First full day in Harare


The cottage where we are staying is really lovely and spacious. We are here until the end of the month. It is a relief to settle in for a while since we've been living a nomadic life for close to three weeks. There is a long hall way connecting the 3 bedrooms. The boys are enjoying not having to share a bed anymore. Viv, the owner lives on the property. It is in a quiet area and is secured with an electronic fence and a heavy duty gate, for which we have an opener. As such, it comes with housekeeping services every day except Sunday. Joyce makes the beds, changes the towels, washes the dishes, and cleans. The only downside is that it is not heated. We do get a small bundle of firewood free of charge, which we used today, and it made a big difference in the living area. Since Kyusik and I were trying to work, the boys did their workbooks today. In the afternoon, I forced them to go swimming. As you can see from their faces, they are not terribly thrilled about the temperature of the pool, despite their wetsuits. The house in the background is the owner's. There are intermittent power outages, so you can not always use the tea kettle, do your laundry, or use other appliances that require a lot of electricity during those periods. 

We made a trip to the grocery store, using an app called Hwindi since they don't have Uber or Lyft here. However, we still had to pay $11 in cash for the round trip. At the grocery store, we were shocked by some of the prices for imported food, such as $30 for a small wedge of parmesan, which we promptly returned. Viv told us we should be getting a better exchange rate than what was offered to us for our USD, so she is going to inquire for us whether we can get a better rate through the black market. 

I also went running for the 2nd time since we've been on the road. It is a very pleasant 70 degrees during the day but gets down to the mid 40s during the evenings. The house never really warms up so I am currently wearing my down jacket with a blanket on my lap. 


 

Comments

  1. Linsey MJuly 10, 2022 at 6:16 AM

    Glad to hear your cottage is nice! Will the boys go swimming again?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aunt BusterJuly 13, 2022 at 10:19 AM

      Yes, they went the next day and braced themselves for the cold. Anything to avoid doing their workbooks!

      Delete

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