23rd of August, 2018.
I get a lift to Mutare. It should not take me too long to be in there. Wellington is driving with a passenger in front. Because of the way they treat each other, even knowing that the car is a taxi, I really thought they knew each other. Oh, if I knew…
Talking with Wellington it is nice. He really sounds like a nice and decent man. He is driving very slow though and I have no idea why.
He takes a few passengers during the travel.
When we stop at some town because his “friend” want to have a barbecue I start to feel that something is wrong.
First, while waiting for the “friend”, Wellington drive me into the Weighbridge, which is quite a big thing, so he want me to see it. Coming back, he tells me not want to be near bars because he had stopped drinking and it is good to be aware. He goes to do something and I keep waiting on the car. After a long time I start to think that it might be a trap of them, wait until get dark to keep the travel. You know, it happened before so now I’m alert. But still, there is something about Wellington that it is pure and genuine, it could not be. So after a while, the “friend” come to the car, sits on the front seat, say some few words in English, and leave saying he would come back. I am outside, in front of the car, so the only thing I see he is holding when he leaves is a phone.
Wellington come back in another car. He was looking for some help with his battery. I am inside the car by this time and after checking something in front, he asks me where is the other guy. I tell him what happened and he say: “He took all my money!” What? But you do not know him? I ask. He did not. The piece of shit was just a passenger he picked up some time before me. I am shocked. I could not believe what was happening. Thief, son of an asshole! But he is pretty dumb though. You see, even that it is some important amount of money to Wellington, the total stolen according to him it is not more then 17 Dollars. But, he left his jacket on the car, which would coast him about five Dollars, then, he also forgot his charger, what would be something around five Dollars also, so in the end, he just got some seven Dollars and a big chance of being bitten when he show up again at the place where we are, because Wellington told everybody about him. Nobody likes a thief. At least, everybody try to avoid one.
We start to travel again but I am desolated. How can human being be so crap. Wellington realize how mad I am and try to calm me down. Unbelievable. He has a positive thought that something bad would had happened to him if he had kept that money. You see, he supposedly would put some gas and go to another town that same day. According to him, maybe some accident could have happened and now he would be safe. Actually, he told me that last night his wife had a bad dream about him. She called and asked him to be careful. That was why he was driving that slow. It was a nice way to deal with something bad, I mean, his positives thoughts, I was just surprise that, instead of forget about it, he kept telling the story to everybody who came inside the car.
Anyway, we arrive late in Mutare. It is already dark. I knew it would be harder to find any place at night, even that Wellington keep saying the opposite. I direct him to a Police Camp, according to my map. Once in there, the lady from the gate say I could not stay. She do not even bothered calling some superior or actually trying to do something to help. Bitch! As long as 98% of the rest of police officers in the whole world: Bitches! I am so upset that I start to cry and could not stop. Wellington is trying to help so he keep repeating the everything would be fine.
I promised myself never ask for help in a police station again. After Palapye and now this, I will put my tent in anywhere but a police station. Because you see, remember all the other times I camped in those: even if they were not jerks, it was not a very pleasant experience. In some how, they always made me feel like shit. Apart, I guess, only for those police boarder at Kilambo / Mozambique. But I just do not want that anymore.
Wellington drive out of town. He is just trying to help but I started to cry again because I knew I would have to walk all the way back to town next morning. I told him but…
After another fail in another police station, we go to this church, an Anglican Church. And for the first time I do not felt welcome at all. The Reverend is so fake about the way he is really feeling about me that I could see even with my eyes full of tears. His wife has no compassion at all for my tears. Wellington has to talk so much with them, and explain everything, that I do not how how I remain in there and did not walked out. The Reverend excuse it was that he had just arrived to fill the position so he needed to check with somebody else. Still, that does not explain his contempt.
They take all the information about me and Wellington. Bullshit! What a hell are you thinking? What else I would come here to do, at this time of night, with all this bags and food bags, obviously looking desperate, if not just to ask for help? What a fucking else could have I want? Fuck you!
They put me inside a room. No tents. I cook, I eat, I watched Lie to me because I need to relax. Next morning, even that I had told the Reverend I would leave at seven, he is too lazy so he still having a shower by the time. I am actually so glad that I could leave without need to look at his face again. I talk to his wife though, again, nothing good from her face. Just indifference. What is wrong with this people?
Walking to town, wanting to kill everybody who keep it looking at me, the plan of visiting the museum and after that some other points in town, including the library, was still on.
I leave The Hulk in another church and go to the Museum. As my time in Mutare could not be worse, the manager refuse to let me visit the museum without a ticket. It would be different if I had my backpack with me? Why I did not say something else to him at that moment, something really thoughtful, as I did in my mind later? That bastard did nothing else that refuse me to know more about his country. I bet he hates foreign / white people.
I have no will of remaining in Mutare another day. I go to the library for some connection and to plan my trip up to Nyanga.