Makuti
Trip Start
Jun 28, 2007
1
8
15
Trip End
Aug 07, 2007
Makuti, Zimbabwe
Thursday, July 12, 2007
We left Chimoio at 7 and reached the Zimbabwe border by 9 - right on schedule. As we were the only people crossing the border at this crossing and time, the entire procedure took less than 30 minutes. In spite of the problems Zimbabwe is having at the moment, the border officials were extremely friendly, polite and efficient.
Inside of Zimbabwe, the weather was absolutely perfect: Sunny and cool. Just inside the border was the town Mutare, where we stopped to change a bit of money on the black market to have enough local currency to pay for our dinner. (Our accommodation would have to be paid for in foreign currency.) We each changed US$10, for which we got 1.1 million Zimbabwe dollars. This yields an exchange rate of 110,000 Zim dollars per US dollar, compared to an official rate of 250 Zim dollars to the US dollar! The difference between these two rates is a factor of 440! The important thing is that by changing US$10, I was able to become a millionaire - at least in Zimbabwe dollars. Also interesting is the fact that the money actually had an expiration date on it - for the end of July!
On our drive through Zimbabwe, we found the roads to be in pretty good condition. However, there were several broken down busses along the way with stranded passengers looking for a way to continue their journey. We passed through Harare at around noon and found it to be a very pleasant and attractive place. It was too bad that we couldn't spend the night there, but we had to press on in order to keep up with our time schedule. And right on schedule, just before dark, we arrived in Makuti, where we planned to spend the night. At our hotel, the Makuti Hotel, also known as Cloud's End Hotel, we were the only guests. The hotel was without electricity when we arrived, but the staff assured us that electricity would be forthcoming sometime during the course of the evening. Having no other accommodation option, we checked in there. Upon registering, we were told that a room would cost US$140 per person. When we balked at this price, for some reason the price went down to US$50 per night. And when we still found this to be too expensive, we were told that for non-Zimbabwean African guests, the price was 180 South African Rand, or about US$25. But we are not South African, you might think? Not a problem. Helmut registered us as being born and raised in Bloemfontein, South Africa - a city name that we couldn't even pronounce properly. Easy Street was the address he gave. Ha. The hotel staff didn't ask to see our passports. I'm pretty sure that they knew we were lying, but they also knew that the original price that they wanted to charge was ridiculously high and they felt the need to compromise.
After pre-ordering dinner, Helmut and I went for a walk to get out the kinks that had accumulated in our bodies from driving for ten hours. We arrived at the hotel restaurant at 18:30 to find it in total darkness and had a forced romantic candle-lit dinner. To our amazement, the dinner was absolutely delicious - especially considering that it had been cooked in the dark. I had a half a grilled chicken with potatoes and green beans and other vegetables. Things got interesting when it came time to pay: My chicken dinner, including a beer, cost 750,000 Zimbabwe dollars. At the official exchange rate, this would be the outrageous amount of US$3,000. Even at the black market rate the meal was somewhat overpriced at US$6.80.
During dinner we asked the waiter when we might be able to expect some electricity, given that the room was pitch dark and that we couldn't have hot water for a bath if there were no electricity. The waiter answered with a definite "Probably maybe at 8 or 9 there might be electricity." Later we spoke to the hotel manager about this matter and she told us that in fact the electricity was shut off from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day. According to this, then, we should have had a two hour wait in the dark room before being able to take a shower. But even that they couldn't get right - as to our total surprise and joy, the lights came on at 19:30. I quickly shaved and bathed before the lights went out again. With the electricity still on, I did a bit of reading and writing in my diary, turning what started out to be a cold night in a dark hotel into a nice and productive evening in a very comfortable hotel. Actually, aside from the lack of electricity, the hotel was quite nice - and the view was quite spectacular as well, looking out over the entire countryside from the window of my room.
