Monday, October 4, 2010

The Reunion

Heaven Lodge welcomed us back, but our stop the second time was brief. This was just a layover now to regroup before our next leg of the journey. I gladly succumbed to a hot shower to wash away the sweat from our trek through the wilds of Chimanimani National Park. The scalding water could not wash away the memories I held of star-filled nights unblighted by city’s illuminations though. We re-fuelled our bodies and the van, then pointed Arnie North towards Harare and hopefully our lost companion.

With no communication, we had no way of knowing if Brett would be in Harare or not, so we made haste to get there as quickly as we could. Our haste was well met by giant bear-hugs from dear Brettski alive and well to greet us. He told us of his adventures in agony on the bus ride South, the flight to Johannesburg and straight to hospital, and x-rays that suggested that he had probably already passed the stones by the time he arrived. He was smiling and fine, and had been in Harare for 2-3 nights already by the time we got there, we discovered with glee.

We were joyous in our reunion and decided to celebrate. We played tourists and went curio shopping at a local open-air artisan market, where I bought soap stone carvings, a sarong, a crocheted vest and t-shirts for family back home. We splashed out by dressing up for a decadent meal out to Rani’s, an Indian restaurant, where we allowed ourselves to be catered to our every whim. It was fun pretending to be sophisticated, when we normally lived out of a backpack stuffed with six pairs of underwear, two t-shirts, three tank tops, one sweater, one pair of jeans, two long-sleeved shirts, three pairs of shorts, a sarong (newly purchased!), a dress, a skirt, a pair of pajamas and one towel (or something like that). Miki and I even put on makeup for the occasion! We held our forks daintily and discussed the state of the world, glorying in this break from our reality. I followed this up with much deserved phone call home to share my recent travel stories with my family and hear tell all the news from that part of the world. On a roll, I called my family in Cape Town to check in with them as well and see if there was any news from there. I was delighted to hear that I had received some letters and they would be forwarded along to me en route. With my ear aching, but my heart warm, I called it a night. The city had been good to me and friendly Harare was okay in my books.

10 comments:

  1. nice. glad we are back on your journey...seems like this was a great pitstop for many reasons...geting everyone back together and hearing from hope had to be a boost to the spirits...

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  2. It was the first brush that we had with "civilization" in quite a while at that point. Backpacking and exploring far less developed places was eye-opening, exciting and a lesson in gratitude, but being a plain old tourist appreciating the good things in life (good meal, good friends and trinkets to take back to remember it all) was well needed at that point.

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  3. A lovely read, but I am confused... are you treking in Africa or carving pumpkins in Canada? I've been reading your other posts and can't figure it out...

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  4. Hi Marilynn. Ha! Neither actually.

    *The pumpkins are still growing on the vine waiting for the penultimate moment that the knife shall be wielded and Halloween spooky fun will be revealed.

    *My travels through Africa are real, but from several years ago. You lovely folks get the first peek at the process of a novel coming to be...

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  5. Hilary (Positive Letters blog) lived in S.A. quite a long while. She sometimes shares tales of great times there.

    My goodness, a lot going on in this one, Katherine, wonderful memories! Your friend well again. Passing stones, that's gotta be a major, major "ouchie."

    Wow, lots of stuff, must be a big backpack!! Good on lots of undies, never can have too many. :)

    Umn, I'm craving sophisticated any kind of food right now. Some yoghourt it will be for me, before my bath. Had sophisticated mac and beef for lunch. :)

    xoxo

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  6. I so enjoy hearing about this amazing journey, and always look forward to your next post.

    It's like watching a series on TV; eagerly anticipating the next episode!

    Can't wait to read more!

    Hope you had a super Tuesday, dear lady!

    X

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  7. Fascinating travels, K! How exciting to have had the opportunity to foot travel around the world,,,wow, amazes me! Thanks for sharing your stories.

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  8. * I will have to go track down Hilary and dig to see her SA tales as well. Thanks Jannie. And undies are indeed a staple in my book. :)

    *Thanks Ron! I am already crafting the next entry in my head (actually a few). I hadn't posted a new excerpt in a while, so might need to play catch up. Happy Tuesday to you too!

    *I am glad that you enjoy my tales Suzi. It is fun for me to relive the memories and if others get to enjoy the ride, that makes me even happier.

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