So, the internet had been down for almost a week here on the sunny coast of Mozambique.Now that it is back, here is another longish update about my adventurous life. (If you enjoy reading that sorta thing :P ) Tofo days are warm and relaxed. Coconut palms sway in cool ocean breezes and tropical sunshine. Delicious seafood, fresh and inexpensive, delights my taste buds. Humpback whales breaching and blowing just off the shallows can be seen from our backpacker’s deck. The roads are all fine beach sand, and I walk barefoot everywhere. There are mosquitoes, and this is a malaria risk area. Also, there are sand worms that burrow into your feet and are apparently quite awful. I’m not taking malaria pills and don’t wear shoes a lot, but am being good about taking the medicines I have, and am using my water filter. Will let you know if anything interesting happens biologically. :P Over the last few days I’ve had some good adventure. I went scuba diving, saw lots of cool fish, including lion and crocodile fish, but best was that we could hear the whales singing! Paul gets an amazing deal for us to dive, which makes it less than $40, but tragically still cost prohibitive for me. I will probably do one more, in hopes of seeing something truly epic, but wish I had the ability to really capitalize on this opportunity. One day, we went into the nearby town of Inhambane, where the streets are paved and there is a large market. Loads of amazing fresh fruit, baskets and bags, clothes and trinkets abound. I purchased a pair of nice thin African pants, brown and green, drawstring and with three pockets! I found a place to stay for a few days, so I won’t have to stay in the backpackers again, which is a bit expensive (just for my budget, not so much in general, at $12/night for the dorm.) Deep gratitude to Ant for the use of his deck and mosquito net! I can stay at his for a day or two more and then I’ve found a local who will rent me a very nice room, for less than half the backpacker’s price. This local man, whose name is Richmond, proved extremely helpful in many ways, for he also helped me sort out the next step… From here I hope to have lost the last vestiges of extra weight and will head out. One of the sangomas I met in Soweto gave me the information of his grandfather, names of towns and phone number, whom is the headman and medicine man of his village. Of course no one speaks English and my Portuguese is non-existent. Enter Richmond, who called the elder for me, explained everything, and on Monday, is even going to give me a ride to the nearby village where he happens to work! It is north of here, not too far, but still along my way to Zambia. It has been a week in Tofo, and I can see why people come for days and stay for weeks. At the end of this week is a national cultural arts festival. Groups from all 10 provinces of Mozambique will come to compete in Dance, Song, and other arts. I am very excited and privileged to be in the right place at the right time to catch this unique opportunity. Next Monday will have me going into much more rural bush, so I’m off to enjoy the luxuries of a tourism centric town. Thanks for reading and joining in my on my adventures
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 09:14:34 +0000
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