Why Zimbabwe

1999 provided many great travel memories. Visting Zimbabwe is definetly one of them.

My husband is the eldest of 6 boys. One of his brothers was planning to be married in his homeland of Zimbabwe. We traveled to Southern Africa in August for a 2 week stay. I could tell my husband would have been content to hang out with his friends and family for 2 weeks and though it was my first, and thus far only, trip to anywhere in Africa, I wanted to see more. He planned out our trip and life sprinkled in a little adventure along the way.

Upon arriving, my title, being the wife of the eldest son comes with a title in Shona culture, became my name. Back in the USA, my title has a very different meaning, so it use to make me giggle a little when telling someone what it is. I was known as 'my guru'. Other than my love of travel and hospitality I consider myself pretty simple and not terribly intellectual so to be referred to as anyone's guru shoulders much responsibility. In deed at the wedding, my "job" was defined by my title. I was advised to cut the cake. Doesn't sound so difficult, no problem. The cake, however, was one of those fruit cake type, not terribly moist with a great crispy icing and I was given a large, yet dull knife. I still recall the difficulty of slicing just a couple pieces. Through these trials we learn perseverence. All in all experiencing a Shona wedding was an amazing experience. I have always admired the jubilation Zimbabwean women have when expressing joy. They put their hand over their mouth and move it back and forth while making chanting sounds, somewhat like what are children might do when pretending to be Indians.

Following the wedding we headed out into the beauty of the country. We visited coffee fields and the tea leaf areas of Chipinge where the land is lush and beautifully green.

I shall never forget our drive to Victoria Falls. Several reasons come to mind. First, the trip there was considerably more difficult than it should have been. The Zimbabwean path to Victoria Falls was quite indirect from where we started. There was a short cut (ah beware of short cuts) via Zambia. No big deal, I mean crossing into Canada is not a big deal, so entering Zambia for an hour should not be so difficult. Oh how naive we are can be. The Zambean border patrol found something to search us for, 11 years later, I don't remember what. They stripped the entire car. What should have saved us a few hours of driving, cost us much grief and a few hours at the border crossing which meant getting back into Zimbabwe became a whole new stresser as the border patrol was getting ready to close. We made it just in time. Whew!

Secondly, upon arriving back in Zimbabwe it got dark, quickly and we continued driving. No Motel 6 or a comfy bed and breakfast to find rest along the way. The elephant crossing the dark road remains in my memory. Pitch Black! Driving at 60 MPH! Suddenly a 4,000 pound animal crosses the road! Amazing! So thankful we did not hit it, injure it- actually if we had, it would have been the end of us. Thank goodness for headlights. Elephants also created another reason I vividly remember Vic Falls. We stayed in a National Parks cabin the next night. When I went out the next morning a parks worker was out in the path with a large wheel barrel. An elephant had been near the previous night and he was cleaning up the animals waste, only time I have ever seen a partially digested tree. Victoria Falls itself is stunning. One of the most magnificent waterfalls in the world!

This is why Zimbabwe was selected as a destination at All Nations Bed & Breakfast.

Although we do not have a waterfall in your room, if you would like a little taste of Zimbabwe, reserve the Zimbabwe room for a night or a week.