Mozambique, The Third

After we left Maputo we drove to the coast, heading up to a place called Xai Xai (Shy-Shy). The drive took about five or six hours and we passed through countryside with villages built into hills, plam trees with slots cut into them for climbing, and lots of extremely-poor looking towns. We stopped at a grocery store on the way to stock up on food and had to search around for a while to find what we needed, or even what we recognized. People, let me tell you know, stop your whining about the poor quality of food available in the US. Yes, we're no Tuscany bistro, but we're also not Mozambique, so shut up and be happy about US grocery stores.

Anyway, we drove for a long time and saw no ocean. Apparently we were getting close to Xai Xai, and there were mountainous dunes everywhere. We always thought the ocean would be over the next dune...but it wasn't. It was over the next dune and through the town. Our trusty combi navigated down some steep sandy hills and at last we could see the Indian Ocean, flanked by huts and resorts and colorful looking people. Needless to say we all had our noses pressed up against the windows. We drove for a while longer along a sand road. There was thick scrub on either side of us, so we really couldn't see where we were going. We eventually began to lose hope that the combi would A) make it through the sand and B) find Casa Ericka, our resort. Turns out Casa Ericka was the furthest resort down the beach. It did not disappoint. The resort was a series of little housed built high up on wooden stilts rising out of a jungle. A wide strip of white sand beach lead to the ocean, which was pounded by powerful waves. Friendly beach dogs came and greeted us, along with the obligatory merchants who crowded around trying to sell us things. Compared to the merchants elsewhere, who surrounded the bus the moment it stopped, we were able to ditch these guys pretty quickly. We got our room key from the bar/reception area and climbed a steep sandy hill to our "house". A little dachshund followed us and appeared to be not at all phased by the climb. Inside, we had a kitchen, living room, bathroom, and three bedrooms. There was also a wraparound deck overlooking the ocean and the surrounding jungle. In short, it was perfect. After we dropped our stuff off the first order of business was changing into our swim suites and high tailing it for the beach. The boys jumped head first into the waves, which were strong enough to grab you and throw you around like a rag doll. Diana and I hung back a little and chased the waves as they went out and ran from them as they came in. I had a good time standing out as far as I dared and seeing how much wave power I could stand up in. At one point Diana made the poor choice of starting a water fight and we became to engrossed that we didn't notice the gigantic wave speeding toward us until it was too late. It was like one of those cartoons where Coyote doesn't see the oncoming train until a second before it hits him and his eyes getting really big and his mouth drops open. Well that's what happened, and the wave ripped our feet out from under us and spun us completely upside down before dragging us along with it up the beach. We were covered in sea water and sand and a little smashed up, but it was thrilling none the less. The boys, who had witnessed the whole thing, thought it was quite hilarious. Later on, a big wave caught them up and Zach ended up colliding painfully with Diana's shin. After that, it was time to call it an evening and go up to the bar for some dinner.