September 29

The South Africans left early this morning.  They also left three burst coke cans in the freezer which has created quite a mess. Perhaps we are anally retentive, but we try to leave a place as clean and tidy as possible when we leave. Not everyone has this mindset it seems.

It's Sunday so John and I strip the beds ourselves and put the washing on.  Thank goodness there is water; it was off all day yesterday and will go off early on Monday and only be back on Wednesday.  The assumption in Africa is that you always have someone to do the dirty work for you, but this is not always true of us. We have a lady, Eunice, who comes once a week to clean the cottage and do the ironing. These days, it is usually only booked over the weekend so she comes on a Monday morning.  It is also our day for having full power, which goes some way to making up for the water being off.

John goes to visit a friend and comes back with two crates full of stamp magazines.  He rather sheepishly explains that he was given them to put with the rest of the stamp club paraphernalia that we seem to have taken on.  Like many of these clubs, the Stamp Club is dying a slow death in Zimbabwe and for some reason John sees himself as the protector of its sad remains.  A couple of months ago, he came back with six crates of books, catalogues and magazines, some vaguely interesting, but most old and outdated. The reasoning behind this was vague from the beginning: the club had nowhere to keep its library and so John offered to take it and sort it out into some type of order. After spending far too long clogging up the veranda table, I eventually managed to persuade him to move them elsewhere with the result that they are now boxed up and sit gathering dust on the back veranda.

As we go to sleep at night, all we can hear is dogs barking.
'Don't the owners know their dogs are barking?' grumbles John.  'Can't they tell them to shut up?'
It appears not.
Bulawayo, says John, is synonymous with barking dogs
.

September 28

Two South Africans arrived for the night.  Afrikaans South Africans.  I like Afrikaners: they are the most totally self-sufficient people on the planet.  Invariably, as they did this time, they arrive in a bakkie (truck) full to the brim with camping equipment, food and more food.  These are the kind of people who will go away on a two week holiday and never need to go to the shops; they can survive in the bush for weeks on end because they have enough meals for the next month. If you are ever stranded in the wild, look for an Afrikaner.  They have enough padkos (packed food for the journey) to share with you and twenty others if the need occurs.

This couple is off to Mana Pools.  The man says he wants to go where there is no internet and no one can reach him on his phone.  This is unusual.  I read somewhere that guests log into the hotel wi-fi within three minutes of checking in. Most people want to be connected to wi-fi even in the most remote places.  Some of the worst behaviour I have ever seen is the result of no internet connection being available. A couple of weeks ago, we had an American couple stay who were doing a four month trip through Southern Africa. They claimed to have chosen to book with us primarily because  we offer wi-fi.  As it was, the wi-fi booster to the cottage was not working, but we said that they were welcome to come up to the house and use the wi-fi.  Although we understood that sitting on someone's veranda every time you want to check your email is not ideal, we were totally unprepared for the vitriolic response of the woman, who appeared one night at nine o'clock to complain about the fact that she could not contact her daughter over skype.  Although it was apparently vitally urgent that they contact her, she still refused the offer to use the wi-fi at the house.  By the end of their stay, both of them had turned quite obnoxious.  They were a typical example of the First World who expect everything to go their way.  They said they didn't want 'maid service', but then complained that we hadn't done anything about the fridge not working, something we did not know about and which the maid would have picked up on. They claimed to have had to have thrown away all their food which had 'rotted', although we are not sure where they put it as the bin was empty of everything except beer and whisky bottles.

If it's one thing we have learned, it's that you cannot please everyone.  The question is how far do you let people push you?  We got the feeling that this couple was the type who complained everywhere they went in the hope of getting a discount.

Back to the South Africans.  The man asks where he can get hold of bond (the current Zimbabwe currency).  He struggled to pay the tolls on the way up from Plumtree because they won't accept US$ and he has five more tolls to go through tomorrow on the way to Harare.  I think Zimbabwe must be one of the most difficult countries for foreigners to navigate.  We have a currency that you cannot get hold of unless you are in Zimbabwe and, if you try and change hard currency into bond here, chances are the bank will not have cash.  They can only transfer it into a bank account that you will not have. It's not an easy place.

On the plus side, this couple like dogs.  I like people who like dogs.

The Beginning

Four years ago, we had just left Zambia and arrived back in Bulawayo with no jobs and nowhere permanent to live.  We happened to bump into a friend of ours who mentioned that he knew of a house that was coming up for rent soon.  It was a large, rather unusual house in Hillside and was currently being rented by Alliance Francaise.  After viewing it, we liked it, although it was far too expensive for us.  Set on three acres of largely indigenous garden, it comprises of the main house, two cottages and what is euphemistically referred to as 'the studio'. The original thatched part of the house dates back to 1925 and is a feature in itself.  We personally believe it was a barn that has been converted into a house!  The doors come in all sorts of sizes, as though someone knocked them together one day with little idea of, or regard to, building specifications.  As was typical of many of the early settler houses, the kitchen and one of the bathrooms were once each separate buildings. They were joined to the main house in the 1960s when another two bedrooms and a bathroom were also added.

After deliberating for a couple of months, we decided to go for it.  We would rent the property with the idea that we would rent out the cottages.  However, we did not want anyone permanently on the property.  We did not want to be stuck with people we did not like for years on end or to have to put up with their friends and family coming to visit.  We still wanted our privacy, but needed to make some money.

The idea required a certain investment from us: we bought beds, furniture and kitchen equipment.  We wanted the cottages to be simple but not basic; there is a subtle difference between the two.  As we are both lovers of antiquities, we wanted to create a certain 'vintage' appeal.  We have never installed television, although we do offer wi-fi. At first, we only advertised locally, but now we are also on booking.com and AirBnb.

Our lives, and our attitude, has changed considerably since we first started. We used to bend over backwards to accommodate people and their various whims; nowadays we adopt more of a take it or leave it attitude.  Sometimes, I have to admit, we are happier when people don't come and stay than when they do!  Having people stay is often restrictive and, even when they are not demanding they are still there.

We have met a very interesting range of people since we started.  Some we have been very glad to see the back of and others have become friends.  For the most part, we have enjoyed meeting people from all over the world and sharing a part of their story, whether it be a holiday, a business trip or a family visit.

I have started this blog for two reasons: one, because I feel the need to put some of these stories down on paper and, two, because living in Zimbabwe is not easy.  Every day brings a fresh battle, another thing to overcome.  It is easy to become depressed and pessimistic about the future and I don't blame anyone who does.  However, a sense of humour can help lift that gloom and there is always something to laugh, or at least smile, about. I see this is as a form of writing therapy and I hope that any readers will find, if not comfort, at least a moment of laughter.