Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

My first solo hitchhiking adventure took me from Kasane into Zimbabwe via Mazungula. I took a small sedan with five guys to Victoria Falls. The driver picked up others en route, and we dropped them along back roads in rural communities - cool to glimpse rural Zimbabwe.

The biggest storm I've yet seen hit when I arrived in Zimbabwe. I hunkered down in a hostel where some lightning touching down extremely close and a man sitting near me was electrocuted by a surge through his computer. It was a cool place and I intended to stay, but I slowly discovered over the course of the day that it was impossible to withdraw money from a Mastercard in Zimbabwe. I would kill for a Visa. Priceless.

My best option to get cash would be to head into Zambia. I scraped together some US dollars from the pula I had, but after the $50 entry visa to Zambia I could not afford to pay for a drive to the border. I walked the 10 km to Zambezi National Park and glimpsed the falls, though it was extremely foggy.

Zimbabwe is recovering from a tumultuous period of poor governance. I heard some stories about police corruption and was overcharged at the border by $25 USD, and the recent hyper-inflation was evident from the readily available 100 Trillion Zim Dollar notes. I bought something for $2.50 and was told to wait "over there" for my change - which just never came for nearly an hour. I asked for the third time if I would ever see my change, and they finally admitted they don't have any. Otherwise it was inviting, friendly, and the people were the friendliest I've yet met. An eight-year old followed me around for nearly 8 hours, and a teenage kid traded me the shirt off my back for a bunch of his ironwood carvings.

Leaving for Zambia was necessary, but it felt pre-mature. I'll be turning around and heading back with USD. I am also entertaining the idea of traversing the whole country into Mozambique instead of heading North through Zambia. We'll see.