A lovely local taxi driver called Kenias took me to 'it's a small world' backpackers lodge like I asked, which was seemingly the only backpacker style accommodation in the city, or so the 'lonely planet' said. I booked into the 12 bed dorm for 2 nights which was huge and had really comfy beds. It was expensive here compared to the other African countries at a cost of $12 a night but the place was really nice. Straight away I met a few people and chatted for a bit before showering and heading to bed for a decent nights sleep- Pity about the loud packers at 5am the next morning though!
The next day I made a plan for myself as I so in most cities as to not overwhelm myself or feel guilty about doing nothing. I started out at 9am and walked miles and miles (an hour) to the city. I intended to go to the museum of human sciences which upon entry I realised cost $10 which I could not afford. (Did I mention I only had €84 left in my bank account). I opted to go to my other cheap options including The National Gallery of Zimbabwe ($1), which had amazingly interesting displays of art depicting Zimbabwe's incredible history, I then went to Harare Gardens (-free) where I basked in the sun with the other locals and ate some of my cheap lunch from Spar (thank god for Spar), after this I looked at my phones map and decided to squeeze in The National Archives ($2) to finish off the day. It turned out that my map wasn't quite accurate and I ended up walking for 1.5hrs out of town- at least, to get to this place. It was still worth the walk though and I spent an hour or so discovering the history of Zimbabwe and their struggle for independence. It was clear that they hadn't had a visitor in a while judging by the shocked faces, the last review in the guest book and the fact the man had to open up everything for me in the middle of the day. His fave was priceless when I told him how much I actually enjoyed it- 'Really?' He said...! But I did! My legs couldn't handle another walk back to the city so I flagged down a matola/daladala/minivan and hopped in. When we reached the city, some unknown argument broke out in the van and I quickly hopped out and walked the rest of the way! I bought some cheap wholewheat pasta, Mexican sauce and cheddar cheese to make a nice dinner for two nights and with the intention of catching another daladala back to my hostel, I ended up walking the whole way. I stopped off in spar and got some delicious cheap muffins from the bakery for breakfast before dragging myself those extra ten minutes further before I could collapse on my bed. The bag of jellies I bought myself as motivation did help! That evening I made dinner and headed to bed to relax and use the wifi I had paid for - yes, paid for! I called my mam, chatted to friends, made plans and updated my website etc before dozing off.
The next day I planned to take the overnight train to Bulawayo to meet my friend Leisel but ended up with a plan to take the coach at 2pm. Just before I hopped in the taxi, I met a lady from Vancouver who insisted we meet up when I get there in July. She worked for Global Television and seemed really cool especially when she insisted further that we take a quick selfie before we both dashed off! Look forward to seeing you Colleen!
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