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