January 2007 Archives

The Zebras4Life--Test4Life project was offically launched at a press conference at the national stadium on Monday, 22 January. The U.S. Ambassador, several footballers, the Minister of Labor and Home Affairs, Peace Corps Volunteers and other partners were on hand to explain the campaign and offer up continued support. Several papers and BTV picked up on the story. You can access a Mmegi article online that talks about the campaign's launch (Zebras enter anti-AIDS war).

• First and foremost I have to say the best part of Mozambique was the Indian Ocean. I have always heard that water in the Indian Ocean is warm like a bath, but I didn’t fully believe it. When we finally got to the ocean on our second day I started running towards the waves to wade in but in the back of my head was readying myself for the water to have a cold bite to it. There was no bite. In fact, I don’t know if you can believe how warm the water is until you’ve felt it yourself. It was the perfect temperature that made you want to be in the water all the time. Not only is the water magnificently warm but it’s also the most clean, pristine water you’ve ever seen. Just looking out over the landscape you’d see hundreds of shades of aqua. I tried very hard to capture the beauty of it through photos but it’s just not possible.
• The village of Tofo was definitely Brian and I’s favorite place we visited on the trip. The waves were the best to play in there (not too big, but big enough to body surf) and the village was very accessible – just a 15 minute walk down the beach from Bamboozi. Vilankulos was beautiful but the water was shallow and the village was very spread out. In hindsight we would have spent more time in Tofo we liked it so much.
• Having a crab crawl across my face when we slept overnight on Bangue Island in the Bazaruto Archipelago. Sleeping outside on the beach was amazing (and one of the best nights sleep we had in Mozam). Waking up to a crab on your face is an experience you’ll never forget.
• Snorkeling off the Magaruque Island. I’ve never been snorkeling before but I think I’m addicted! The colors of the fish you see just off the reef are amazing and snorkeling was easy to pick up, even for somebody who’s not a strong swimmer like me. I will definitely be looking for more opportunities to go in the future.
• The dhow turned gondola trip across the bay from Inhambane to Maxixe. There is a motorized ferry that you can take across the bay, but a local guy offered to take all nine of us for 100 meticais (about $4) in his dhow (traditional sail boat). It would have cost us 112.50 mets to take the ferry but we thought taking a dhow would be a great adventure and agreed to go. Unfortunately for him there was no wind on the bay so he ended up pushing us gondola style all the way across!
• Last, but definitely not least, was the central market in Maputo. It is a shopping experience straight from my romanticized visions of Africa. There were women selling fresh fish, every type of fruit and vegetable imaginable and lots and lots of crafts! All under one roof! It was so cool. I realized how spoiled we are in Botswana (and especially Molepolole) where we have many supermarket chains to choose from. While I loved shopping at the market in all the villages we visited, it would be hard to live like that all the time.

Now it is back to life as normal. Beginning in March we won’t be able to take any leave until the end of our service (as early as the beginning of May) or until we start a third year if we decide to extend. So, Mozam will be our last big trip for a while. It’s good in a way because there is so much we want to do in the next few months it will be nice just to be at home for a while and get into a groove.

(P.S. Having problems uploading our pictures from Mozam. Not sure what's happening, but will try again soon.)

Wanted to give everyone a heads up that we will be "incommunicado" (I may have just made up that last word) for the next couple weeks while we are relaxing on the beaches of Mozambique. I have been looking forward to this trip for a while now. Palm trees, white sand, warm Indian Ocean water. I don't think you can beat that.

So while you in the Northern Hemisphere are enjoying winter know that we are living it up on the beaches down south. Ate a vista (that's see you later in Portuguese) :)

P.S. Over the holidays we were talking with other PCVs about the new group coming in April. Surprisingly we haven't heard from anyone yet. By this time last year we had heard from at least a couple of people in Bots 5. If you're coming to Bots next year please check out the Contact page and let us know you're coming!

Brian and I returned to Elephant Sands to celebrated Christmas again this year. There were 12 of us in the group this year, six repeats (us, Dave and Wendy, Colman and Melody) plus six newbites (Rachel, her mom Deborah, Scott, Suzie, Fallon and Andrew.) Don't know what to say except we had a great time as always.

After Elephant Sands we traveled to Kasane and stayed with our friend Chami. The highlight of Kasane was the river cruise where you see tons of animals. We saw mostly hippos and antelope, but also a crocodile and a herd of elephants going to the river. That was a lot of fun. Now we are enjoying a few days at home before work starts again on the 3rd. Happy new year!