Mozambican Memories

 Last weekend, we flew south in a six seater light aircraft towards the border of South Africa and Mozambique. We then drove over very sandy roads for an hour before we reached "Paradise" in the middle of nowhere. We had reached PONTA MAMOLI "The Pearl of the Indian Ocean! The resort was breathtakingly beautiful. 5 star accommodation Mozambican style. We went in search of dolphins and whales. The Indian Ocean right in front of us was a playground for the enormous whales as we watched their sprays and  tail slapping. I was even lucky enough to see a huge whale breech (jump) out of the water!!! What a splash that was! We tried to snorkel with three dolphins, but they must have had an appointment somewhere as they didn't stay around to swim with us. Unfortunately, I landed hard on my left side when I was hauled up into the 'rubber duckie' and I fractured and/or bruised my rib! Ouch! The water was not as cold as I thought it would be. We wore our new wetsuits to keep us warm. Now to recuperate and get my rib better so that we can go diving.

Take-off

Life is tough... but someone has to do it!

Sunset over the Indian Ocean

Whale spotting

Local village children dancing and singing for us!

My first attempt at cooking a Mozambican seafood dish

Mr. O's second attempt at cooking Boerwors on his little braai!

Binoculars, Songs and Stories - Another Visit to Project Liberty

Today I went to visit the children. They were happy to see me and I was just as happy to see them!
We made binoculars and we pretended to go for a walk through the forest.

We went walking.... what did we see?
We saw a _______ looking at me!

We saw a LION looking at me!

We saw a SNAKE looking at me!

We saw 2 BATMEN looking at me!

We saw a ELIZA looking at me!

We saw YOU looking at me!

Still looking!

I taught them the HAPPY STICKS song and dance. We had to do that three times. The dogs even joined in with us!

We finished the morning with two stories. ONE GORILLA by Atsuko Morozumi. The children crowded round me to see the book and count the animals in the pictures. They counted in English, too. They are getting really good at it! The second book was an all time favourite. THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR by Eric Carle. We read this book bi-lingually. It helped my Portuguese and their English.

Last of all, JuJu wanted to count my toes! On both feet! She had a little dolly that someone had given her and I was asking about parts of the baby's body. I guess she got the idea from that. They are adorable children. I love them all!

Towards the end of my visit, Pai asked me "Are you going now?"
I asked "Is it time for me to go?"
"No."
"Do you want me to stay?"
"YES! Don't go yet!"

Tudio asked "Can we come to your house?"
I explained that I have a small house (apartment) in Maputo where I live. I promised that I would talk to Mama Jenn and see if they could come for a visit. (Maybe a sausage sizzle and a play in the park nearby with an ice cream.....? Do you think they would like that?)