craft markets

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Last Minute Shopping in Zimbabwe with Zeb the Duck

Well, this is our last morning in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.   We love this town and, of course, we love the waterfalls.   Our hotel was near an indoor craft market and an outdoor craft or curio market.

Elephant's Walk Shopping Village next to our hotel

Elephant’s Walk Shopping Village next to our hotel

This sign is for the indoor market.   But, look what else humans can do here.

Crocodile Cage Diving??

Crocodile Cage Diving??

I am glad mom did not try this.   I don’t think this is the crocodile that would be a diving partner.

I like this crocodile

I like this crocodile

I do like this crocodile though.   Isn’t this the most colorful rhino you have ever seen?

New kind of rhino

New kind of rhino

It is a first for me, but in the middle of National Parks and game preserves, this rhino seems right at home.   I even made a new friend here.

I always find new friends

I always find new friends

I have seen so many hippos in the water, but now I can sit on this one.

Friendly hippos

Friendly hippos

Inside this market there are many nice craft stores and there is even a Fed Ex office here if you want to purchase items too large for you suitcase.   We did not.   Also inside there are various small market areas and individual stands.   The cloth is for Chitenges.

Chitenges

Chitenges and more

Chitenges are the cloth women buy and then wrap to make skirts.   We think the material is very pretty, but we did not purchase any.   We are waiting for our taxi to the airport, so we go outside.   This vendor was very nice.

My friend, the vendor

My friend, the vendor

He even asked mom to put me on some items for photos.    Our taxi is here so the suitcase goes in and so do we.  We are back at the Zimbabwe airport in Victoria Falls.

Back to the Zimbabwe airport in the city of Victoria Falls

Back to the Zimbabwe airport in the city of Victoria Falls

Inside this aerial view of Victoria Falls is nice.

Aerial view of Victoria Falls. Nice picture

Aerial view of Victoria Falls. Nice picture

We have plenty of time until our flight leaves.   We do a little more shopping.   Mom likes the shops here and we purchase more souvenirs.    Then we enter the small restaurant in the airport.   Even the chairs have African wild animals.

Small restaurant in this small airport

Small restaurant in this small airport

Look at this menu.

There it is. Crocodile Burger

There it is. Crocodile Burger

Crocodile burger?   We ask the waitress about it and she says it is good.   And, of course, it tastes like chicken.   We have never had a crocodile burger; never have seen it on a menu either.   Mom has eaten crocodile nuggets in South Africa and crocodile appetizers, almost like shoe string potatoes in Denver, but never a burger.   So, we order the crocodile burger.

Crocodile burger

Crocodile burger

It is very good, and it does taste like chicken.   However it is much more dense or heavy than chicken.   We liked it, but we may never see it again on a menu.   And for the curious, the official currency of Zimbabwe is the US Dollar, so yes, we did pay $15 for a crocodile burger.   Our flight is called now, so next time we will be in Mozambique.   More adventures to come.

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Lilongwe, Malawi with Zeb the Duck

All of our traveling companions have left Malawi now.   Mom and I, Zeb the Duck, have one more day here.   We have been to Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi, a few times, but never for very long.   Today I want to show you some of what we saw here, in Lilongwe.   When we first arrived in Malawi, we walked to this shopping center.

Lilongwe Shopping Center

Lilongwe Shopping Center

You can see it is very nice, but not like our shopping malls.   There is a Game Store.   That is where we purchased sleeping bags for our safari.   We did leave the sleeping bags at our hotel so others can use them or they can be sold to help other people.   Remember our first trip was to Lilongwe Nature Sanctuary where we hiked and saw some animals.

Monkeys by road in Lilongwe

Monkeys by road in Lilongwe

This was our taxi.

Taxi in Lilongwe

Taxi in Lilongwe

I, Zeb the Duck, like these kinds of taxis.   A couple times we had dinner here, at the Bombay Palace.

Bombay Palace, Lilongwe, Malawi

Bombay Palace, Lilongwe, Malawi

The food was good and the people were nice.   This was a nice dessert stop.

Here for dessert, Lilongwe, Malawi

Here for dessert, Lilongwe, Malawi

We stayed at the Kiboko Town Hotel in Lilongwe.

Kiboko Town Hotel. Our home in Lilongwe, Malawi

Kiboko Town Hotel.  Our home in Lilongwe, Malawi

Again, the people were all so nice and helpful.   Everyone we met in Malawi was wonderful.   We also had dinner here at the Ad Lib Restaurant.

Ad Lib Restaurant, Lilongwe, Malawi

Ad Lib Restaurant, Lilongwe, Malawi

This restaurant is in the hotel building, but they are separate businesses.   I admired the huge wood carvings.

Wood carving

Wood carving

There are many talented artists in Malawi.

Wood carving in our hotel

Wood carving in our hotel

The craft market was next to our hotel.

Craft market from our hotel balcony

Craft market from our hotel balcony

We all spent a lot of time there.   This craft market goes to the end of the street,  turns to the right and goes about another block.  Many purchases were made, but we felt the prices were very reasonable.   And the vendors were very friendly and helpful.   If you did not purchase anything from them, they were still nice.   Mom and I wandered along different streets, but she did not take many photos.   This is one street photo including a mosque.

Street scene with mosque

Street scene with mosque

People from many countries and of many religions seem to get along well with each other.   We did not see any arguments.   Back to the craft market by our hotel, these friendly vendors were our friends.

Favorite vendors

Favorite vendors

Of course we did purchase some souvenirs.   Mom said we have more countries to visit, so we can only purchase a few small things at each market.   The suitcase will not hold too much.   We want you know that all the people we met in Malawi were so nice and so willing to share with each other.   Everyone had smiles.   But, life here is difficult.   This is one of the poorest countries in Africa.   The malaria rate is high.   Many people get cholera.   The HIV rate is also very high.   Even finishing elementary school is not common.   You may have heard that southern Africa is enduring another drought and many organizations predict millions will die of starvation.   These are the faces of youth we met.

Eager faces of youth

Eager faces of youth

All eager and wanting to learn so much.

Students eager to learn more

Students eager to learn more

If you have a favorite charity, perhaps you can give a donation for Malawi and other southern African countries.   Some of our favorite charities are Women for Women.   This charity often gives small loans to help women start businesses.   Perhaps $25 to sew items to sell.   They have a very high success rate and the loan repayment rate is also very high.   Heifer International gives a few goats or other animals, perhaps chickens and teaches how to use milk, eggs  etc for themselves, sell the extra and let the animals reproduce.   Then the new animals are given to another family or village to continue the process.   Of course, Ripple Africa is the organization where we volunteered for a couple weeks.   You have seen some of the good that they do.   And, World Food Program, connected with the United Nations, does get food to many  that need it.   We usually do not get this serious in our blogs, but we hope you can help these people.   If you donate through a church or a favorite charity, the people of southern Africa and the Colorado Traveling Ducks thank you.

Attentive students on floor. No desks and chairs available

Attentive students on floor. No desks and chairs available

Next time we will show you our first day in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.