The Zimbabwe Traffic Smorgasbord

Traffic starting to build up in Harare behind a tractor.

Harare is a wonderful mix of rural and urban, changing from block to block. 

Bet you didn't think this was in the city proper!

Living in Africa can mean some interesting traffic experiences for ex-pats.
Sometimes trying to get anywhere can be very....well, frustrating! It is always an adventure.

Vehicles going in multiple directions, people hanging out of vehicles, and naturally a truck barreling toward you.

(Patience and a good sense of humor gets me through it!  It's definitely the biggest culture shock in Africa for me.)

And an aspect of Zimbabwe I hadn't guessed? 

The amount of people who film the procession for a wedding celebration---outside the window!

I've seen some crazy things in traffic all over Africa but possibly the most endearing and scariest of all? 

The amount of people who ride in the back of vehicles. For an expat, we immediately think seat belts! car seats! etc!

While it seems a little dangerous (and scary!) to me, it is also such an endearing aspect of many African cultures: the community aspect of helping one's neighbor get somewhere so of course he'll be offered a lift.

One of my favorite things of Africa?
Its street vendors, especially when they get creative. Every day these guys sell their flags, their sports balls, and swimming pool toys.

Makes me think of this guy, my favorite type of Senegalese street vendor.

And what do you do when you see 20+ minutes of waiting at each repaving construction site in Mutare?

Wisely sell the hot, disgruntled people stuck in traffic cold soda! Brilliant.

Why yes, let's just haul a trunk full of skulls of assorted animals.

Thank you, Gaborone, Botswana, for this gem!

There is something always burning in Harare.
It took me awhile to get used to the raging fires at night that people set, often to burn trash, that then just go left unattended.

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Snapshots from the Road: Returning to Harare

A man rests on the road into Harare, Zimbabwe, from the Save Valley.

You'll see groups of people clothed in white all over Zimbabwe.
They are vaPostori ("Apostles" in Shona) and are a mixture of African traditional religious practices and Christianity. 

Street vendors selling to a stopped bus along the road.

Forgive the photo, it was shot through the window of a moving car, but I just love the images of women selling fruit (so much I have a painting of it..)

Along along the road between Harare and Save Valley are these small shops in the middle of nowhere, all with Coca Cola on them.
This one's called Mufudze G/Dealer.  Oh, I heart the store names in Zim!

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A Little Virtue, a Little Crab Shack, and a Little Coca Cola

Virtue Feed & Grain in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, United States

Old Town.

A floral shop (and cat!) in Old Town

Old Town

Ernie's Crab House in Old Town

Why hello there old Coca Cola sign!

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