Mais verde

As is usually the case for me when in the bush, overall I had a more restful night. However the fan made a banging noise on the ceiling which in my dream metamorphosed into branches smacking eerily against the roof of a woodland home that I was renting with a roommate. The roommate was murdered (off view) and when his grieving family arrived, David Attenborough was also there.

After the dystopian start, it was a day of very productive discussions between the World Bank, government departments and others represented. I spent the time thinking about our niche as having recently become a player in the Chimanimani landscape, I am still figuring out the best ways of supporting conservation activities in the Reserve. It was a long day of increasingly hot meetings but by the end of it various useful discussions about tourism potential, land restoration and community forestry had taken place and I'm much clearer on the path forward, including what I/we can contribute.

Because of too much gassing, we had barely any time to explore the wonders of Chimanimani, although luckily I've spent time here recently on the biodiversity surveys. We went down to the river at dusk for some fresh air and this second river scene was snatched at lunchtime. It's already looking a lot greener (mais verde) in the Reserve than two weeks ago, such is the speed with which it greens up after the onset of the rains.