Since our guesthouse was such a pleasant surprise after a couple of no fun days, we decided to take the day off. While touring the grounds of the guesthouse, Re had spied a laundry sink out back, complete with washboard.



As there were no signs saying that you couldn't do your own laundry, Re decided this was a perfect opportunity to de-crustify some of our clothes. While she played charwoman, I sat down with the GPS, map, and guidebook and plotted our route through Mozambique and Malawi. Mid-morning, Re rode to the grocery store, where she found a much wider selection than we had in western Zimbabwe. We had heard, almost bitterly, from some Zimbabweans, that people in Harare have it better, and that seemed to be true. Tired of grease and peanut butter, Re returned with a ton of fresh fruit, a big tub of yogurt, some muesli, a liter of 100% fruit juice. For lunch we had yogurt with fruit salad and muesli on top, with large glasses of juice on the side. While it was delicious, I was secretly afraid of how my body would react to that much nutrition all at once. Fortunately, she also brought donuts, which helped to restore the delicate grease balance my body has developed since arriving in Africa.

After lunch we jumped on the bikes and headed for the Bally Vaughn animal sanctuary. Located about 35 miles east of Harare, Bally Vaughn is an organization that rescues injured or abandoned animals. While we were there, we saw lions, a leopard, zebras, a civet, a caracal, assorted other small animals and birds, and a whisky barrel on legs, named Kylie, that used to be a hyena. Also visiting the sanctuary was a group of high school students from a local, rural school. We understood after speaking to their teacher, that this trip was reward for having done very well in a national drama competition. While we sat drinking a Coke at a table outside the cafe, five of the female students sat at our table and began chatting with us. We spent about an hour talking with them about a wide variety of subjects while we walked and watched the large carnivores being fed from the wheelbarrow of gruesome (and flies). Their teacher thanked us for spending time with his kids and said what a treat it was for them to talk with Americans.



I think we had as much fun as they did, and Re developed quite a bond with several of the young women. I also had the opportunity to speak with the woman who runs the sanctuary and was impressed with their commitment to the animals. If you ever find yourself in Harare, we both recommend a trip here.

We arrived back at the guesthouse at around 6 pm and pulled in next to the DR800 we had seen at the border. It was a reunion day of sorts, as we also found Sue sitting in the lounge. Later that evening we ran into Stephan and Nicole, the DR800 riders from Germany, and spent the evening chatting with them and Sue. Stephan and Nicole seem like a neat couple who have ridden that DR all over the world. We had another delicious dinner at the guesthouse, and I used the rest of our internet credit to upload all the photos we'd taken through Victoria Falls.

63 miles in about 2 hours. Lots of laughs.