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Archive for January, 2007

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The Legend of Ali Baba, Part III

Saturday, January 27th, 2007

I woke up the next morning at my usual 5:45.  Sleeping was a bit rough, as I had a few strange dreams about Ali Baba.  At a little after 6, one of the ladies from the guesthouse came in to start her day.  “They found your stuff!” she said to me.  “Already?  How do you know?”  “I heard it from my neighbor.”  I knew word would travel fast!  At about 6:30 some other man came in to find me.  “Come with me.  They found your things!”  We rushed over the police station to see what they had found. [read on]

Posted in Mozambique | 3 Comments »

The Legend of Ali Baba, Part II

Saturday, January 27th, 2007

I got up and started running….running through the wet muddy knee-deep field, feeling very vulnerable in the open field that he could still see me if he wanted to. Finally I made it to the path through the bush. And I ran…thinking – what was in the bag? My camera! My passport! Argh! That would be a problem. And I stopped running, tired, but still walked fast. [read on]

Posted in Mozambique | No Comments »

The Legend of Ali Baba, Part I

Saturday, January 27th, 2007

The next morning I went on a walk with Fawn and Meredith, a lovely mother-daughter duo from the States. We went back to the mangroves and beaches I had found yesterday and ventured a little further to a lighthouse on the other side of the island. We found a little community (one or two families) dwelling by the lighthouse, which was evidenced by their little huts and fish and octopus laying out in the sun to dry. It was a long walk but a pleasant morning. [read on]

Posted in Mozambique | 1 Comment »

Ibo – a peaceful, idyllic island…for now

Thursday, January 25th, 2007

I woke in the morning and opened my eyes, remembering that I was on the boat.  I said good morning to the skipper and the new guy who was walking up to the boat.  Wait, what?  New guy walking up to the boat?  Yes, the tide had gone down and it was now possible to walk up to the boat from the island.  I went back to sleep for a little while, very comfortable on my cushion.  I woke up later and looked at some locals sitting on the shore.  No doubt their minds were wondering “What is that white chick doing sleeping out on that boat?”  Finally, the guys hanging around the boat exchanged another “Good Morning” with me, letting me know it was time for me to get off the boat so they could unload the contents. [read on]

Posted in Mozambique | 1 Comment »

…on a dhow in the Indian Ocean under the moonlight…

Thursday, January 25th, 2007

By the time I was in Pemba, I had become a completely different person, and I don’t mean spiritually or any of that crap, but I was definitely a different person than any of you have ever known.  For at least a good month prior I hadn’t woken up past 7:30am.  5:30 or 6:00 was quite common.  Between early buses, sleeping on the shore of the Zambezi River waiting for the ferry, or just camping in a spot where the sun caught my tent and started to roast me, I was up and at the day with the sun…sometimes before.

[read on]

Posted in Mozambique | 1 Comment »

Buying a bus ticket – Play to Win!

Monday, January 22nd, 2007

Things went surprisingly smoothly in the Immigration Office in Nampula, which might have had something to do with my charm in explaining to the officers: “But I don’t want to leave the country! I love this country! Look! I’ve already been here 3 months, and I just want a little more time to make it to the Tanzanian border.” OK. No problem. Solved! The next day I met the Immigration Officer in the stationery store, who told me my visa was ready ahead of schedule – unheard of in Africa! I would be out of Nampula faster than I thought, which can only be a good thing. [read on]

Posted in Mozambique | No Comments »

Eating fresh fruit and fish in paradise…one year in the bag

Monday, January 22nd, 2007

After more than enough time spent on Ilha, I went in search of a long, secluded beach nearby. This time, I was with Oscar, who I had met a few times before in Mozambique. We took a dhow (Arab sailing boat) to the mainland. Getting to and from the dhow involved wading through full-leg-deep water while carrying our backpacks, and was a logistical challenge. Perhaps more for Oscar, though, as he’s the one who fell in the water, backpack and all. On the mainland a local man appointed himself as our guide and led us though mangrove fields to our beach at Carrusca. [read on]

Posted in Mozambique | 1 Comment »