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March 30th, 2007

For those of you who have been sending me emails and leaving comments as to the whereabouts of new blog entries…fear not!  I have some more.  I must apologize, as I am indeed very far behind.  Current entries have me at the border between Mozambique and Tanzania.  Real life has me sitting in an internet cafe in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia!  And I’ve already been here 3 months!  I apologize and assure you that I intend keeping on with it, even though I am so embarrasingly behind.  Unfortunately, I have to admit that my memory might not be as in tune with the events that took place way back in the way back, as I don’t have my handwritten journals to remind me of the unique details of each day.  But, as I sit in front of the computer and reminisce, the events and images come to mmind so clearly, it’s almost as if I’m reliving it again.  That’s what I like about writing this blog, but that’s what makes it so difficult to keep up with – I find myself daydreaming about my experiences while staring at the screen. Continue reading this entry »

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Standing naked without any possessions: Just a thought

March 28th, 2007

Finally leaving Ibo, I packed my things in the morning and rushed to get on the boat before the tide went out, which would essentially leave us stranded in the ocean for a few hours.  I was sharing a dhow (home made sail boat) with another traveler to go to Pangane.  I read about Pangane in some travel book early after arriving in Mozambique (three months earlier), and it was a place I’d wanted to go ever since.  There wasn’t much written – just a little blurb about it being a beautiful, long stretch of beach – but that’s probably why it was my most-anticipated place in the whole country. Continue reading this entry »

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The Legend of Ali Baba, Part III

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. Continue reading this entry »

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The Legend of Ali Baba, Part II

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. Continue reading this entry »

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The Legend of Ali Baba, Part I

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. Continue reading this entry »

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Ibo – a peaceful, idyllic island…for now

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. Continue reading this entry »

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

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.

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Buying a bus ticket – Play to Win!

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. Continue reading this entry »

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

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. Continue reading this entry »

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Beaches…public toilets…what’s the difference?

December 18th, 2006

My next destination was Ilha de Mozambique, or Mozambique Island. It’s a small island off the coast, and has an amazing history. It’s probably the top tourist destination in Mozambique (that is, of course, if you’re interested in venturing a bit further north than the beaches in the south). It started out as an Arab trading port until the Portuguese settled in the early 16th century. For them, it was a convenient post in the Indian Ocean from which to venture further east to India and beyond. It remained the capital of Mozambique until its importance waned (due to the opening of the Suez canal), when Maputo (then called Lourenco Marques) became the capital. There. History.

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