Impinge Farm

Woke up early today (well, not according to Nina's standards) and packed up for a 2-day excursion to Simon's parents' farm, Impinge, which is about an hour and a half north of Harare. Granny Grace arrived and joined us for the journey -- full of sass and stories. Through some deft negotiations with the local chief, the family was able to maintain a portion of what once was a huge game, tobacco and chili pepper ranch. They have held on to just a portion, but fortunately still have their home and seem to be slowly getting back into production.  They were in the process of grinding the early harvest of chilis (using the Tabasco proprietary chili) and processing quite a bit of tobacco. The farm house is great, big and lived-in. We had an amazing lunch in garden -- popadams, curry, salad. Then drove up to the granite copy to watch the sunset serrenaded by baboons on the granite mountain to the north. Simon's uncles both lost their portion of the farm and his dad clings to just a portion. Simon's grandfather, Des, shared stories of the reclamation of Impinge farm, and another ranch Simon's grandfather owned in the southern vledt. Tomorrow we will celebrate Easter and enjoy what promises to be a great, warm late-summer day.