Designs by Rhia

The End is Nigh

Days 111 thru 115

(Dan’s comments are italicized)

As dusk draws in, I’m sitting in our living area gazing out at the ocean and listening to the calming waves below…for the last time (this year)! Tomorrow we return to Maputo for a couple of nights before flying back to Johannesburg 🤞

The last few days have followed the pattern of the previous two weeks. We had a lovely surprise the day after we extended our accommodation for another four days; we arrived back after our morning walk to find this…

Apparently it was a ‘thank you’ for staying here so long.
Needless to say, Dan enjoyed the extra food, especially as we’ve been eating so cheaply for the last couple of weeks! A few of the items were seafood related, so they were all mine 😁
The little tomato basket full of olives was so pretty.

People have been so kind here, and so many have become friends. I love taking authentic photos of people so…

The sea looks like a watercolor painting…but I didn’t edit it at all!
No grass grows under this man’s feet; he’s walked up and down the beach selling his wares every single day since we’ve been here. You may have seen him in our last few posts.
And not just authentic people, but dogs just pop up out of nowhere and become ‘our dogs’ for the walk,  even turning around when we turn around. It sometimes leads to some awkward encounters with beachgoers staring angrily in our direction because of our unleashed dog 😂

Selling sunglasses on the beach is a ‘thing’ here. It made me laugh inwardly every day to see these vendors, as I remembered a time…44 years ago. My brother came on honeymoon with my (ex) husband and I (in all fairness, brother and hubby were best friends BUT, looking back, I realize that it didn’t bode well for the marriage 🤷‍♀️…but wait, there’s more. We’d rented a five bedroom house and tried to persuade other friends to come too; in my naivety or stupidity, I couldn’t understand why they didn’t come 🤭). But I digress. We were short on cash, but ever the entrepreneur, I bought a load of cheap sunglasses and arranged them on a shelf pulled out of the refrigerator. Then the three of us played cards and the loser of a hand would have the tray of sunglasses strapped around their neck with a couple of belts; they then walked up and down the beach and wouldn’t return until they’d sold a pair of sunglasses 😎. I wonder if this is where I got my competitive spirit from??

This setup is much better than a refrigerator shelf and a couple of belts!
This is one of my favorite people here. We bought piri-piri sauce and bread from this vendor…and this beautiful child would give me the most delightful smile each day. Piri-piri is kind of like the Louisiana Hot Sauce of Southern Africa. But this woman brews it and bottles it herself.

I think I’ve channeled a 99 year old lady since being here as I’ve thoroughly enjoyed sitting at ‘home’ watching people on the beach! Its remarkable what you see when you take a time-out rather than being in the throes of the throngs (I think I’m channeling Dylan Thomas too!) For example, after church on Saturday much of the congregation spent time on the beach…

…in their Sunday (Saturday) best! The men didn’t even take off their ties! Some of the women tied a sarong over their (compulsory) white outfits.
I’m ashamed to admit that when I first caught a glimpse of three women dressed this way, I thought they must have just finished a baking class. 😬
No matter how they were dressed, they were having fun. And the men in soon began playing football ⚽  in their neatly pressed three piece suits.
Africa never ceases to amaze me; this beautiful Mozambican beach is patrolled by armed guards and hosts a congregation clad in hats, ties, and shoes. It’s certainly a reminder that we’re not in Kansas anymore.

I try hard not to judge people or force my beliefs on them. But, after working in Kuwait many years ago (after my short stint as a beach vendor of sunglasses), I find some religious rules difficult to accept…

!!
Lady and daughter on the beach…
… husband and son on the beach.
Enough said!

On a happier note, I spent hours during our morning walks taking photos of tiny things on the beach. It’s fascinating what’s around!

I think this one looks like a jelly dragon.
This poor whatever-it-is was upside -down, so we turned it right side up…
By ‘we’ I mean Dan!
Yuk…but in a beautiful way.
I’ve no idea what these are either, but the colors are gorgeous.
This creature was upside-down too; I could see its little heart beating. So I called Dan…
‘We’ saved it 😁

Some days, I just took photos of sand art.

Other days, I had fun with small pieces of washed-up seaweed.

One of my favorite times with seaweed was when I came across this …

It was surrounded by lots of broken pieces of seaweed so I quickly took a photo and kept adding one more piece of seaweed to the picture until…

…the wave that swept my masterpiece away!

I’ll miss this place. I’ll miss the people, the beauty, and the sunrises.

I know I’ve said this before but… we’ll be back! We were really starting to discover a little bit of the rhythm here. Not just with the hourly tides or the weekly crowds, but the the daily pulse of the citizens. The next time we visit here, we can hit the ground running … I mean, relaxing.

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2 responses to “The End is Nigh”

  1. cebdent Avatar
    cebdent

    Love your artistic eye! – And all your Blue/Purple critters – apparently all poisonous! Tha Purple Snail is quite rare so you were very lucky to have seen one. All those “bubbles” are its flotation device as it stays on the surface and eats poisonous jellies!

    Sand Paintings put me in mind of the fossilized Crinoids I’ve seen – very fluid and organic and beautiful. Would a whole wall carved like that be lovely in a bathroom? I’d sure love it!

    Your seaweed bouquet is MUCH more colorful than I’d have imagined having only seen green and brown varieties so far in WA! The flat leaves resemble Jade, don’t they? Nice collection – and far less poisonous than the sea animals!

    Love your people portrait/vignettes. They inspire mental stories about them just begging to be told, don’t they? Perhaps someday, you will! Certainly the varie Love you two!ty of clothing choices make for some interesting conversations!

    I sure hope your transit back to the airport is as simple as you make it sound – shall continue sending warm and safe thoughts to surround you two in your adventures to ensure your safe journey home! Love you two!

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    1. Dr. Rhia Avatar
      Dr. Rhia

      I suspected they were poisonous as I’ve learned that the more colorful the creature, the more likely it’s poisonous…hence, I don’t touch them! Apparently, Dan never learned that 😂. We’ve probably seen upward of 10 purple snails so I didn’t realize they were rare; I depend on you for such info! I, too, love sand paintings; one day, I’ll share some I took one time in CA. I normally don’t move anything to photograph it usually but there was so much seaweed debris around that it seemed like a good idea…though I don’t think that anything we do improves upon what Mother Nature does herself.
      Thank you for your positive thoughts; this is why I think everything will work out well 👍
      😘

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