All in the Family

Well, except Thursday night, when we gave our poor adoptive parents a bit of a break from their new 26 year-old kids :) It also gave us the chance to explore Harare nightlife a bit, Harare being a bit like Durban…not much of a nightlife downtown, but lots of fun if you know where to go. On Karen’s recommendation, we checked out the Keg & Maiden, a sports pub just a $1.50 cab ride from our hotel. We were thrilled to discover that not only was the World Cup on, but Ghana (the only African team that qualified) was busy beating the socks off of none other than the U.S. of A.! The place was packed, and we made friends quickly. One in particular, Tich, sat with us through two soccer games. His friends, however, seemed a little shy, giving Tich his space to be “the Man.” By the end of the second soccer game, we were ready for a different scene, so we headed to the Mannenberg for some live jazz. Tich treated us pretty much the entire night, cementing our notion that people in Harare are very kind.

Exhibit C of this generosity came with the Tumazos’ invitation to head up to the Nyanga mountain range to spend the weekend at their cottage on a lake. Much relaxing in front of the fire and roasting of marshmallows ensued. To work off the marshmallows (and cookies, and hot chocolate, etc. etc.), we decided to go for a walk around the area, which included a short hike up a ‘mountain’ peak at a place aptly named World’s View. We started off feeling really good; the sun was shining and the temperature was perfect. By Hour Four, we were ready for some lunch, but we couldn’t figure out where we came from despite being on a circular road. What we could figure out was that we had been where we were once before, and we had photographic evidence to prove it. Turned out we had overshot the cottage by a solid 25 minutes. Typical Laura and Christina hiking: we tend to push past Enjoyable, through Alright I’m finished now and clear into Please make it stop. But eventually we uncovered our mistake and made it back to Home Sweet Someone Else’s Home.

Later that afternoon, Dino kindly took us for a little car trip to go check out the nearby river, where apparently there is some excellent trout fishing, although we didn’t try what with the fading light and the fact that Michael and Dino had already managed to catch a couple in the lake. Dinner was an adventure in cooking without electricity, but Christina and Dino pulled through on a jimmy-rigged gas contraption, producing a delicious Chicken Cacciatore. The highlight of our last day was a drive through the unknown in search of waterfalls. Thanks in no small part to Christina’s compass (well, according to her anyway), we managed to find some stunning views and had a lovely picnic.

Tomorrow we take off for Bulawayo, in the midlands. Having been introduced to Zimbabwe in a way we could never have imagined, we are ready to confront the next part of our adventure through this lovely (if electrically challenged) country. We’ll be a lot more self-reliant in Buluwayo, and may even attempt to take the dreaded chicken busses if we find a place to stash our valuables. But we have to admit it gives us great comfort to know we can always call Karen and Dino for a little friendly advice if we need it.

Thank You, Tumazos Family!

Love,
C&L