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.