Tofo: what lies behind and ahead

At Dino’s, the local flat crust pizza joint with expensive wifi, we found the world’s best chocolate milkshake.  We’ve been sucking them down like a once-daily multi-vitamin.  At $3 per milkshake, it shouldn’t surprise us that our brunch bill comes in around $22, but it’s always a shocker to calculate the exchange rate and discover the damage.  At least the food is good and the service is reliable.  And, I appreciate that they post a disclaimer in the menu, “This is not a fast food restaurant.  It takes time to make a good meal, so sit back and enjoy your dining experience.”  Oh, expectations, sometimes you’re so helpful in preparing us for a pleasant dining experience.

Then again, there are the times that expectations can make a dining experience pure hell.  The other night, group got together for a bon voyage dinner at Casa Barry’s, the most expensive restaurant in Tofo.  Casa Barry’s hosts three lectures a week: Monday Manta Rays, Wednesday Whale Sharks, Friday Flora and Fauna.  The group had just finished one of the lectures and was ready to fork out some bucks for a nice farewell dinner.  Mark and I arrived about an hour after everyone ordered.  We had filled up on cheaper food from our favorite charcoal grill vender in the market a little earlier, so we disregarded the menu’s $12 hamburger, $7.50 french fries, and $6 millkshakes.  What we couldn’t disregard was everyone else’s irritation about the poor service.  Two hours in (still no food on the table), the waiter informed the group that the sushi was “finished.”  “Finished” in Mozambique means it’s no longer available.  The group was outraged and demanded the South African manager who apologized and offered a round of free drinks.  Thirty minutes later he offered a second round of drinks but the group informed him that the first round hadn’t even arrived yet.  Apparently, one of the three owners was in town eating with a large group at the restaurant and we were not a priority.  Three hours in, everyone ended up eating, but they were fairly unhappy about the poor service, especially considering the prices.  Chad, Mark, and I ended up chatting for quite awhile, so as the restaurant closed down, the manager joined us for drinks on the ocean-side patio.  He carried a bottle of Stroh, 80 proof Austrian liquor, and hollered to the barman to bring 4 shot glasses out.  I had already drank a glass of white wine and couldn’t finish the sugary ginger ale/vodka star gazer in front of me, but I didn’t want to be offensive, so I joined the roundtable and went bottoms up.  The rum raisin flavor burned our collective sinuses.  Oof dah.  We stayed up till 2:30am when Chad finally announced that he had go to bed.  We walked back along the beach and found Joel wide awake socializing with the ladies at Fatima’s.  Sarah, Connor, and Kenny had their bags packed and ready for the 3:30am shuttle to Maputo.

Sarah and Connor Reading At Fatima's, Kenny Chillin'

The next morning, Chad, Mark, and I jumped into a chappa bound for the Inhambane airport.  We waved goodbye from the petrol station where we withdrew cash from the ATM.  The attendant charged his usual commission (he rang up my Steak and Creamy Chili chips and Kit Kat bar, but pocketed the cash from my Coke Light), then hitch-hiked back into town to pay the tab for our PADI scuba certification.  We took the final exam and passed with flying colors.  Jay, an American scuba instructor from the East Coast, informed me that I had an ear infection that needed antibiotics.  Out here, any antibiotic is used to treat all manner of maladies.  He was presently treating a foot infection with Cipro (meant for severe stomach problems).  In my medical stash, I was carrying Cipro, Doxy (for malaria) and Diflucan (just in case).  I stopped taking the Doxy because it was giving me horrendous sunburns and a nightly episode of dry-heaving, so I decided to go with the Cipro.  We waved goodbye to our friends at Liquid Adventures.  We’d been running around with the crew for the past week and had enjoyed diving with them daily.  We never did get to see Steven, the local sea turtle, or the famed manta rays or whale sharks, but we did see some amazing spotted rays, a garden eel, several amazing octopus, a massive lobster, loads of porcupine puffer fish, angel fish, clown fish, scorpion fish, a pink leaf fish, lion fish, crocodile fish, and even a nudi branch.  To explore life from 18 meters underwater was a surreal experience.  I was excited to do it again, but was ready to be on land for a few days.  Diving takes it out of a person.  We found ourselves napping after every dive.

Octopus

Pre-dive Boat Launch

Waiting for the Boat Launch
Front LR: Connor, Sarah, Heidi, Annie, Justin
Back LR: Joel, Piere, Mike

Despite being tired and studying for the scuba course, I finally got the rest of my application packet submitted to the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Shidler College of Business.  It’s been hard to imagine being back in school while we’re having so much fun on holiday, but I know it’s part of looking further into the future.  And, knowing that school could be on the island of Hawaii is a very exciting possibility.  I envision Mark and I exchanging our car for a motorcycle, buying surf boards, inviting our families out for Christmas, meeting educated professionals from around the world, gaining KSA’s for the future… I think it’s the best fit for us.

As J term dwindles down, there are only a few of us students remaining in Tofo.  Heidi and Joel will be leaving in a few days, heading back to classes in Colorado.  Mike and Justin will continue heading north studying independently through semester.  The thought came to me yesterday that it’s like a rite of passage for both of them.  In Africa, there are traditions that men take their sons through as they become men, but Mike and Justin are going it alone which I think seems more American.  They’re both nervous, which is to be expected, but both of them are capable, more than they know, and I think they’re about to discover parts of themselves that have previously been unexplored.  As for Mark and I, we anticipate a northwest route through Malawai.  Eventually, we’ll make our way into Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, then fly to Turkey and make our way south toward Egypt.  We’re one month in, with four months yet to go.  When I look at the travel experiences behind me and the educational opportunities ahead, I feel like one of the luckiest girls in the world.