get a chance to ask how they feel about corrupt elections, slaughtering of white farmers and their families, turning people off land which had been in their family for generations, even if it was originally stolen from original Zimbabweans by their forebears?