Has to be the greatest Christmas ever (don't worry Mom and Dad--the Huffy BMX Bike is a close 2nd!) My Christmas vacation this past year began on December 13th as I boarded the TAZARA (Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority) train here in Dar es Salaam with a friend. In 38 more hours we were to be in Kapiri Mposhi, Zambia. The train ride was pretty cool. I had already taken the same line before back in October, but it was still nice to see some of rural Tanzania, and rural it is. What one sees from the train is a little more like what many would 'expect' to see when they think of the Africa which is portrayed in National Geographic: dung houses, grandmothers carrying loads of firewood on their heads, and people just walking with a backdrop that causes you to wonder 'where are they going and where did they come from'...vast openness.

After a long ride we finally arrived in Kapiri Mposhi, 3 hours north of the capital of Zambia, Lusaka. We got on the "express bus" which said only 2 and 1/2 hours, but it ended up taking 5 hours. Of course it was frustrating, but it was mainly due to the factors of police road (bribe) blocks and having to pick up passengers. You can't get mad at the police because for many of them it is how they get money to survive....

Anyway, we arrived in Lusaka around 2pm and jumped on the bus which would take us to the town of Livingstone, Zambia (right on the boarder with Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, separated by the natural boundary of the Zambezi River. We had to stay in Livingstone that night, which wasn't too bad; it gave us a chance to see the falls from the Zambian side (not too impressive in the dry season).

Spent a good three days in Victoria Falls before boarding the train for Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. The train we took was from the colonial era of Zimbabwe (Rhodesia), hence the still present RR (Rhodesian Railways) etching on the mirrors.

Bulawayo was a nice, quiet little town of wide streets and more or less reminded me of a small town back in America. Outside of Bulawayo is an area called the Matopos [Hills]. These are granite rock formations (stacked) after thousands (or more?) of years of erosion. Cecil Rhodes stopped in the Matopos and never left. He is buried there on top a granite 'whaleback,' which he named "View Of the World". We spent a whole day in the Matopos. Cecil's grave, cave paintings, white rhino, giraffe, warthog, zebra, etc. etc. It was nice.

The next day was spent getting over to Masvingo via the back of a pickup truck. Close to Masvingo is a little place called Great Zimbabwe where there are the ruins of a previous population. [Its origins have been debated]... because by the time it was 'discovered' nobody lived there or was to be found. I had learned about this place over a year ago in an African History course taught at ECU. You can imagine my excitement to be touching with my hand what a year ago I was only able to touch with my eyes.

From Masvingo we got up to Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, again by pick-up truck. Harare, to me, looks like a smaller Atlanta. High rise office buildings, parks, fast food places, etc. etc. Arriving on Christmas Eve we were able to go to the midnight service at St. Mary and All Saints Anglican Cathedral (oldest in Zimbabwe) which turned out to be a little of what I needed at that time in my trip (both Christmas and full year). Spent Christmas through the New Year in Harare, not because it was that great but due to visa complications with the embassies being closed around the holidays, plus just wanting to relax for a while and not travel.

But anyway, I'm back now [in Dar es Salaam] for another few months of studies. In March, our next break, I'll be going up to Moshi at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro with my roommate Leonard to stay in his home village, as well as visit a man and his family whom I met back when I first arrived in Dar es Salaam. So that was my Christmas...hope y'all's was as enjoyable for y'all as mine was for me. (is "y'all's" good English or what?) --John

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First Online Edition: 22 July 1997
Last Revised: 18 May 2024