Scouring Gabs for Mma Ramotswe

2Summers | 10 May 2011
food shopping Zimbabwe sight-seeing botswana gaborone no. 1 ladies' detective agency

Joe’s brother Jim lives in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana. I’ve been looking forward to visiting Jim as I’m a huge fan of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency novels, which are set in Gaborone (“Gabs” for short). I started reading the series after my first trip to Africa and have been hooked ever since. I think Mma Ramotswe, Botswana’s number one lady detective, is a total bad-ass.

Jim and his family are moving to Maun, a town several hours northwest of Gabs. It will be much harder to visit them after they move, so Joe and I cleared our schedules last weekend and made the four-hour drive to Gabs to say goodbye.

We had a great time visiting with Jim, his wife, and their adorable 18-month-old daughter.

Joe and his niece/goddaughter, who I will call Zoe, peaking over the garden wall at Jim’s house.

Joe and I also devoted a day to visiting Mma Ramotswe’s favorite haunts. (I know that Mma Ramotswe is a fictional character. But just go with it.)

It’s hard to see, but this is the set of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency television series. The set is protected by armed security guards and photos aren’t allowed.
Mma Ramotswe likes to have tea on the terrace of the President Hotel (now called the Cresta President Hotel, which you can barely read on that sun-baked sign). The hotel looks like a Motel 6 and the terrace is smaller and more metallic than I imagined. I was charmed nonetheless.
I drank tea in Mma Ramostwe’s Tea Corner! Bush tea, of course. (Photo courtesy of Joe.)
View of the Gabs downtown mall from the hotel terrace.
In addition to bush tea, I decided to order a big, fat cheeseburger. Topped with fried onions, fried tomato, and a fried egg. It was surprisingly divine – the best burger I’ve had in Africa. (Even better than [Spur](/2011/04/23/the-spur-burger-a-south-african-texan-native-american-tradition/ "The Spur Burger: A South-African-Texan-Native-American Tradition").) Now I understand how Mma Ramotswe became a "traditionally built" woman.
After lunch, we checked out the stalls and vendors along the downtown mall. I wanted to buy a pair of furry shoes (made from springbok fur) to wear as bedroom slippers. But they were asking too much and, like all the other vendors I encountered here, refused to negotiate with me. The shoes were fun to try on though. (Photo courtesy of Joe.)
I bought two lovely pairs of earrings from this stall, for 15 pula (just over $2) each. I think Mma Ramotswe would approve of my choices.
The vendors on the mall cater to locals as well as tourists. I know that Mma Ramotswe hates buying new shoes, so she probably hires this guy to repair her shoes when they wear out.

I was hoping to find someone on the downtown mall who resembles Mma Ramotswe. (I haven’t seen the TV show, so my Mma Ramotswe looks nothing like Jill Scott.) But alas, there was no one who fulfilled my ideal.

This lady is traditionally built but looks nothing like Mma Ramotswe. (Photo courtesy of Joe.)

Gabs is a quiet little town as far as capital cities go – a welcome change from the hustle of Joburg. It’s unlikely we’ll make it back any time soon after and Jim and his family leave, so I’m glad I got the chance to visit and pretend to be a lady detective for a day.

Mma Ramotswe is very proud of her country and believes there is no better place to live than Botswana. This is the Three Dikgosi ("Three Chiefs") Monument, which honors the three Batswana chiefs who helped to keep Botswana (then Bechuanaland) separate from Southern Rhodesia in 1895. Read more about the monument and its history here.