Mexican fiesta, line dancing and more misused words

For those of you who don't want to read the blog, here's a link to the entire photo gallery from Mozambique. I'll continue to add new galleries for each place we visited, but it's taking me forever. Sorry!  

Mozambique photos 

Thursday, Aug. 18

Thursday morning came, and with Alan having to work and Bekki en route to Africa, Lesli and I had most of the day to ourselves. We woke up and went into the kitchen and Alan had made us breakfast (his momma raised him right...or Bekki trained him). Either way, Alan deserves an award for taking such good care of us while Bekki was away.

Breakfast consisted of coffee and a fruit salad with mangoes, craisins, fresh coconut, cinnamon and sugar. Why don't I do this for breakfast back home, and why is breakfast always better on vacation?? Of course, maybe it was the fact that we enjoyed our breakfast out in their gazebo overlooking the ocean that made everything seem that much better.

Bekki had left us notes for each day she was gone with things to do, but of course, we couldn't even stick to her plan from Day 1. After lounging all morning, we decided to go visit their friend Lize outside of town at their fish hatchery. We approached Bekki's car still debating on who would brave driving the car. Everyone drives on the left side of the road in Africa. We decided to play rock, paper, scissors, and sure enough I lost and was designated as the driver. I grabbed the keys and headed toward the door, at which point Lesli pointed out, "Sara, it's the other side." Oops, not a good start. Needless to say, I didn't exactly exude confidence from Lesli. 

I hopped in and turned the key in the ignition and immediately got a click, click, click notifying us that our fearless road trip would be diverted by a dead battery. Not wanting to accept defeat, I turned to look at the guards just to make sure their car noises here were the same as in the States. 

Right at that time, I saw Alan peering over the back gate just laughing at us as he discovered our situation. We ventured to jumpstart the car but someone had confiscated Alan's jumper cables at work. It was probably divine intervention that saved us from killing ourselves driving in Africa.

Bekki arrived that afternoon and the real fun began. As soon as she got home, we grabbed some drinks and headed up to their upstairs balcony to watch for whales. Although we didn't see Free Willy or his compadres, we enjoyed a beautiful ocean view and sunset.

Alan grilled us a feast of seafood that night consisting of crab, lobster and tiger prawns. As we sat at the table outside looking at our beautiful spread of food, we finally had to look at Alan to teach us how to eat the darn creatures. We made it through the prawn beheading and lobster deshelling before tackling the crab. Let me just say that in the future, I'm perfectly content with paying more to have crab already prepared to pop in my mouth. We practically had to do surgery on the thing to get to the meat. Bekki the vet and Lesli the bio-med major didn't make it past the de-gilling, but I persevered and followed Alan's lead. The tasteful meat made it worth it (I think). 

Friday, Aug. 19

Thursday night us girls stayed up until 2 a.m. catching up on our girl talk. The next morning, I slept in while Bekki went shopping to get more stuff for our Mexican fiesta. The three of us then went to Starfish Restaurant for lunch, which overlooked the bay. We sat outside on the balcony and shared our plates: tomato and mozarella panini, roasted sweet pepper wrap, and a spicy tomato crepe. Everything tasted wonderful. I was expecting the food to be unappealing in Africa, but it was quite the opposite. My souvenirs weren't the only extra pounds I brought back to the States with me.


After lunch and a few errands, we went to visit Bekki's neighbors, Mary Lou and John -- such an interesting couple. They're originally from Canada but have traveled all over as ESL teachers primarily. Their last stop was Oman before they chose Pemba for retirement. Now, they work as professors at the university in Pemba and own a beautiful place on the beach that they have built from scratch practically. 


They have built their gorgeous estate to serve as a retreat for missionaries in the area. John does all the woodwork, and it's beautiful. Umbila and ironwood were my favorite woods that I discovered in Pemba. After a walk on the beach with Mary Lou, the three of us girls headed back to prepare for the Mexican fiesta that night.

Let me just say that this might have been the only time Lesli and I earned our keep on our vacation. Bekki, in her optimistic way, thought two hours was plenty of time to get everything prepared for the party with the three of us working. What she didn't tell us was that really she would be MIA the entire time taking care of some vet stuff (she runs a clinic out of her home while they are building a new facility). It was up to Lesli and me to get everything ready in time. At least Alan had gotten home from work early and helped as well.

Lesli and I went to work preparing the marinade for the fajitas (chicken and sable). We did anything from juicing more than 30 limes to peeling and hand pressing garlic to kingdom come as well as chopping veggies and measuring ingredients. I think Lesli had the most fun beating and tenderizing the sable.

Thinking our work was done, I quickly grabbed a shower before everyone arrived. When I returned to the kitchen, Bekki was making the first batch of chips. Since corn tortilla chips aren't readily available there, we used a thick pastry and baked it in the oven. Of course, wouldn't you know, Bekki disappeared again leaving Lesli and I to take over the chip making process. 

It was quite comical. Here we were slaving away in the kitchen while guests arrived at a party that was supposed to introduce us to all of Bekki and Alan's friends in Pemba. Given the day rate that they pay their help, I would have gladly paid $5 to have someone else make the chips. Instead, we took the opportunity to read The Help on my Kindle while we baked the chips. Pretty fitting!

We were rescued from our chip duty when a couple arrived with two bags of potato chips. Hooray! At that point, we moved on to more important things...drinking margaritas. Alan and Bekki must have had 20-25 of their friends over. Such a fun group! Of course, Alan made me tell my Jo'burg story, which got a lot of laughs from the Africans. They also taught me some other local (and probably just as inappropriate) words to say, which I'm sure was just another source of entertainment for them. 


I had brought my iPod full of Texas country music, and by the end of the night I had a handful of people learning how to line dance. It was hilarious. By the end of the night I felt I had left them with a little bit of Texas.

Saturday, Aug. 20

Whale watching

The party came to a close, and we had time to get about a 3-hour nap in before we were up before dawn to go fishing and whale watching. Wes allowed us to use his little fishing boat named Oobas Charlie's. I wish I had taken a picture of the boat to illustrate our experience. It was so small that all three of us girls had to sit at the front most part of the boat while Alan got in to balance the boat. It was like the rules of canoeing applied -- no sudden movements and try to maintain proper weight distribution at all times. 


Alan warned us it would be a little bumpy on the way out, which turned out to be the understatement of the century. Us girls were positioned so that we had to straddle the center storage bin, and off we roared. I felt like I was riding a mechanical bull! Needless to say, we got into several laugh attacks on the way out to sea.


The main reason we left so early in the morning was to go when the waters were calmer, since our boat was so small. After a certain point when the swells got to be 6' with 1' chop and white caps, Alan felt it was time to head back before things got any worse. I was a little disappointed we didn't see a whale, but the ride out was so much fun I still was glad we went.


As we headed back, the wind picked up and Alan voiced, "I don't like this at all." Now Alan is one of the most knowledgeable outdoorsment/boatsmen I know, so I wasn't exactly thrilled to hear that he was concerned. We kept plugging along on our way back when suddenly Alan slowed the boat and pointed to a whale straight ahead. It was actually a mama humpback and a newborn baby calf. It was an amazing sight to watch. We trolled along watching the mother and baby flap their fins and blow their spouts. It was my first time seeing a whale in the wild, and I wouldn't have traded it for anything. 

Of course it wouldn't be an African adventure without some malfunction. On our way back we lost steering to the boat. Looking at the shore so far away, swimming wasn't an option. But I wasn't above jumping ship and attaching myself to one of the crazy locals out their kayaking in the open sea. Fortunately for them, Alan found the piece that broke off (in the boat, thank goodness) and fixed the boat.What I didn't know then was that this boating adventure would be the easiest and safest water activity I would do for the rest of the trip.


By the time we got back, we were pretty beat. Alan drove us through the village markets on our way back, which was neat to see. We spent the rest of the day packing and resting up for our journey. We were to leave on at 1 a.m. on Sunday for Zambia, stopping along the way in Malawi. 


Next post: Journey to Malawi

Our first day in Pemba

August 17

We arrived in Pemba at 2 p.m. and made it through customs okay (super small airport). It was unfortunate that no one warned me that they would take my picture for my visa. I was looking pretty shabby in my baseball cap and even worse when I had to remove it for the photo. Now I have an ugly portrait stuck on my passport accompanying my visa for the rest of my life. 

As we were waiting in line for customs a local guy came up to us and said, "Are you with Alan?". I didn't know if this was when my "stranger danger" instincts were supposed to kick in, but they didn't. "Yes, that's us." Oddly, they only allow locals in to the airport arrival area, so Alan had sent his co-worker to check on us while he waited for us outside. We were so excited to finally be in Pemba after three days of travel. We went directly to Bekki and Alan's house, which sits right on the beach and is beautiful overlooking the turquoise and deep blue waters. 


Sadly, Bekki couldn't be there for our first day because she had to make an emergency trip home to be with her family for her Gammer's funeral. Poor Alan was stuck entertaining us in her absence. After unloading our stuff and meeting some of their staff and neighbors, Alan invited us to join him for some grocery shopping in town. We must have gone to four or five shops looking for certain items. We got to see their local farmers market, the roadside fish sellers, the liquor store (to stock up for our cross country journey of course), and a deli.

I love learning and experiencing the daily life in foreign places. As with most developing countries, there's a lot of poverty in Mozambique, but everyone still seems so happy. Bekki and Alan have staff who work for them, primarily guards and house workers, which is standard over here. Their housekeeper, Salama, also does some cooking and made us some yummy dishes of chicken curry and creamy mitapa (a leafy green veggie like spinach) served over coconut rice. She also made some red beans and rice that would give the Cajuns a run for their money back home. I love the Indian influence in the dishes over here. Their curry is much better than most of what we get in the States.

Lesli and me at Kauri Resort

Our first night in Pemba, we ate at Kauri Resort, practically next door to Bekki and Alan's. It was beautiful! I can certainly understand why they love it so much in Pemba. If it weren't such a hassle and expense, I would be visiting them more often!

While enjoying the sunset, Alan ordered us a round of rock shandies. They are made with herb bitters, 7up and club soda. Then we shared a bottle of green wine, something new to me and very refreshing.

Soon, Bekki and Alan's friends joined us for a great dinner of curry dishes. Their friends are awesome, and it was a great first day in Pemba. Although their guest bed was the hardest bed I've slept on, I slept like a rock (probably because I was sleeping on one!).


I realize this blog is pretty boring for starts. I promise to include some adventures and a little humor along the way. But, with any story, you have to ease into it...

*Also to note, I left my photos from Pemba on Alan's computer, so I'm only including a few I have that were emailed to me. All photos from my trip will be uploaded to my smugmug site eventually. 

Next post: Mexican fiesta, line dancing and more misused words

Welcome to Africa!

August 14, 2011

Anthony and me

I boarded the plane in Houston and set off for Africa. The downside of using points/mileage to book an international flight is that you never get the most direct route. I flew from Houston to Chicago (first class), then Chicago to Frankfurt, Germany (business class). After a 9-hour layover in Frankfurt (yea for first class lounges!), I boarded my final flight to Johannesburg (economy) where I would meet up with my friend, Lesli Bailey, and begin our adventure in Africa.

Thanks to the wonderful world of Facebook, I had reconnected with a high school friend, Anthony ("Scosh" to those of us from Pine Tree) who owns a dive shop in Mozambique. Surprisingly, I have three sets of friends who live in Mozambique--all in different areas. As luck would have it, Anthony was going to be in Johannesburg for a dive expo at the same time Lesli and I had our 24-hour layover. Instead of having to make arrangements at an airport hotel, Anthony offered to be our host for the day and show us around.

August 16

I arrived at the airport in Johannesburg around 9 a.m. As I got off the plane I was surprised by how cold it was. In fact, that's an understatement -- it was freezing! My t-shirt and flip flops were inadequate for countering the frigid air. Strangely enough, I'm not sure they heat their airport because it wasn't any better. I mumbled to myself thinking, "Great. I packed the wrong clothes. I'm screwed." I had one hoodie in my carry on and put that on.

I found Lesli waiting for me as I cleared customs. We headed toward the exit and soon met up with Anthony. First hurdle crossed. Yea! After stuffing our bags into a car not much larger than a smart car, we were on our way. First stop was to Mornet's house in Midrand, north of Joburg. Mornet is Anthony's long-time South African friend. We had our introductions, used his Internet to check in back home, and then Anthony whisked us off to check in to a nearby guest lodge where he had made arrangements for us.

B&B and Brews

Lesli and me -- Brrr!

Anthony said you couldn't find the lodge on a map but the best way to find it was to know that it was across from Teazer's, a very well-known strip club in area -- awesome (not). Had I not seen the lodge online before I left the U.S., I might have been more worried. Fortunately, the Midrand Colonial Guest House did not disappoint. It was a cute little B&B with friendly owners. The only unfortunate thing was that Lesli and I couldn't figure out the stupid heater in the room until the next day right before we left. No time for complaints. We threw on as many layers as we could (which wasn't much), and Anthony had us on the move again.

He took us to a local brewery, Gilroy's, where we had some nice brews and lunch. Once our bellies were full, jet lag hit us in full force. Anthony said we couldn't sleep until bedtime so that we would quickly adjust to the new time (7 hours ahead of CST). Let me just say it took all I had not to fall asleep mid sentence sitting up at the table.

A Braai and Belly Laugh

Finally we left the brewery and had successfully coerced Anthony to let us nap on the way to Mornet's house, who had a braai (BBQ) planned. It didn't take two minutes before we were in a deep slumber. Fortunately for us, not Anthony, there were two wrecks on the way to Mornet's, so we got some extra sleep time.

Once we got to Mornet's we met his girlfriend, Elaine. They had a feast prepared for us -- lamb chops, steak, sausage, Mornet's famous potato bake (similar to cheesy scalloped potatoes), and pap. Pap, or shima, is a traditional African staple similar to sticky grits. It's served with gravy or relish (aka "monkey glands") that usually has tomatoes, carmelized onions, chutney, garlic and spices and is delish.

We ate outside in their cooking hut by the fire. The entire day and evening sure beat hanging out in a hotel for 24 hours. I certainly owe Anthony for his hospitality...then again, he owes me for providing him and my African friends with a good story to make fun of me with.

Mornet overseeing the braai

Anthony had already taught us some South African words such as dankie (thank you), so while Mornet was finishing grilling the meat, Anthony pulled me aside and suggested I be the one to thank him for the meal when we sat down. He explained to me quietly how to do it and introduced me to a new word that I thought meant steaks because it sounds like heifer. So I nodded and confidently thought I knew how to properly thank Mornet, our gracious host, for the steaks. WRONG!

We all settled around the table with our plates full, so I thought the time was right to share with Mornet my new words. "Buya dankie, XXXX," I said. Mornet looked at me with a huge question mark on his face, and Elaine said, "I think she just insulted you." Instead of stopping there and picking up the hint, I tried again repeating myself two more times. Mornet just laughed, and I just sort of sat there puzzled thinking I didn't pronounce the words properly due to my thick Texas accent.

Well, it wasn't until our drive home that Anthony revealed to me that the word he taught me for steak didn't mean steak. It was the most derogatory word in the South African language and told me to never say it again. My jaw dropped and my eyes popped open as I looked at Anthony. I was so embarrassed! Anthony just laughed and said Mornet knew only Anthony could have taught me such a word. But still! First night in Africa and I gave our chef and host the biggest insult ever. Not a good start...little did I know it wouldn't be the only time I got some words wrong on my trip...

Next post: Pemba, Mozambique 

Let's Go to Africa

When I was little, I used to attend the Good News Bible Club hosted by Martha Ruff. The group met at different places over the years, but one of my favorite places where it was held was the Abernathy home. They have lots of skins and mounts from their safaris in Africa, and I loved to study the various animals as a kid. I didn't know at the time that I would have the opportunity to see the exotics in person more than 20 years later.

A&M Polo Reunion - June 2011 (L to R: Me, Jenna, Rachel and Bekki)

Nearly two years ago, one of my best friends, Bekki, dropped the bombshell that she and her husband, Alan, were moving to Africa for Alan's work. As soon as she finished vet school in May 2010, they made their home in Pemba, Mozambique, on the east coast of Africa.

I already had two other sets of friends living in Zambia, so when Bekki and Alan moved, I decided it was time to plan a vacation. Since all of us knew each other from playing polo at Texas A&M, it was going to be like a mini-reunion. Another friend from polo and horse showing, Lesli, decided she wanted to join us as well, so the planning began.

You'd think with today's technology, getting to Africa would be easy. But that would require the technology to actually work in Africa, and half the time it doesn't. Even after months of planning and preparation, I still couldn't get the last leg of my flight booked for Mozambique until three weeks before I left. In fact, our friends in Mozambique had to book the flight because the airlines' Web site wouldn't let us book it online from the U.S. Then there was the issue with the visas. Due to lack of time, we didn't have any visas ahead of time for the countries we'd be visiting. Our African friends reassured us that it wouldn't be a problem, and if it was, you just fix it the African way -- aka pay them off. Note to self: bring more cash.You'd think that would have given me a heads up of what was to come...but it didn't.

Ready or not, I packed my bags, had my last meal in the U.S. at Lupe Tortillas (thanks, Michael!) and set off on August 14 for Africa. The plan was to arrive in Johannesburg and spend the night there before catching a flight the next day to Pemba. After spending a few days in Pemba, the four of us would leave for Zambia, stopping over in Malawi on the way. Once in Zambia, we would unite with our other friends and travel to Victoria Falls and other places to finish up our African vacation.

Since returning home, I've gotten lots of requests for stories and photos, so I'm going to use this blog to recap our adventures. At the end of the day, it might just be my mom who reads this...ha ha. That's ok. Also, for any colleagues who see this, I'm already putting the disclaimer out there that all the posts will be too long even though I know better.