The End of Matt's Epic Visit

I forgot to write this in an earlier post: One night while Matt was visiting and we were hanging out at Innisfree we heard mob noises. Really loud mob noises. And we thought it was the end of the world and that we were all going to get slaughtered. Actually, what it was, was that some thieves had broken in Vegas dorms at UB and stolen a laptop. The girl who ownered the laptop saw the thief and shouted after him, thus alerting the rest of the student body. People here hate thieves, and so they went after him so beat the shit out of him and teach him a lesson. The thief got in his car and drive to one of the gates, but it was locked. The mob was catching up with him and, fearing for his life, the security guards gave him sanctuary in their office. The mob was MAD when they were denied their prey, so they threw rocks and then moved on to lighting his car on fire. The police were called and they failed to disperse the mob, so then a special services team was called. They shot rubber bullets and this failed. Finally, tear gas was able to clear up the angry students and the thief was hauled off to jail. End of story.

Back to Matt's visit: We booked a night drive and a stay in one of the chalet's at Mokolodi. The night drive was refreshing and relaxing; it was not as cold as when I went with Mom back in September. We didn't see a whole lot, but what we did see made us happy. This included a black house cat (feral, no doub) streaking off into the bushes. Our guide dropped us off at the chalet around 9 pm when it was quite dark. Our place was called 'Hartbeest' and included a main room with sleeping room for three, a bathroom with a shower, and a fully equipped kitchen. Outside was a porch and braai area. We knew we were somewhere near the water hole, and we could hear something splashing around, but we had no idea how near or which water hole it was. You see, one of them contains crocodiles and hippos and one doesn't. Matt immediately set about gathering sticks and grasses to make a fire. It was a little nervewracking to watch him disapear into the dark. There are leopards wandering around, after all. We had a nice, if short lived, fire. Then we went inside and watched Jurassic Park until we fell asleep. It had been a long day. At one point I woke up and went to get some water from the bathroom and discovered a frog! I got so excited I dragged Matt out of bed to see and he did, but didn't seem at all excited about it. In the morning I learned that he was asleep the whole time it was happening, haha. Anyway, we both woke up early in the morning in order to enjoy the African sunrise. We had asked the game drivers to pick us up at 8 am so that I could get to campus and make a poster presentation for my archeology class. With this in mine we set off to enjoy our short time in the great outdoors to the fullest. The water hole (the one without crocodiles and hippos) was RIGHT IN FRONT OF US and we saw some hornbills, some catfish, and some warthogs right off the bat. The water was low, so we walked around it a bit. It was getting on 8, but no one had appeared to pick us up. Meanwhile the wildlife started to get more interesting. Impala came and went and a giraffe lumbered in the distance. Still no vehicle. Matt began to wander around with my cell phone looking for reception. Zebras and wildebeest appeared! Kudu! Dung beetles! I was simultaneously upset to miss my project, which was 40% of my grade, but also excited to see so many animals. Finally we managed to get enough reception to send a help! message to Batsi. Then the giraffe showed up. It was thirsty. We totally watched it awkwardly bend down to drink, just like on National Geographic, awwwwyyeeeaaahhhh. Then a truck finally did arrive (an hour late) and we headed back to civilization. Matt and I spent a pleasant morning and afternoon together and then he caught his plane home.

More on Matt's Visit

While Matt was here we decided that it would be cool to go down to Durban in South Africa. Durban is a modern mixture of Indian, Islamic, African, and Western culture all mixed into a cool ocean side city. Unfortunately, it turns out that the Intercape Bus has possibly the most poorly planned route schedule for any bus anywhere. Flying proved much too expensive, so we insteaded decided to cool our heels (actually, to sweat profusely) in Gabs. One of the two weeks Matt was here sported the highest temperatures I've experienced yet. Luckily his hotel room was airconditioned and there was a pool. We spent some good time there, while he worked on Anitigone, and I languished in the cold water. We also enjoyed evenings out at Linga Longa where we sat at the bar for hours and drank Windhoek and had rambling conversations about everything. I think it might have been here that the subject of getting a giant rabbit came up....


Unfortunately it was also in Botswana that we learned that our little 8 month old kitten, Luis, had died. Matt found out Luis was terminally ill from the vet about two weeks before. He had Rodrigo, our other cat, taken to live with his parents temporarily because Luis was contagious. While he was in Africa, Matt's parents doted on Luis as often as possible and made sure to check that he was eating, drink, etc. One morning they came to check on him and found Luis curled up near the couch. He apparently died in his sleep.


Since we didn't go to Durban, we had ample free time to do other things, like go on game drives at Mokolodi. We signed up for a morning drive on a Tuesday. I had never been there so early in the day and it was lovely and cool in the morning. Right off the bat we saw some giraffes grazing near the trail. They seemed not only extraordinarily tall, but also completely unphased by our presence. After that we didn't see too much for a while apart from impala and warthogs. About half way through the drive Matt spotted zebras! There were two and they were attempting to hide behind some thin trees. Zebras are shy and they didn't stick around too long to see what the noisy vehicle was up to. It was my first time seeing zebras in Africa- thanks Matt! It turns out that our driver on that trip was a woman who spent a year working in Florida at the Animal Kingdom in Disney World. She was pretty talkative once she found out we were from the States.


Besides going on the early morning game drive we also attempted to show up for a day of volunteering. I wanted to give Matt a chance to feed Letoatsi, the cheetah, and possibly the hyenas too. We took a sweaty ride to the bus rank...and then couldn't find a bus to Remotswa. Or we did eventually, rather, but after waiting around for about 45 minutes in the extreme heat we scraped the idea. Instead, we booked a night time drive and a night's stay in one of the chalet's by the water hole.


In the mean time Matt's time at Innisfree had come to an end and we reluctantly moved his stuff to my dorm room (which has no air conditioning and no fan). We actually walked with all Matt's luggage from the hotel to UB because the last taxi driver we had had charged a rediculous fee and we were quite fed up with greedy grasping taxi drivers. Even though my room was quite hot in the summer weather, it was so nice just to have Matt around for a change. The room seemed much nicer.


I took Matt on some field trips with the rest of the CIEE group. Batsi didn't mind having an extra person around and the trips were totally free for Matt- win! The first weekend we went to SOS, the local orphanage CIEE volunteers at. Matt spent a couple of hours having kids climb all over him and demand spinny rides. There are adorable photos up on facebook in the album titled 'Mattswana'. The weekend after SOS we went to see a traditional healer (what most people think of as a witch doctor) and learned about the trade. We also got to see the healer's...workshop? It was a tiny little room with a broken couch and mysterious smelly objects. On the door was a sign which read, 'This premesis protected by a ghost'. So yeah, be warned. After that enlightening experience Batsi had the combi drivers take us to the much-hidden location for No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. The set was abandoned and pretty decrepit, but the sign for the agency still hung bright and colorful as ever. We all explored the actual building and took a look around at the rest of the shops on set. About a third of our group was excited (myself included) and the rest just wanted to leave. After No.1 Ladies Batsi had us taken over to the Gaborone Game Reserve for a drive and a braai. It was my first time being there and I was not terribly impressed. First of all, you must have your own vehicle, so you pay an entrace fee. Then you drive around and see nothing but a few gazelle and ostriches, lots of construction and trash, and nothing else. The braai area was full of people cooking and drinking; despite the generally crappiness of the rest of the park, this area was pleasant. Batsi and his friend were on braai duty and he had brought some food from a caterer and (ta da!) beers and ciders. Yay Batsi! It was a wonderful feast, which included macaroni and cheese!, and which was monitored closely by a gang of monkeys. These little buggers actaully stole meat off the braai! They also moved in to steal from people's plates and hovered in the tree above our table. It was all fun and games until one dropped a digusting load of monkey poop onto Zach's steak. Photos on facebook. I spent a lot of that time on Monkey Patrol, chasing them away. But they allllwwwaaaayyyss come back.

This Time for Africa

Thanks for the title, Shakira. I decided to do a little post about actual Africa, not just a list of my daily activities. When I think of Botswana, this is what comes to mind:


Smell: Dust, sweat, animals, meaty- gameyness, cement, wood, car exhaust, Russian roles cooking in the sun.


Sound: Babble, shrieks, cars, cow bells, goats, wind, birds.


Sight: Dust, dark-skinned people, cows, goats, chickens, dogs, cats, birds, cars, slippers, yellow berries, cow dung, street vendors.


Touch: Dust, sweat, stone, wood, fur, grease.


Places: UB, Riverwalk, Mochudi, dusty roads, Mokolodi.

In addition, here is a link to the Shakira video Waka Waka (This Time for Africa). When I first saw this video back in the States I thought, 'Damn, Shakira is hot, but I'm sure everybody in Africa thinks this song/video is dumb.' Here's the thing- they don't! South Africans especially love it. Having been privileged enough to travel to South Africa a few times it captures the vibe pretty well. I saw one of the FIFA World Cup stadiums in Durban. It was pretty fantastic. Anyway, watch the video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRpeEdMmmQ0

Matt's Visit

The time after Mozambique was pretty dull and stressful. There was a lot of work, which in Botswana involves running a constant wild goose chase. Thankfully, Matt arrived in the afternoon in mid October. He was dressed in a sweatshirt, jeans, and jacket; I quickly warned him of the 90+ (that's in the 30's celsius, folks) heat. We sat around, got a taxi, and headed to Innisfree Apartments. There there was air conditioning! A pool! A most importantly, Matt. For some lucky reason the jet lag hadn't him yet and he said he felt up to dinner and drinks, so we struck out for Riverwalk where we got dinner at Linga Longa. It's a good place for food and has a pleasant pub-like atmosphere by the bar. This is where Matt discovered Windhoek, a Namibian beer found all over Southern Africa. We talked over drinks for a long time before Matt finally began to feel the effects of travelling thousands of miles across two continents and the Atlantic Ocean. We headed back to Innisfree for sleeping. The end of the day one.

Mozambique: Finishing Things Up

That whale shark trip was the highlight of my experience on Mozambique, but I continued to have a good time the rest of Thursday anyway. After lunch we decided to laze around in true spring break fashion on the beach. We went back to that dive shop with the restaurant and laid out on the deck chairs. The boys went back in the water. Since Liquid Adventures didn't offer any sweet t-shirts to commemorate our experience I wondered into the dive shop to see what they had to offer. They had sweet t-shirt, alright, and I'm sure I pissed off the guy at the counter by asking to see every shirt they had and then flip flopping between which ones I wanted to buy. In the end I bought two; one for me and one for a friend. I also got some exciting post cards (which I have since sent out and since been recieved). Once I had my pile of goodys I went to pay, but of course the power was out and I was paying with a card, so I went outside where the other girls were laying in the sun to sit tight and wait for power. I didn't feel like having the life sucked out of me by the sun so I wrote some post cards I bought with cash then and there on the beach. Then I sat in the shade and drew in the sand. Then I watched a guy attempt to windsurf. Then the power was back and I bought my swag- hooray!


That night for dinner we walked down to the market end of the beach and ate dinner at a bar/restaurant called Dino's. It had fabulous food and a fabulous atmosphere, so after dinner we sat in the sand outside and enjoyed some rum while playing the improv one word story game. After that, Dino's was beginning to buzz with other foreigners. The Australians we had met earlier in the week were there, along with some Aouth African teenagers, and a few locals. It was the kind of place where you can take off your shoes and leave them in a corner while you dance. We all had a blast and by the end of the night I was one of the last ones standing, so I helped shepard people home. Zach and I ended up getting a ride in a truck half way down the beach with the Australians while everyone else walked. Suckers. We enjoyed the stars and lay i the sand for a while before heading in. The night sky in Moambique is brilliant, the air was warm, and the waves were making a comforting racket.


The next day was rough for some people, but nevertheless we packed up and left early to get on the road back to Maputo. It was a long ride and we had an extra passenger; a Canadian named Shaun we met in Tofo was looking for a ride to South Africa so we told him he could ride with us. He stayed with us in Maputo when we stopped for another night. We went back to the fish market since it had been so tasty the first time. The second time around we were more prepared and when the same guy who ripped us off the first time approached us and tried to get us to use his kitchen we took satisfaction in telling him to bugger off. We chose a different place and sat down for another tasty seafood feast. Once again, by the time we were done eating we were the only people there. The market was dark and deserted and in the parking lot our combi was all alone. Just before crossing the street someone- maybe Chris- noticed some suspicious characters hanging around the combi. The rest of us scoffed and boldy headed across to the vehicle. There the guys swarmed us and attempted to get in the combi with us, but I didn't feel like dealing with their shit, so I pushed passed and blocked the door so that they couldn't get in. Everyone else got in the combi pretty fast and we secured the windows and told Lesh to drive. He wasn't and we were getting increasingly worried because the thugs weren't leaving. Drive! Drive! We shouted. Lesh explained that the thugs were demanding money and threatening to break off the rearview mirrors if we left without paying. They said we had hired them to watch the car- a lie of course. We told Lesh to just back up real fast and it's their freaking fault if they get run over. Lesh did, no one got run over, and we escaped with just one of the thugs slamming the window with his open palm. TIA.


The next day we left early (after a stop for breakfast at a delicious little bakery!) and drove for about seven hours to South Africa and to Pretoria, where we were spending the night. It was a hot and cramped ride so we were all thankful to be out of the combi and at our hostel, which was called Pretoria Backpackers. No sooner had we gone to the reception desk then Shaun had disapeared. He had said he needed to go to Johannesburg to meet a friend, so we assumed that's where he went but he didn't say anything and we haven't heard from him since. Did we sacre him away? Probably. His loss, because Pretoria Backpackers was a luxurious place with a jungle courtyard, complete with Greek statues and a koi pond, and the inside was cozy, lavish, and spacious. We three girls got our own room with real beds and a TV! The boys had to share a dormitory. There were ample bathrooms- with hot water!- and a kitchen and dining area. A hallway leading to the front desk area had book cases stacked with Coast to Coast Backpacker's Guides to South Africa. There were three different editions and they were all up for grabs. We later found out that Lesh took bags and bags full, ostensibly to sell to costumers of his travel agency. Maybe he just though they were funny, though, which they are. We took time to shower and recouperate before getting dolled up and heading out on the town. A storm was blowing in and as we stepped out of the cabs at Hatfield Square the rain started coming down in sheets. The boys scampered for Subway and McDonald's while we three girls went to a Spur in search of nachos. It was a companionable dinner. The boys found us after a while, reporting that they had had three different dinners at three different fast food places. Ah, South Africa! McDonald's, how sweet thou art! It was time to head into Hatfield Square itself, which is actually a square of bars and nightclubs. This particular rainy night it was full of high schoolers since the college students were all away on spring break. We didn't care though. We had a great time making the most of our brief trip to Pretoria. Later, when the rain was still pouring, we made a run to McDoanld's and had a kingly feast. Then it was back to Pretoria Backpackers where we all passed out pretty quickly. In the morning I woke up the delightful sound of a summer thunderstorm outside while wallowing in my cozy bed inside. Everyone else slowly came around too and we dutifully packed up our things, wishing we had more time to spend in Pretoria. It was mutually agreed that McDonald's would be our last stop in town before heading out to Gabs. Most of us got a Micky D's breakfast because they absolutely refused to sell us any lunch items. Howevere, while Zach was ordering the magical changing-of-the-menu occurred so he went ahead and bought six sandwhiches and a medium fry. I don't know how that turned out for him, but probably not well. We got back in the combi, booted Diannah out at the trains tation so that she could go to Joburg to be with her boytoy, and then headed back to Mos Eisley (Gaborone). There was a brief amount of excitement when we crossed the border and there was a rain/hail storm, but outside of ten minutes that passed. Then we were back at UB and everyone was a little depressed. Ah well, all's well that ends well.

Mozambique, The Whale Shark Adventure

On Thursday we all got up bright and early (Matt got up extra early for his dive- he saw giant manta rays!) to walk over to Liquid Adventures for our Sea Safari. We got there, signed some release forms and paid them, then we suited up in wet suit shirts, snorkel gear, and flippers. This was definitely one of those times when I missed my friends from back home because only they could have appreciated the true awkwardness of me in snorkel gear. Especially the fins- oh those fins! Well, I'll get to how that ended up. There were about 20 people total signed up for the morning Sea Safari and we were from all over the world! It was quite a mix of people in Tofo that day. The Liquid Adventures dive leader and skipper took us down to the beach where a big rubber boat was waiting for us. They explained that we each had to grab on to a line of rope hanging off the side and run into the ocean with it. Then, when he shouted, the ladies would all attempt to jump in (you must understand that our head were roughly even with the sides of the giant rubber contraption. This was not going to be easy or in any way graceful), and then the men would continue to haul further into the waves. Fianlly, upon command, they would all jump into the boat as well. When this was finally accomplished the skipper fired up the motor and we zoomed at top speed into deep waters. Each wave we hit made us fly into the air and everyone was holding tight to the boat with their feet strapped in, praying not to be the idiot who flew out of the boat and got eaten by a dolphin. When we were a ways out the skipper stopped the motor and our dive leader explained the rules. "No touching the wildlife. If you need to touch something, touch us. We may not see anything, but keep your eyes peeled for black shadows in the water because that's a whale shark. No touching! If all else fails we will go to the coral reef and see fish. No touching! By the way, look over there at those leaping dolphins and that humpback whale." After these first sightings we didn't see anything for a while and I settled in to at least enjoy the thrilling boat ride. So when the skipper stopped the boat and the dive leader pointed at nothing and said, "Put your masks on and dive in," I dutifully followed instruction by expected to see nothing. I fell backwards over the boat and struggled for a second to right myself in the water. Then I looked down and four feet below me was a gigantic eight meter long whale shark, cooly cruising by. I had to swim sideways to avoid being smacked by his tail, which rose up in the water to where I was awkwardly hovering. Then he was passed me, and I went to the surface again. I just couldn't get the mask and the fins to work as they should, so I scrambeled, with much help, back onto the boat to collect myself. Nothing could have prepared me to see such a gargantuan animal to close and in such and alien setting. The water was just blue and dark, and then out of the shadows emerges a whale shark! I was ready for more, so the boat scooted forward to pick up more people and drop others off. This time when I jumped in I was expecting to see the whale shark, but when it swam out from under the boat and underneath me again I was still in a state of shock. This time I tore after it and kept pace for a while, breathing through the snorkel apparatus. The whale shark seemed not disturbed in the least to have a pack of tiny splashing people following it, and he kept close to the surface. I was so engrossed in watching him that I didn't realize how tired I was getting. It's not particularly easy to breath through a snorkel so when I surface I spat it out and took huge gulps of air. The boat was some ways off so I waved to it. They didn't see me. I shouted, but they were too far to hear me. I started to swim towards it but I was so tired and the blasted fins were dragging me down. I started swallowing water and I waved and shouted more and I panicked more. I considered kicking the fins off in order to stay on the surface because now I was sinking more and more often. Finally the boat noticed me and they zoomed over. I was too tired to haul myself up so I just threw my hands in the air and my friend Chris was able to pull me into the boat. I lay in a heap in the bottom for a while, recovering. It didn't take long for me to perk up and get ready for another round. This time I took the fins off and waited for the whale shark to swim right under the boat before jumping on top of it. It was just as glorious before and I felt so free without the fins! I only stayed long enough to watch it swim under me and away before going back into the boat.
Not long after this the dive leader announced that it was time to scoop everyone up from the water and head in to shore. We drove back at top speed and I thought I would fall off for sure. We stopped briefly at one point to watch a humpback whale. Getting into shore was pretty exciting; we continue to drive at top speed and we literally smashed into the beach, jarring everybody considerably. Then we all hopped out and helped pull the boat further up the beach where a broken down old pick up truck came to haul it the rest of the way. While I was walking up the beach to change out of my borrowed gear I noticed that the bracelet Emily had given me as a farewell gift was gone from my wrist. I had been wearing it day and night since she gave it to me in July, but I guess smacking repeatedly into the ocean had finally done it in. Now it was either resting on the bottom of the Indian Ocean or in the belly of a whale shark. It seems like a fine resting place for such a fine piece of accoutrement.
After deposting our gear and picking up our stuff we went back to Bamboozi for a hearty lunch. It had been a big morning.

Mozambique, Time Spent in Tofo

The rest of the week was spent in Tofo, and I'm so glad it was. The next morning after our arrival I got up early, dressed, and walked down to the beach. It was low tide and all the sharp, jagged, and vicious rocks not far from where we were innocently swimming were exposed. Fortunately this made for exciting rock pools and communities of sea critters in the rock pools. I combed the area for shells and ran into Matt and Chris, who had discovered an abundance of star fish. We also found various colorful little fish and a tiny sea urchin- Phin's ocean relative! It was an excellent way to start the day. We had been out maybe half an hour when we spotted a man jogging up the beach toward us. It turned out to be none other than Lesh, our missing combi driver! We were glad to see him because we had no way to contact him and we had no idea where he and his lady Tulu were staying. We rendezvou'd with him and brought him back to Mango to see our place. Meanwhile, we worked to drag everyone else out of bed and get them going. At long last we set off down the beach to walk into the Tofo marketplace for supplies (this usually means booze. Sometimes food.) As I mentioned it is a good 20 minute half out walk along a beautiful beach, so of course we stopped, stripped down into our suites, and went for a swim. It was beach time; no hurries, no worries. After our swim in the warm Indian Ocean we headed to a dive shop which boasted a little restuarant and the most delicious pineapple smoothies. Snacks are important when one spends all one's time battling waves. Lesh had gone on ahead at this point and promised to meet us in the marketplace with the combi so that we could drive out to the nearest ATM for much needed cash and supplies. As we walked I developed the most vicious rash from my swim shorts and by the time we got into the market place I was quite unhappy. There a South African by the name of Leray spotted us. "You look hung over," he said. "Not really," we said. "Come with me for a drink," he said. "Okay."
So that was how we met the infamous Leray, who led us into a little whole-in-the-wall shack which sold kebabs, rice, and booze. He made a concoction of the most disgusting "cherry" soda ever and some kind of cheap Mozambiquan brandy. Then he told us a little about himself. Turns out Leray is a soldier in the South African army and had been stationed in Tofo, doing absolutely nothing, for about two years. He lived a big party house and drank all the time, as well as many other illegal activities. He also kept repeating that he was supposed to go back to Joburg that very day and was just waiting for a very important phone call. He bought us several rounds of drinks and lunch. I don't think he actually paid for anything...
After lunch he told us about a cool little island "only 4 kilometers away". "Okay," we said. Lesh had finally been located, so we all hoped in the combi and drove out of town to the ATM. Of course, my card was not accepted there. In the only ATM for miles. TIA. Anyways, by this time my rash was rediculously painful and the "island" turned out to be much farther than 4 kilometers. Then it wasn't an island. It was a beautiful beach, mostly free of other people, and with a pleasant tiki hut bar. I wasn't having a great time...that is until some beach vendors found us with backpacks full of colorful cloth pants. Diana and I each bough a pair and I gratefully changed into these. Sweet relief! I also bought a prech cowrie shell bracelet which I have been wearing ever since that day. We stayed on the beach for about an hour or two and then headed back to Tofo. Leray, even though he was still supposed to be appearing in Joburg that day, decided he would come with us back to Mango. We hung around the market place for a little while and bought some trinkets and then started walking back down to the beach towards Mango, but somewhere a long the way we lost Leray. Oh well. We never did see him again.
That night was rather quiet since the day had been so eventful. We cooked some dinner with the supplies we had bought (this time meaning actual food) and went to bed. In the morning we woke up early, as per usual, and headed out to the beach. We were beginning to look like a more ragtag bunch by this time. Salty hair, sun burn, shell bracelets, and sandy. Excellent. We walked to a placed called Bamboozi, which was one of the establishments built high up on a dune and accessable via a steep and rickety wooden staircase. There we booked and ocean safari on Thursday for everyone (yay snorkeling!) and some scuba dives for Matt, who happens to be certified. You may have run across 'the big 5' before in terms of land animals (lions, water buffalo, elephants, rhinos, and leopards/cheetahs) but apparently there is also a big 5 of ocean life, all to be found in the Indian Ocean. I think it includes manta rays, wale sharks, sea turtles, dolphins, and humpback whales. Even though the establishment was Bamboozi, the actual company we booked through was called Liquid Adventures and offered just about every water activity you could think of.
After booking we went to the Bamboozi restaurant for breakfast. The place had a beautiful ocean view and was made in the tikki hut style- great beacha atmosphere. Several resident dogs and a 'weather coconut' were also in attendance. After breakfast it was time for more swimming of course! Diana, Jamie, and I decided to relax in the sun for a bit too while the boys went around being rambunctious and doing something or other. It was only for a short time, but I recieved the nastiest, worst, baddest sunburn on my poor leg I have ever had or seen someone else have. It is now November and it is still not fully healed. But that's beside the point, after laying out for a bit we went back for more swimming! Then it was lunch time and we all had worked up quite an appetite so we went back to the dive shop for smoothies. No pineapple this time, but we got apple instead and still enjoyed it greatly. We also tried to order sandwhiches, but the power was out, as it so frequently was, so we had to tweak our order a little bit more. In the end we were fed and watered and it was all delicious. AWA. P.s. That means Africa Wins Again.
After lunch Diana, Chris, and I headed back to Mango to get ready for a horseback riding adventure. I changed into my awesome beach pants, as did Diana, and we walked back up the beach to Bamboozi, climbed the dune, and walked a little ways into the palm forest and village to get to the horse place. On the way the tide was coming in fast and strong. It was already to the point where big waves were crashing against the dune and buffeting us as we walked. We saw a man ahead of us stumble and fall. A receding wave started to pull him out and he stuck his arm out to us for help. Chris grabbed it, but the man remained on the ground. He had a big glass Coke bottle full of liquor in one hand, but this and one of his sandals were washed away. He kept asking Chris not to let him go. "If you let go we're goners,". In his case, he was right. The tide would wash him away and swallow him up without a trace. Standing and sober, we were not in danger. The three of us managed to pull him along to Bamboozi where we deposited him on dry sand and told Jamie and Zach to watch him to make sure he didn't dorwn. Then it was time for horse back riding, and we were already running late, so we wasted no time moving along. There were four beautiful horses waiting for us. Diana had never been so close to a horse before and she was pretty ecstatic. Chris and I, who have been, were excited too, but were a little more composed about it. Our guide was a small man who was very energetic. He introduced our horses to us: mine was named Brownie, Diana's was Wolfie, and Chris's was named something terrible girly like 'Wind Dancer' or something. The ride was pretty exciting and it felt good to be on a horse again. We rode through the dunes and took a rather terrifying plummet down to the beach where the tide coming in bothered the horses not at all. A group of beach dogs barking did, however, and Diana's horse got spooked. We rode the horses back into the dunes and saw some fantastic views of palm forests, mountains, and the beach from a high vantage points. We rode through little villages and along fields. The sun was setting and everything was very beautiful. In the end we were all very sore and a little bit sunburned, but it was so very worth it.
When we were done riding we had a dilemma on our hands; where were we supposed to meet the others? On the far end of the beach at Dino's? At the very far and opposite end at Mango eating an expensive meal? Somewhere in the middle? We ended up walking up and down the beach, becoming exhausted, and arriving at Mango to find out that our friends had made dinner reservations for everyone and a gourmet meal was being prepared for us. Win! It was one of the tastiest dinners I've had in a long long time. Drinks at Bamboozi followed and then another gorgeous day in Tofo was over.