Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! I thought I had already posted this but just found it on my computer, sitting quietly, waiting for its turn to be made public. I had this ready to go the first bit of January... oops! Well, catch up for now and I'll start writing more!
Happy New Year! As is the norm no matter where you are in the world, the holiday season has zipped by leaving a sparkling mess of exhausted, contented smiles and fuzzy, fabulous memories. There wasn’t the typical hustle & bustle of endless functions to attend, shopping to do, or treats to bake but for some reason, it came and went as quickly as chocolate placed in front of me. Holiday season in a tourist destination of course means days overrun with chaos and ridiculous hours that blur one set of 24 hours into the next without the chance of coming up for air to check what day it actually is. Tofo, Mozambique is evidently a South African’s dream destination. Every single one of them and their dog arrived simultaneously in diesel belching bakkies hauling quads, jetskis, kayaks, and frozen sides of a variety of edible animals with which to braai endlessly as they chain smoked cheap Pall Malls and chugged back oversized 2M beers in bottles bought for insanely inflated prices that only a holidayer would pay. Tofo was a rockin and we were in the middle of it all.
Despite the holiday craziness, wow, Christmas in Africa with some very dear friends… how do I share a western experience on the Dark Continent? Unique? Indeed. Fabulously unique. Despite floating aimlessly and somedays, hopelessly, through my life, I continue to have some incredibly beautiful experiences. While everyone else was still sleeping, I wrote a little bit as I sat and soaked in my blessedly strange string of events that led me to Christmas in Mozambique. Didn’t get much done but here’s what I did write before the rest of the eager beavers woke up and we started our Christmas Day in Africa…
Merry Christmas from Mozambique! It’s a hot, sunny day already here, bright and early on the southern coast of Africa. A house full of bodies are still dozing off the remnants of far too much incredibly good food and holiday cheer. I’ve been up for a while now… it’s Christmas for crying out loud! Looking out over palm trees, thatched roofs, a shining blue sea, and the bustling burst of African life it’s definitely not the Christmas of story books and Hollywood movies but oh my goodness, it really could be. Christmas in Africa. How did I get here?
My fabulous good fortune continues as I count my blessings thankful for the people I meet along my way. Nicola, another instructor who works at Diversity and who has become the dearest friend, invited us to spend Christmas Eve at her boyfriend’s family’s guesthouse in Barra, a town about a half an hour away. When I say “guesthouse”, I’m at a loss because there’s really no way to explain their place. Bela Vista lodge is one of the most beautiful properties I have ever seen. Truly. Three separate, massive, open plan natural material house designed to sleep up to 20 with each area leading to an outside common area and every little luxury I could ever need (running hot water, proper kitchen, soft comfy furniture). The family has one as their own home and the others are all for rent. I’ll try to get some photos but it’s just too beautiful for words.
ANYWAY! The point of that ramble was Christmas Eve. After work, we packed ourselves into the back of one of the family member’s pickup truck and made our way here; hot, stinky, sweating, and so looking forward to being out of work. The night was just perfect. The family is so warm and generous, so funny and entertaining. We cooked, ate til we were ready to burst, and had such a perfect time just hanging out and being together. Really, the most Christmasy Christmas I could possibly ever imagine being so far away from home and in freaking Africa for crying out loud! There were moments where I had to step back and just look around; my grand good fortune continues on and on.
And that was all I got done before we carried on with our Christmas Day.
Not much writing done early Christmas morn but enough that you got a glimpse of the bittersweet holiday experiences I am having over here. So carrying on… Christmas day was brilliant. Nicola, her boyfriend, his two brothers, their two cousins, and lucky me all rented kayaks and paddled our happy little butts out to “Pansy Island”. Kayaks were loaded up and Nicola and I were paddle buddies… needless to say there was more chatting and goofing than paddling so we tended to bring up the rear. Pansy Island is actually a massive sand bar that disappears at high tide but it was Christmas day, life was good, and we had a big, sandy island all to ourselves as we set up shelter, spread out blankets, ate, drank, then donned snorkel gear in search of shells. The sun, the beach, the warm Indian Ocean… what a way to spend Christmas day. The tides didn’t start reclaiming our own private island until late in the afternoon so there were a few red shoulders and tips of noses as we repacked our kayaks and began the journey back. Salty, sweaty, smiling the whole way. Life is very, very good.
I had planned to go back to Tofo that night but was having such a nice time. An invitation was extended, I politely asked the parents’ permission, and I stayed one more night. We made a bonfire on the beach and had a most chilled evening of chatting around the fire. Again, impossible to describe, perfect to experience. What a way to spend Christmas day. Seriously.
Now remember, at this point, I am now homeless. My last night in my house was the 22nd so I was bed hopping in the most innocent of ways. I was never without a place to lay my head and so as to continue to be on the good favour side of karma, when it was just about time to move back into my home, on the 5th of Jan, I agreed to house sit for friends until 14th. A couple of nights back in my house, 4 to be exact, and I’ve been asked to house sit for other friends once again, this time just for two nights. I think word is spreading quickly that I have a hard time saying no. It will have been almost a full month that I’ve been out of my home until I will properly move back into it… rent paid unfortunately. But again, want to stay on the up side of karma so I will kindly thank those who took me in and graciously agree to help out where I can when asked. Unsettled is as unsettled does, I guess. It suits me.
Hmmm… I missed something in there, didn’t I? Yep. Sure did. New Year’s. Typical in the ways of mad rushes to get ready straight after work and a lovely dinner with the closest of friends but then 11pm rolled around and we booked it for the beach. Massive beach, massive beach party. Thousands of people, Mozambique locals, us locals, tourists, everyone, dancing, drinking, visiting up and down as music thumped from a local bar and the frenzy of midnight approaching lit up the night. Champagne, kisses and hugs, well wishes, and celebrations brought in 2011 the same ways as home, but I was on the beach in Mozambique. And my beach party lasted until almost 8am. This new year is going to be a great one.
The days continue to fly by and I am starting to look at what’s next for me. Eagerly. I’ve been ready to go for a while now, been here almost 8 months, it’s time to move, move, move. But I’m terrible with decisions. Too many things to see and do. I could be in Africa for the rest of my life and not even scratch the surface but yeah, it’s definitely time to at least start trying. So as travelers come and go and I stay connected with those who have moved on, I’m asking questions, asking for suggestions, looking at what to do where. The must see of here and now. But really, that list is endless… Why did it take me so long to get here?!
Okay, that’s the quick wrap up of a wild and wonderful holiday homeless season. I will keep updating as hopefully plans come together and remember, you want me to be on the move… my blogs are always so much more entertaining when I’m travelling because I usually seem to find myself in some kind of mess. It’s what makes life fun though, isn’t it?
Hope everyone had a jolly Christmas and festive a New Year with very little recovery time needed. Wishing all of you at least a little bit of adventure in 2011. Lots of love! xo
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