Friday, September 5, 2008

Em on the brink of basking like a beached whale

I am officially an excited little chicken, soon to morph into a beached whale. Tomorrow Mark and I are teaming up with another party-'til-you-drop couple, Chris and Lianne, and heading off for two weeks of blissful beach.

We kick off our trip tomorrow morning and fly through to Swaziland where we'll stay with Mum and Dad for a couple of days. The Parents have been as generous as only parents can be and they're lending us their double-cab bakkie (pick up truck, for those who've been out of S.A for eons) packed to the hilt with fishing rods, snorkelling gear, beach bats, 30 seconds and plenty of vino - oh, and food - for our epic roadtrip through Mozambique. Well, maybe 'epic' is a bit strong - more of a 3-stop journey along the coast.

As a family we've holidayed in Mozambique hundreds of times as it's so accessible from Swaziland and I just can't get tired of it. So, I thought I'd share a quick list of why.

Things I love about Mozambique:
1. Sun. Actually, at this point I'd love anywhere that had some sun. Cape Town has been pummelled by one cold front after another for the last 3 months and I'm officially sick of rain and cold. Weather forecast in Cape Town for the next few days: another cold front hits - rain predicted with a maximum temperature of 18 degrees (which is pretty chilly when you don't have any indoor heating). Weather forecast for Mozambique for the next few days: Cloudless sky, sunny and bright. 32 degrees.

Hallelujah.

2. 2M. This is Dois M (have no idea how to spell it - what's Portuguese for two?) which is the local beer. Don't you find that holiday beer just tastes so much better on holiday? Crack open a bottle when you get home and it's just average.

3. Fresh seafood. You buy this off the beach. Doesn't get fresher than that. And then you have the added bonus of asking your house boy to gut and fillet it (part of his job, not exploitation!). It's tough in Africa.

4. Portuguese. It's pretty cool when you travel but a hop, skip and a jump and land in a country where very little English is spoken. Makes me feel a million miles away. Plus it's fun communicating via impromptu sign language.

5. Sleeping late.


Things I'm not all that fond of, but will try not to think about:

1. The helicopter-sized mosquitos that mercilessly bury their oil-drill sized probiscis into your neck, vampire-like and drain the life blood out of you. Plan of action: gin - they don't like that. Sorted. With a slice of lemon.

2. Airing my pasty, untoned winter bod. I think that says enough.

3. The dodgy 'police'. The number of times we've been stopped by men in make-shift uniforms claiming that we've exceeded the speed limit demanding to see our drivers licence and pay an exhorbetant fine: plenty. The number of times we've actually passed over our drivers licence thinking they were legitimate and had to bribe them to return the precious document: once.

And that's enough of the negatives. At this point even the negatives seem like positives. I'm so excited! Time to go and get the last minute bits and pieces, then pick the in-laws up from the airport. They're just staying a couple of days.

Will post some pics when I get back. Have a lovely couple of weeks!

4 comments:

Pieter said...

There is nothing that compares to white sand beaches, deep blue seas, palm trees and fresh seafood relaxing luxuriously in dishes of well melded liquors. Preferably overproof. Have a memorable time, Em and Em-mate!

For those remaining within the confines of the ww net, who will step forward and decode certain terms? Like how can you stow "30 seconds" in the bed of a double cab bakkie? And "house boy"? I spent nearly twenty years edging mine out of our front door into the arms of the US Marine Corps. Please explain the value of keeping same.

Have a pectacular holiday petite poulet!

Bird said...

Things I want for Christmas:
1. Houseboy
2. Houseboy
3. Trip to Mozambique
4. 2 weeks to anywhere

Em your vacation sounds heavenly and I can't wait to see the pictures! I like your style!

Martine said...

Isn't that just the way. Here I am, working, in sweat pants because summer ended in the flip of a switch...and she's basking in the sun. With a houseboy. Not that I don't have a houseboy. I do. But mostly he's a couch sitting houseboy. And I don't think it's the same thing.

I they're having fun. Lots and lots of fun.

Anonymous said...

They came, filled up the house with noise, ate all the food, drank all the wine, and used the phone until it was hot because ALL their luggage had been lost somewhere. Much stressing and smooth-talking, and the luggage landed on the last flight of Sunday night. They left 0600 Monday. Now the house is empty, as is the fridge and the wine cupboard.

We are sweltering here, but in Moz it is even hotter. Today is predicted to be 38C here. Cape Town is 16C, with snow on the mountains. I know where the kids would prefer to be!