I woke up pretty early and did my exercises before heading up to the lodge area to work on my journal. I was soon joined by Carl and Dena. When Jeremy got up, we ate a breakfast of Muesli and then did Yoga with Dena by the ocean. I have never really done Yoga before, and this was a treat.
After Yoga, we met with Ryan, who runs the dive and boat charters for the hostel. We discussed chartering a fishing boat and going on a whale shark safari. Because he promised both of these activities for a reasonable price, we finalized the decision to stay here, at Turtle Cove, for an additional day instead of spending the extra day at Vilanculos. Luckily, we were able to get the same room for the extra night, so we won’t have to move our items.
We were not able to go on either of those excursions today, so we decided to just take it easy. I spent the rest of the morning catching up on my travel logs and Jeremy chilled and read through some of the Italy guidebook. Around 12:30, we walked down to the Bread Shack for lunch. This small “deli” serves a small range of sandwiches (tuna/chicken salad, egg, cheese, and perhaps one or two more) on freshly baked bread. The meal was very good (the bread was great) but it was small. So after eating, we headed over to the main market street in Tofo. This street has about 10 vendors out in the street and a handful of shops and/or restaurants along the side. It is tiny, but we were easily able to find fruit and bread vendors and we bought an accompaniment to our original lunch.
While snacking alongside the beach in the shade, we were bothered by a number of vendors selling their bracelets at a “special” price. This is getting really annoying, but in the end, we were also able to chat with a local teenager for a bit. The conversation included the standards: how great is America, Rambo is awesome, Americans are rich, I want to go to America, etc.
After sitting for a bit longer, we walked back to the beach next to where we had swum the other day. This beach is more heavily frequented by surfers, and the waves are larger. I don’t enjoy it as much, but Jeremy does, and it is more secluded. I had my camera with me, so I was slightly concerned about someone walking away with it while we were in the water.
I do know how to swim, and I fancy myself a good swimmer, but these waves are large. And if you want to go beyond the waves, you will find yourself in a deep spot where the water does pull you out further into the ocean. I don’t like this too much, so I largely found myself standing in the shallow water fighting the waves as they came in.
After swimming for a while and then walking back to where we did the Yoga in the morning, we took some pictures and Jeremy found this cool little cove where the waves crash in creating a spray that shoots up into the air. I took a movie of the scene. It seems that there are holes in the back of the cove where the water will siphon into. Then, when a new wave comes in, it pushes the water up from the holes from below, shooting the mist into the air.
We walked back to the lodge and found Dena lounging by the pool. We joined here and swam around for a bit before heading back to our cabin to study the Italy trip. We have down somewhat of a turnaround with our Sicily plans. Instead of visiting Mt. Etna, we are going to try to get to the active volcano at Stromboli. This mountain still puts on a nightly show that includes belches and bursting lava! This will take us into the Aeolian Islands for some island hopping. Although the interior of Sicily has some excellent sights, Jeremy felt that this would give us a different set of scenes and something new. I concurred and we worked together to figure out the logistics.
Around 6pm, we decided it was time to eat and we went in search of Dena to go to the Black and White. This local hole in the wall was recommended to us by Carl and I was definitely looking forward to trying it. While searching for Dena, we met a wonderful family from Germany who showed us this tent that they had rigged to the top of their truck. I took a picture, as I knew that mom and dad would love checking it out. Perhaps it is the solution to their camping questions?
Dinner at the Black and White was great. The place is somewhat difficult to find and you have to pay attention in order to find it. All that really identifies it is a small sign to the left of the entrance. The sign also has a faded menu that included chicken, calamari, fish, and prawns. All meals are served with either rice or chips. Upon entering the door, you walk down a short corridor surrounded by discarded items before entering a decently lit room with plastic tables and chairs. To the back right is another room with a pool table. The kitchen is to the right of the room, and food is handed through a hole in the wall to the main area. The sole waiter soon ambled over to take our orders. Dena and I were quick to the gun and ordered ours (fish), but when Jeremy hesitated, he grew bored and went to chat with the cook for some time. When he came back, Jeremy ordered the fish as well. Before the food arrived, the waiter came back to ask if we wanted anything to drink. Dena and I bought Savannahs and Jeremy got a Sprite. In a decent amount of time, the food arrived. The fish looked and tasted great. It was a grilled fillet of the local fish. It was moist and well seasoned. The rice was also very good. Jeremy said that it was cheaper white rice, but the seasonings and mixed in vegetables added a great deal of taste and value to it. The portions were also very generous, especially when we found out the final price. My meal, with the drink, was only 130 MT! That is about 3 dollars! I think that the base meal must have costs about 90 MT!
On the way back, we stopped at a vendor to see if he had Ice Cream. He said yes at first, but when we were closer, he asked what Ice Cream was. Ha! Sometimes people can be so eager to please that they are so very misleading. In defeat, we walked back to the lodge. It was so dark though, and the night sky was wonderfully visible above our heads. Jeremy said that this is what Bethel was like, and it is simply gorgeous.
Once we were back at our rooms, we chatted for a bit, noted that we would have to cancel a nights stay at Smugglers in Vilanculos, ate a mango, and then went to bed. My legs were tired after the long day, and I hoped that they would feel better the next morning.
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