Victoria Falls

I returned to Swaziland today. The road home was long, but fairly well paved. I spent last night at a friend of Nosipho's apartment in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. To get to Bulawayo from Victoria Falls we took a Kombi, which is not an easy task while carrying an entire bloody Marimba set. For a few extra dollars we were able to put them in the trailer. We arrived in Bulawayo at around 4:30 am. I spent the previous night at an old friend of Nosipho's in Victoria Falls, and every night before at a nice hostel called Shoestrings. I stayed on the Zimbabwe side for nearly the entire time, only crossing into Zambia for a functional ATM machine and an incredibly shady currency exchange.

I spent more time in Zimbabwe than I had planned. I expected to be back in Swaziland by Thursday or Friday, but the Marimba set was not yet complete. In a way I am glad that the Marimbas were so important to this side trip, because it made me feel that I wasn't totally slacking off from my volunteer work. Because we went to Zimbabwe, some of the schools in Swaziland will now have a music programme. That feels good.

I still had a chance to do the things I wanted to in Victoria Falls; mainly seeing them. I went by myself because Nosipho needed to yell at the Marimba guys for taking too long. It is interesting to walk to the falls, because you can see the smoke through the trees before you can actually see the falls themselves. It seems like a very thick fog, and all of a sudden the falls are there. They are also much less crowded than I expected.

I was also able to see some of "real Zimbabwe" which was good. I never like seeing only the touristy bits.

Swaziland feels like home now. When I returned to Swaziland from Zimbabwe it felt like I was returning home. I guess when I come back to the US it will be like going to double home.

At this point I am just rambling because I am tired. I should probably end the post now. Tata.