A few words about Harare

    Harare--the capital of Zimbabwe--is a city so strange it is almost spooky.  It simultaneously has a vibrant population and also an air of abandonment about it.  There are thousands of people walking everywhere, and some traffic, but so little infrastructure the overall impression is of chaos.  It is fantastically poor, and people from all over the country are hawking vegetables and cheap plastic stuff on the streets, trying to scratch out a living somehow.  It is said that the unemployment rate is over 90%.
    Despite the shocking signs of incredible poverty, though, there are strikingly beautiful parts of Harare.  There are skyscrapers downtown;  there are lovely parks and lovely houses;  there is Robert Mugabe's palatial home, surrounded by armed guards.
    "My" little corner of Harare was one I found through AirBnb.  I was a little worried before I got there, because the streets were in such poor condition I couldn't imagine what I was getting into.  Not only were the streets unpaved, but they were rutted and potholed beyond belief.  But once I got to my lodgings, a little island refuge opened up.  While the house itself was rather ordinary, the grounds were nothing less than spectacular.  Manicured, irrigated, and tended to within an inch of its life.

 There was a lot of turmoil and excitement going on in this place.  I learned the explanation when I encountered, of all people, the President of the Harare Climbing Club, and he announced there was to be a huge party convened there in two days time.  He seemed to be confident that I would be in awe of the importance of this upcoming occasion.  You know, it really ISN'T every day that one meets the President of the Harare Climbing Club.

Soon, Dairai came to pick me up, and we were off to Imire!