On the Road

I love road trips.  I drove with three of my friend’s children from Maun to Francistown where I dropped them off in the center of town.  I continued on alone to Plumtree where I crossed the border into Zimbabwe.  I spent the night at the Bulawayo Club, an old colonial institution where the bar is for men only but if women lurk around long enough outside in the atrium they will be served.  I was one such woman and I had a lovely g and t with Zimbabwean tonic that added a pungent, floral flavor.  The club reminded me of my old country club growing up.  It had the same fancy but shabby look and smelled of musty wood polish.  The building had the same rambling hallways with large receptions rooms, small parlors, and small guest rooms on the third floor where I stayed.  The next morning I filled up with diesel and continued on through Harare.  My favorite road signs in Zimbabwe were “Deadly Hazard Ahead” and “Road Failures Ahead.”  These were not temporary signs put up by road workers during construction but permanent signs.  Being the somewhat conscientious driving that I am I was very curious the first time I saw one.  Wouldn’t any self-respecting country close a road with “deadly hazards” and “road failures”?  But I breezed right through unscathed and concluded the signs were a bit dramatic.  I drove back to Botswana in one day.  I left the farm at five in the morning and arrived in Maun just after sunset around seven.  I saw zebra and ostrich near the road outside of Maun and it was a lovely way to return home. 

Dawn in Harare

Zebras outside of Maun