such good friends in so short a time

     MBG and I decided  to  spend  three  nights  in Harare  to rest up before heading to  Imire,  and the Kutandara  Lodge  was recommended  to  us  by the Imire staff.  Now I  can't  remember  what  I  expected ,  but  I  know  it  wasn't  what we found.
     Paula  and Gary, the owners, purchased the Lodge  recently and thoroughly  remodeled  it.  Both of  them  have  outside  jobs to support  the  place, since  tourism  in  Zimbabwe  is not  flourishing yet.  Paula  is an accountant ,  and Gary teaches chemistry  in a private  secondary  school ,  where, interestingly  enough, most of his  students  are  Greek!  Apparently  there is  a  substantial  Greek  population  in Harare ,  and Gary  said  that  his  students  were wonderful.  The  feeling  has  to  be  mutual  since I noticed  that  Gary  left  for  school  before  6 am in order  to  watch  his  students  play  soccer .
     The Lodge  is clearly  a  labor  of  love ,   and  you  can  see  it  everywhere .

The bathroom in our suite.

An itinerant Vikings fan outside our room.

    



 The  grounds  were   beautifully  lush.  The gardener, a gentleman  by the name  of Solomon ,  kept  the  flower  beds in pristine  condition.  Even  so, gardeners  will  be  gardeners, and MBG and I, being gardeners, were  able  to  find  the  odd weed or two  hiding  in  the  beds.  Solomon  welcomed  our help, and we three  enjoyed working  together . 







       What  really  won us  over  about  Kutandara  Lodge,  though ,  was the  people.  The only guest there besides  us   was a South African  guy who  is  in  the  mining  business .    He'd been  living  at Kutandara  Lodge   for more  than  a  year   while  developing  a  nearby  diamond and  gold  mine.  Although  he was terribly  busy, he kept offering  to show  us around, a generous  offer  for so busy a man.  He taught  us a lot about  Africa  in our conversations at meal times.
       It was the staff though who became  our  dear friends .   Lovemore?  Sandy?  Sarah?  Susan?  Peter?  Solomon?  If you're  reading this, I   can't  express our appreciation  of your care of us and your honoring  us  with  your  friendship !
        And as for YOU ,  I  hope  that  the  next  time  you  find YOURSELF  in  Harare ,  you will  stay  at  the  Kutandara  Lodge .    Which  reminds me:  I  have  got to  get on Trip Advisor and post a review !

Sandy and Sarah