Trouble at the Border

My first adventure via bus through Zimbabwe instilled a false sense of optimism. The bus adventure through Zimbabwe to Zambia provided no evidence of challenges or barriers in visiting the country. This false sense of optimism came crashing down last Friday when I went across the Zimbabwe border to the community south of Victoria Falls.

Crossing the Zambia-Zimbabwe border should have been smooth as I had received a Zimbabwe tourist visa a week earlier. Upon entering Zimbabwe the headache started, however, it was over fairly quickly after producing US$25 to appease the customs officer. When I returned to the Zimbabwe border to exit the hassles continued as the immigration officers were concerned if my Canadian passport was "authentic". They would not process my exit from the country until they could determine if my passport was valid. After an hour of sitting in the lobby with other foriegn travelers the immigration officers were satisfied my passport was authentic and allowed me to proceed to Zambia. The Zambian immigration officers shock their head and laughed at the ordeal and said, "Only in Zimbabwe".