Our Joburg to Beira flight was uneventful but for some last-minute snafus getting our tickets finalized (nothing goes smoothly, it seems!), and Franziska was there waiting for us at the airport with a Gorongosa car. We headed for Shoprite to stock up on groceries, when we suddenly realized we’d left Theo’s passport at the airport, getting his visa! (The immigration officials take your passport to process the visa while you wait at baggage claim, and we’d left the airport forgetting about our newest member, as the rest of us had our paperwork in order.) So, I headed in to do the shopping while the rest of the crew headed back to the airport. Apparently the immigration guys were all laughing knowingly at Rich when he arrived to retrieve Theo’s passport (thankfully the office was still open on that Saturday afternoon!) – at least we hadn’t forgotten the baby himself.
We arrived at Chitengo in time to have ample light to unpack the car into the house. Almost three weeks of having being shut up tight (and an earlier 2 months uninhabited over the holidays) had left the house very mildew-y smelling. That, in addition to the suitcases yet to be unpacked, left me feeling totally overwhelmed by our return. Thank goodness Mom was there to step right in and get busy with the cleaning up – shelves all wiped out, groceries put away, suitcases organized if not yet unpacked. I felt we were well settled in by the end of 24 hours.
Theo’s carseat (his favorite sleeping place) fits just right on top of my bedside table and inside our bed’s mosquito net, so all three of us can settle in for the night in our room. Mom is sharing rooms with Ian, occupying his spare bed which sat idle for most of last year. We are a full house but everyone is amenable to it. Theo’s porta-crib – a generous gift from Seattle friends brought all the way to Africa – serves primarily as a changing table and dresser for Theo’s things, and is located in the living room. I love how we all are capable of putting up with situations that are not what we are used to nor would we necessarily choose (if given the choice) – in this case, space and privacy, primarily.The peace and quiet of camp after the generator went out at 10pm that first night reminded me of why I love being here – the natural nighttime noises without all of the artificial human ones.
