Mary Ann bought a separate bag to carry back the little animal statues and other things she bought for our house and for gifts to friends and relatives. While I used to be pretty good about buying gifts for people decades ago, I’ve changed and hardly buy anything anymore. But I have my memorabilia. I just neglect to hit the currency exchange shops in the airports on the way out of the country and I end up with lots of remembrances that reside in my desk drawer.
So, joining the euros and francs are South African rand, Namibian dollars and Zambian kwachas from this trip. In fact, I may have gotten carried away. I think I have about 156,000 Zambian kwachas, not counting coins. Of course, that’s just under $40, but it looks impressive. And they all have interesting animals on the bills.
My only regret is not finding a way to pick up any Botswannan or Zimbabwean money. We didn’t actually set foot in Zimbabwe, but I hear their hyperinflation rate would make the kwachas look normal.