We woke up at 5:00 this morning so we could go see the sunrise from the bridge at Victoria Falls. The madness of bungee jumpers and zipliners doesn't really get underway until later in the day, so we pretty much had the whole bridge to ourselves. It was glorious! And we didn't have any baboons coming to steal our food like we did in the Falls parking lot the day before. :-)
We returned to our lodge for breakfast and then headed back to Bulawayo. It's been so great to have this excursion, not only to see these incredible sights, but also because it has given the five of us musicians a chance to really get to know each other and have some real bonding time. We've been having the most fun!
It is phenomenal to see Lynn in action--he talks to everyone as if they were his long lost brother, and sometimes the friends he makes in the most mundane of situations end up being people that he remembers years later and reconnects with. For example, we went into an Internet cafe last night so that we could all get online for a few minutes. As we were leaving, Lynn started talking to the guy at the desk, asking if he had been working at this place in 2006. Lynn actually remembered this guy specifically, and a ton of details about the conversation they had six years ago. Lynn got the full update as to what he had been doing the last few years and when the guy started talking about various things that he does, Lynn says, "Wait a minute! Then you must know so-and-so!" And sure enough.... they both had a common acquaintance! Ok, so that was certainly the most remarkable of the situations, but we've had several instances in which we needed help over the last couple of days. We had a leaking tire on the way over, so we had to stop at a tiny village and some guys there fixed the tire for us. On the way back we had misjudged how much fuel we had in the tank and so we had to stop and get some fuel from a different tiny village (they ended up draining some out of a Land Rover there so they could sell it to us!) In both situations, Lynn was totally buddies with the guys by the end of the transaction, was taking pictures with them, giving them his card, telling them to get in touch with him sometime, etc. If he ever meets them again down the road, he'll probably absolutely remember everything he learned about them. It's an exceptional art, and incredible to see it in action--and of course we have a front row seat here!
I've also had so much fun getting to know Erwin and Esther. As fellow pianists, Erwin and I had an epic discussion in the car this morning about technique, teaching resources, repertoire, and anything else piano-related that we could think of. Esther, his sister, is good natured and fun-loving and was such a good sport about being squished between me and Erwin for six hours in the car today, not to mention the drive over yesterday!
As always, it's a pleasure to travel with Gail, who is so easy-going and relaxed and easy to communicate with. And it's really fun to make music together again--it's been too long!
When we finally got back to Bulawayo Helen of course had a feast waiting for us. After our late lunch we got ready and went over to the hall for a bit of rehearsal before the evening session. Still no luggage, so I'm relying heavily on the good graces of our hosts, and Gail, so that I don't have to wear the same outfit every day. Hopefully it's not putting out my benefactors too much, but on my part it's somewhat liberating to not have a bunch of stuff here. Must remember this the next time I travel--if I add maybe three or four critical things to my carry-on luggage, I don't think I should even bother to pack a suitcase.
The stars tonight are spectacular!
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