Kabanga

Last Friday Pieter and I were supposed to get up at 03.00 am to take a chapa to Tandanyang, wait for the high tide there (approximately 6-7 hours that day) and then take a boat to Ibo. But we were lucky enough to get a promise of a ride instead; there was a car leaving at 10.00 with room for us! Can’t complain about that! We went to the Chinese restaurant in town to be ready for the car to pick us up – which it did; 4 hours later :) Its good have some of that Africa-patience from time to time! The ride was nice and fast and we only had one hick-up when the motor started to boil in the middle of nowhere. Luckily we had enough water to take us to the next village. After some work on it we could go on and was in time for the boat, just minutes before it was about to leave. Here everything revolves around the tide. Boats can’t wait too long if the tide is going out…



Waiting...



Car trouble





It’s great to be back, feels even better than the first time actually. It is such a beautiful, quiet little island and I really look forward to the coming 3 months I am going to spend here!

Arthur and Winnie (owner of the boat I now work on) was here the first three days to show us how things work both in the house and on the boat. I will probably stay in the house most of the time while Pieter will live on the boat. For me it’s easier to be on land since I usually go for a run early in the morning. The boat is approximately 1 km off shore, which certainly would make my work out even better because I would have to take a canoe before starting my run, but I’m too lazy for that at the moment – running at 05.15 is enough for now :)

Saturday evening I stayed behind when the rest of the gang went to the boat for a first check up. I walked around the village a bit and ended up outside the comandante’s house and was treated with Kabanga from his family. There were 5 women and children sitting in front of the house and the comandante himself on the porch. They were celebrating Independence Day on Ibo, September 25, with their own-brewed beer => Kabanga. It was quite thick and tasted a little bit like weissbier, I understood it is made out of sugar (but am not 100 % sure I got that right) and I must say I really liked it. They were very nice and I sat for maybe 45 minutes “talking” to them. Later that night I went to Miti Miwiri (means “Two Trees” and is the lodge next door to Arthur’s house) for dinner and there was a dance performance with young girls in beautiful dresses made of Capulanas. A very nice and festive evening!

Kabanga






Sunday morning we headed off to the boat. Jürg, one of the owners of Miti Miwiri, his parents and a couple of friends to them went with us on this virgin sail. We started by going to the light house to do some snorkeling. Arriving there we got a big treat; dolphins :) Unfortunately they didn’t come close to us while we were in the water, but we got a good, close and long look at them from the boat. I was occupied with the anchor at the time (;)), so I didn’t get any pictures sadly enough. But apparently that is where they usually hang out, so I’m sure there will be plenty more occasions for me to get those pictures later.

After snorkeling we went to the Sand bar (a sand bank which only appears in low tide) and cooked lunch before heading back to Ibo. It was a great day!!





Yesterday Arthur and Winnie went back home to Belgium, so now it’s just me, Pieter and the boat. I have to find a tailor today to sew pillowcases, a couple of sheets etc. Let’s see if my Portuguese holds up for that challenge…