10 degrees South

Excellent weekend in Mtwara. Arrived Friday evening and had dinner at "10 degrees South" a nice restaurant a bit down the road in Mikindani. Named after its location on the globe, "10 degrees south" :)

Our favorite destination for dinner, "Southern Cross" unfortunately literally burnt down! A bad fire in the kitchen left the restaurant roofless! What remains are charred coral walls and a patio where guests used to sit and overlook the Ocean.

Seems the second best spot to eat in Mtwara is "10 degrees south" because by the middle of our meal the regular crowd from Southern Cross had made it to "10 degrees south". About a half dozen Canadians from another development agency are regulars at Southern Cross. Last Friday night we spotted them at "10 degrees south!"

Saturday was a great day....... The tide was at its lowest around noon so we went snorkeling.....excellent snorkeling weather....the coral was very "healthy" and the skies were clear so it was easy to see all of the amazing marine life that live around the coral reef! This time no jelly fish. I was however, a little concerned because after we first set out, my nextdoor neighbor said to me "watch out for the lion fish - they are a bit poisonous!" "Where?" I asked. "Right below your feet!" she said.....I didn't see them, but fortunately I was reassured because apparently you can't die from them, just get a little shock :)

We spent the afternoon shopping in the town. Unfortunately the Makonde Mini Market was closed, as was Eco Eco (our local liquor store) so we drove a little further into the town. I found a couple of new DVD's to buy and the others bought fabric and found a tailor to make clothes.

Saturday, 5pm we went to the Karosho (cashew nut) Restaurant to have our semi-annual VSO Mtwara regional meeting - a meeting for all volunteers based in the Mtwara region to discuss issues arising within the placement or with VSO...... Topics of discussion - at the top of the list - "Mtwara Region Evacuation Plan" - Basically all groups of vols have to come up with an evacuation plan in the event of an outbreak like Avian flu or Ebola or if there were to be some type of civil unrest.......after some discussion we could not come to a concensus but a few "good" ideas were suggested: head south to Mozambique, or better, take a small raft out into the middle of the Indian Ocean and hope we make it some place safe like.....Holland? (inside joke to those who have seen the TV series "Prison Break"). There is actually a photo of a small log raft along the shore in Mtwara, that we might send in to VSO office to document our "evacuation plan."
Other topics during the meeting - issues with housing - of which the people based in Ndanda have none because we are fortunate to have running water (hot and cold), electricity and internet! Others in Mtwara are less fortunate :(
Another issue discussed was "Gender Mainstreaming" - a topic VSO likes to discuss. A thick document was placed on the table outlining "gender mainstreaming" and incorporating into placements..... I made a comment "I don't completely understand how to integrate "gender mainstreaming" into my placement" - I did get an answer but I am still a bit confused.....I was told that at the previous semi-annual meeting, to better understand "gender mainstreaming" each volunteer had to stand up, say their name and state their gender. Fortunately we didn't have to do that activity this time:)
After the meeting we had dinner and drinks and hung out at the restaurant for a while. Some wanted to go to ?Bokaboma? a night club for more drinks and to listen to live music. I was tempted but we couldn't get a large enough group and I knew I would not be able to find my way back to the guest house after more alcohol. Maybe next time.
It was a lazy day today.....I skipped snorkeling because despite applying my spf 30 suntan lotion yesterday I developed a bad sunburn on my back and legs.....so I spent the day in the shade reading. We drove back to Ndanda around 2:30...... and made it back around 5 because of a short stop at the airport to pick up a guest of my neighbor from Germany......
Back to work and on call again tomorrow. I'm sure it will be interesting/entertaining as always! Hope you had a good weekend! Badaaye (Kiswahili for "later...")