Born to Ride: Motorcycling in Zimbabwe

Africa University is about 20km from the relatively small town of Mutare, Zimbabwe, the only place to do any shopping The supermarkets are well-stocked. There are several markets to buy avocados (very plentiful and cheap, maybe .20 cents each), carrots, onions, and tomatoes; they're so cheap I can't even calculate the cost. But getting into town is problematic. The Univeristy has a bus service, but it is too infrequent. So to solve this problem I bought a rather inexpensive Chinese off-road motorcycle, a Nexus 150, knock off of a Honda.I brought along an international driver's license with a motorcycle endorsement. The highway into town is good, one put down by the British over Christmas Pass, only about a 300 meter climb, which is between the University and town. Not much of a grade. Traffic is light. Drivers in town don't drive so fast. But on a motorycle dangers lurk everywhere, and it's necessary to always be on guard. Have a helmet, of course. It's required by law. Now I have the means to get around. Discovered some mansions in the hills, all hidden away behind walls. More to Mutare than I had thought. Another advantage to owning a motorcycle in Zim: no need to stay in the petrol queue. Wherever there is petrol, there is a queue; Zimbos joke about getting in a queue even though they don't know what it's for because they're so used to being in queues. Amazingly patient people here. A testament to the human spritit that these people can still smile and joke in the face of such harsh economic realities, when their currency is practically worthless, there are few jobs, and even the banks don't have cash. Every time I go shopping, someone asks, "Do you have any cash?" Payments are made by ecocash, using a smart phone, but vendors don't much like this system because there is a service charge.

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