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Published: September 11th 2009
Hello Everyone!
It's been a while since our last entry. Sorry no pictures right now, the computer here won't let Aaron download any photos.
We've been kicking back on the beach in Mozambique. Our friend Martina owns a Nissan repair shop in Vilankulos and we stayed with her for almost a month. She is so much fun, we had a great time. It was really nice to just be in one spot for a while, also. Since she let us stay for free, we tried to cook some really nice meals for her. Which was fun and challenging. Aaron loves to cook and it was challenging because she currently only has an electric skillet, a George Foreman grill, and a microwave until her house remodeling is complete. But we managed to turn out some decent meals.
The beaches and the water in Mozambique are absolutely stunning. It's a fishing village and town where we stayed with Martina. We took a 3 day trip up the coast to Tofo Beach. It was really amazing there, the water was just perfect. To get there we had to take a Choppa, which is like a local mini-van taxi local people use. What an experience. It's made to transport 18, but there were never fewer than 24 in the van. At one point I had 8 live hens and a rooster under my seat, pecking my calves no less. Then they put a live goat under Aarons seat. It was quite the entertaining experience. We saw more Humpback whales than we'd ever seen before. There were four pods of 4-7 whales stretched across the horizon at one point. And I'd never seen whales that close in to shore. One morning they were breaching and coming completely up out of the water, doing a complete 360 turn in the air and crashing back into the sea. That would be repeated by one in the next pod, and on down the line. Or they would roll on their sides and slap the water with their giant fins. They were so close at one point we could actually see their baleen slits under their mouths. It was amazing.
Our last weekend in Mozambique, Martina's friend John took us out on his yacht. It was really, really nice. It sleeps ten, each cabin has it's own bathroom with shower, dining room inside and out, full kitchen. Really cool. We spent the first night anchored off the island of Benguira and had dinner at a very nice lodge on the island. The next day he took us out to a place called 2 Mile Reef. He and Martina did some scuba diving, then John's partner James, took us in the little inflatable close to the reef to snorkel. This spot is called "The Aquarium" and their not joking. It was unbelievable. I've only ever seen fish like this on tv. There were fish of every shape, size and color. Some were shaped like a box with a long snout for a nose, I'd never even seen those on tv or in a book. The Parrot Fish were so spectacular, they were several shades of blue melding into greens and yellow, completely spectacular. There are fish that are every color of the rainbow and have stripes and spots to boot. It was so amazing it's almost indescribable. I got right in the middle of a school of blue and yellow angel fish, they were pretty good sized, probably 12+ inches long, so amazing. The fish don't mind you swimming among them at all, they swim pretty close and look at you, too. The coral itself was spectacular also. Shaped like a brain, or pipes, every shape you can imagine and every color also. I was snorkeling along and passed over this ledge of coral that was covered with what looked like small yellow flowery growths. As I passed over this section, it turned into an octopus that was as long as me. I startled him and he lost his camoflauge and he was the prettiest shade of deep red. He darted under the ledge. It was so cool, I just hung out in that spot until he came back out. He was so graceful and fluid as he came back out and re-claimed his spot on top of the ledge. He settled down and his red color went brownish and the little yellow looking growths popped back out. I left him alone to catch his dinner and went to find Aaron who was looking for me to come see an 8 ft. Leopard Eel he'd been watching. It was the most amazing hour ever!
We left by Choppa on Monday and after 2 hard days of traveling we are now in Malawi arranging a trek into the Mulanje Mountains. We will add more pics soon. It's been great getting all of your messages and comments, please keep them coming!
Carolyn & Aaron
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Rick Barnett
non-member comment
Mozambique
It was so cool hearing from you again. Your adventures are amazing! Glenda wanted me to tell you and Aaron that her daughter Jessica passed her board exam and she is now a registered nurse! Keep those adventures and pictures coming! Miss you guys! Rick Barnett