This past weekend I spent with some new friends at a lake house near the beach in Chidenguele, about 250 kilometers north of Xai Xai. We drove four hours north of Maputo on the one and only national highway that runs north-south through Mozambique. I loved seeing more of Africa again! Children ran alongside the roads, waving and laughing as we passed by. Women carried heavy loads of anything you can imagine – balanced in a bucket atop their heads. Big trucks full of timber logs with goats adorning the sides and top passed us at record speed. All the while, the landscaped changed several times as we drove through low lands with rice patties and sugar cane fields, beautiful wide rivers running into the sun, dry and barren open space with bushfires burning out of control, and lush palm tree jungles where you imagine creatures of all shapes and sizes are hiding inside.
The beach was absolutely beautiful! Clean, golden sands stretched along the coastline. Sand dunes lush in vegetation protected the beach and provided a barrier to the villages. We bought fresh fish from a local fisherman for dinner – they packaged it up and buried it in the sand to stay cool while we enjoyed the sunshine. It was my friend Leila’s birthday weekend – there were seven us staying the weekend to celebrate with her. We barbequed a big meal for dinner and sang birthday songs till she couldn’t turn a darker shade of red. :-) We also enjoyed homemade birthday cake!
Saturday night started the excitement of this African weekend. I was sleeping in a tent alongside the lake. The night was calm and warm as I fell asleep looking up at the stars that were shining so brightly. They were amazing! I awoke a few hours later to the sound of incredible winds, my tent had collapsed on top of me, and I was starting to roll inside the tent! The winds were so strong! I managed to unzip and get out of the tent just as my mind started to race of rolling into the lake where the crocodiles were sleeping. I then crawled into the tent next to me, which was smaller, lower to the ground and had another person in it. It was not going to blow away with two of us! In the morning, I found out a small cyclone had hit the coast nearby and we were receiving the wind! I am proud to say I survived my first cyclone (sort of), in a tent! :-)
Later that morning, after a lovely breakfast, we all climbed into the 4x4 to enjoy the beach a little more before returning to the city. Tree branches were down and the sand was thick and loose. I learned that to drive in that kind of sand, one must deflate the tires. And keep turning the wheel back and forth. :-) After returning from the beach and enjoying a delicious traditional Brazilian meal, we packed up the vehicles to head back home. However, one of the 4x4s needed a push start. (tis very hard to do in thick sand!) We constructed a road out of tree branches and gathered men from the village to help push the truck. Several heave hoes and one accident later, the truck was running and we were on our way!
It was an exciting weekend :-)
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