Well, I've started my first blog and named it "Africa to Algarve" so I guess it's about time I added a post about Africa.
Where to start?
I had a life in Africa. It was a good life.
The capital, Salisbury (Harare) had many tree-lined streets and my love of trees began there.
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| Blakiston Street - Harare, 1975 (from wikipedia - photo by Graham Bould) |
One of my favourites was the Flamboyant Tree with its large flame-coloured flowers - a breathtaking sight in summer.
In 1970 my mother and I spent a few months in Portugal with my Portuguese granny and extended family. The only things I remember liking were the many shades of green of the Portuguese countryside and summer days that only ended after 9p.m. due to Daylight Saving Time. I was so overjoyed when my dad sent us our return tickets that one of my cousins felt offended!
Then in 1977 my parents decided that it would be safer to up sticks and return to Portugal. Angola and Mozambique were seriously messed up by then and bombs were going off in shops in the centre of Salisbury.
We left before Rhodesia turned into Zimbabwe and civil war and dictatorship ruined my beautiful, prosperous country.
I hate to end a post on such a sad note but devastated is how I feel after reading that life expectancy in Zimbabwe is now one of the lowest in the world!
What a sad story but one I feel which is written from the heart...
ReplyDeleteYour happy memories should soar above that last sad paragraph; maybe I wear blinkers shutting out what is going on now; but as a friend of mine once said, we lived a charmed life in Africa. I say we were so lucky to have had that experience. The vastness and beauty can only be actually experienced when you are there.
ReplyDeleteLiz
PS and thanks for visiting my site.
I do feel extremely lucky to have grown up there. Everyone I know who has lived in Africa has been changed by that experience.
DeleteThis post was the most difficult I have written. I had been reading about the present plight of Zimbabwe and I just could not shut out the sadness.
My future posts will reflect the beauty of the country. I'm just sorry my family didn't take that many photos.
I'll be visiting your blog frequently.