"THE GREAT ZIMBABWE" (MASVINGO)

 This is what the Great Zimbabwe looks like.  This is our guide in the blue shirt and you really needed a guide to find out about this site.  A great king lived here with his 200 wives.  I asked the guide if he knew all of their names and he said yes!  We arrived at 1:00 and it was soooooooooo hot!  We walked the whole area and it took 3 hours.  We were hammered when we were done. 

These stairs were straight up the mountain and they were the original steps.  It was such a long way to the top. 

This was one of the original huts where the women would wait for the king to call them up.

View of the valley below from the top of the structure.  It was magnificent from the top.  It was amazing to us that this structure has been here for 1000's of years.

Some of the people who were waiting for us when we got to the bottom.

We spent the night at Norma-Jeans place.  A wonderful BB that treated us like Kings.  The gardens were just beautiful, and we enjoyed every minute of our stay.

One of the views that we had from our little apartment that we stayed in.  When we had dinner it was so formal, but like I said, we enjoyed every minute of our stay and want to go back.

We took off from Norma-Jeans the next morning and started our little adventure.  This was like driving to the top of one of the peaks in Idaho, but when we got to the top of this peak there were people that we visited with.

This is a little family that we stopped and talked to, they were doing their wash in a little stream, and it wasn't very clean, but their cloths were spotless.  She would rub the cloths on the rock edge, and had a bar of soap that she used for detergent.  This is the way most people do their wash in this part of Africa.

This was the inside of a 14 year old girl's hut that we had met, she had invited us to see what it was like and to meet her grandmother.  She had this little hut so clean, and Jean asked her where she slept and she said right here on the floor next to the mother hen that was setting on 14 eggs.

Jean visiting with the 14 year old girl inside her home.

This was Grandma, and she was 83 years old, and wanted Jean to have her cup that she drank out of.  Jean gave her $1 for it, and she was so grateful for the $1.  To this woman a $1 was like giving her $100.  She new exactly what she was going to buy with the $1.  SOAP!!

This is a view of Grandma under the tree shelling beans off the tree so she could make necklaces out of the beans

Typical fence used to keep their livestock in at night so the animals won't get them.

This is a typical corral and fences where they would bring their livestock in at night and put them in for security reasons.  Still very primitive.

We had heard that there were some ancient drawing near a remote village, so we took off in search.  Low and behold we found the village and the rock.  So we parked our car and started walking to the village.

We walked over the hill and there was a family with these huts and we kept asking him where the drawing were and he just shook his head and said no!!  We walked all this way for nothing, and come to find out he does not speak English, we finally said pictures, and he said YES!! PICTURES!!  WE GO!!

So off we went.  We felt like we were really in Africa.  He was bare footed and had a machete and a sling shot for protection.

TO BE CONTINUED!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We walked for quite a ways through the jungle till we got to this enormous rock that was split in the middle, and concave on one side and when we got closer...................

Low and behold there before our eyes were these pictures as our "guide" called them.  Later we were told they were 1000's of years old.  Very explicit and clear.  Pictures of every kind of African animal you can think of.

Click on any of the pictures to enlarge them.  Check out the elephants.

Check out how high up it was, we are thinking the rocks were closer together and through the years they moved further apart.  Still can't figure out how they got them so high up.  We asked our main man who the other guy was that was with him, and he said his brother, but he couldn't remember his name.  After stumbling around for 5 minutes the guy say, "MAXWELL".

On our way back we stumbled across the old brick kiln or oven.  Made out of mud and clay, looks like it is still in use today.

Just one of the many mountains where we were.  Straight up and down!!!  We think this is where the gorillas hang out!!

We have been told by every Senior Couple that we have talked to that there are no turkeys in Africa.  We have proved them wrong.  Tried to buy this guy for Thanksgiving, but the person couldn't figure out what we were trying to say.

Hope you enjoyed these pictures as much as we did taking them. 

SPRING TIME IN ZIMBABWE

Just thought someone might want to see what spring time here in Zimbabwe looks like.  It is unbelievable, really don't know how to spell this, but these trees are called Jacaranda's, and they are the most beautiful purple that you can imagine.  There are street after street of these beautiful trees, and in the morning when you drive down the street it is like driving on a carpet of purple.  It is so beautiful.  This was Jean's sister's favorite color, and a day does not go by that we don't comment about how much Sally would have loved to see these trees.

They are everywhere!!!  Besides being a beautiful color, the tree shape is just unbelievable too.

This is downtown Harare on a busy Friday afternoon.  What you really can't see in this picture is just off to the left is Robert Mugabe's Official Residence.  Armed guards with AK47's are stationed 24-7, and believe me when I say, they are locked and loaded.  All the area around his place is gorgeous and well maintained.

The trees grow into each other and form a canopy overhead

We finally got to Mutare to visit the Jefferies, and they took us to a beautiful spot above Mutare that was just picture perfect.  It has a golf course there that is to die for.  Probably equivalant to a PGA course in the states that is well groomed and manicured to a T.  That is Leopard Rock in the back ground.  We walked around the course a little bit, fantastic.  I will play this course before I go home.

When we were driving down the road we spoted a bunch of kids that were playing out in a field, and Sister Heck could not resist with the candy, and if she could she would give the farm away.  The kids just came in droves, and after a while we just had to drive off because we had no more candy.

While we were in Mutare visiting the Jefferies, we were looking at some missionary flats, and came across this picture of some neighbor kids playing at their house.  Once again, Sister Heck gave the farm away!!

While in Mutare we visited "CHURCH ROW" in Dangumvera.  It is one street where they have pretty much erected different churches in a one block area, and our Church is the very last one.  The Jefferies said that we need to be there Sunday Morning when everyone is gathering and singing.  It is something to behold.  PLEAE CLICK ON THE PICS TO MAKE THEM LARGER.  You can even read the signs that tell you the name of the Church.

THESE GUYS ARE HEADED TO CHURCH!!!