The transition from Harare to Imire

       MBG and I stayed at the Kutandara Lodge for three nights.  During that time, we did have a couple of opportunities to see the city of Harare, which has a population of nearly two million.  The first thing Americans like us notice about Harare is that there is virtually no infrastructure.  What do I mean by that?  
       Well, the roads are the most noticeable.  They are horrific by American standards.  There are more potholes than roads, and driving on them is largely a matter of evading potholes.  There are also very few sidewalks so thousands of pedestrians walk on the roads themselves, causing those spoiled passengers like me to be CERTAIN that we were going to hit and kill multiple pedestrians at almost any moment.
       Our driver Dairai kindly (and courageously) took us downtown Harare.  We were amazed to see that there were virtually no traffic controls and that traffic inched its way around the city streets, seemingly by rules of combat rather than regulation.  It seemed like most commerce took place on the streets themselves, with vendors selling everything imaginable from the streets.  The chaos was incredible--shocking, almost--and MBG and I were content to spend virtually all our time in Harare safe in the confines of the Kutandara Lodge.
       While there we learned some of the reasons for the chaos in Harare.  Consider, for example, that the unemployment rate in Zimbabwe is . . . . . wait for it . . . . . 95%.  That's right, 95%.  Or, how's this for a statistic?  The average income for Zimbabweans is $400/year.   No, I did not leave out any zeroes in that figure.
        We also found some of the reasons for this when we discovered that we couldn't use our credit cards in Zimbabwe.  Apparently the U.S. government has clamped down hard on Zimbabwe because of alleged money laundering taking place there.  But WHAT a shock it is to discover that one's plastic simply does not work.  Yes, we were a little stressed (and a little broke!)
       Hmmmm.  The electricity failed at least once per day, once during a thunderstorm, but usually for no apparent reason.  Water?  Well, Kutandara had its own "borehole," so the water was safe to drink, but we were strongly warned against drinking anything from the municipal water supply.
       I am worried that I am being unfair to Harare.  I did see some beautiful parks and residential areas.  There was never a time when I felt unsafe or even unwelcome.  I am absolutely positive there was much to be seen and appreciated about Harare that I didn't take advantage of.  Even so, the over-riding sense I had was of financial desperation.
       Given all this, it is amazing that we had so wonderful a time at Kutandara, and it speaks so very well of both the owners Gary and Paula and of the wonderful staff they'd accumulated.
       But after three nights, we were restless and ready to get to our main destination----Imire!  And sure enough, a rather plush Toyota van picked us up Monday morning, and before we knew it, we were navigating the potholed streets and then the potholed road heading southeast out of Harare, past weird balancing rocks and run-down agricultural areas.  We were officially on our way.