Watoto Wamefurahi

Excellent weekend in Mtwara! After a 4 1/2 hour dala dala (overcrowed minibus) ride, we arrived in Mtwara. Made a brief stop at the guest house to drop off luggage and then to Ellen's house for Rose's "going away" BBQ party. We ate barbecued fish and beef kabobs, with salads, fruit and chocolate cake for dessert. After dinner went to the "Boka Boma" - Tanzanian style night club/bar for live music and dancing..... The music wasn't great compared to other live bands here, but company and ambience was enjoyable and the dancing was a lot of fun....I realized that I need to work on my dancing rhythm a bit though. The "Bongo Flavor" African music is a bit different than American tunes as you might imagine:)

Awoke early Sunday morning; we left the house by 7:30 am to head to Msimbati - where the nicest stretch of beach in Tanzania lies. Msimbati is 42 km south of Mtwara, and there is an area of beach with guest houses that you can visit for 12,000Tsh. We arrived in the morning, ate breakfast and then headed into the ocean to snorkel.....

Low tide came around 11:30. I spent only 20 or 30 min. in the water because of a bad burn last time out, but the snorkeling here was excellent! The coral is very "healthy" and water very clear and in low tide you can snorkel right up against some of the most beautiful marine life in East Africa....

Heavy raine came by mid afternoon, so we had lunch together in a covered patio area.....fresh fish and lobster with fries.

Sunday evening was quiet - "carry out" from the Karosho - a chicken curry, prawns, garlic naan, rice and salad....finsished by about half past nine and called it an early night.

Today slept in, then went to the fish market. Was hoping for some fresh kingfish but the selection of fish was not great. Either we arrived too late, or there was not a good stock of fish for sale today. I wanted to experiment and add to my cooking repertoire, so I bought 3 small fish....

In the afternoon we went to the market. Bought 3 new DVD's, NIDO (powdered milk) and a new box of wine. Then had more fish for lunch in Mikindani at a little bar on the side of the road. We were back in Ndanda just shy of 6:30. Although still full from a late lunch I did go to the Abbey guest house for dinner....If you can't tell already, I am very satifsfied with my diet the last frew days!

Pictures: (from top down):The first 3 are little children on the side of the road in Mikindani. They are fascinated with Wazungu's (white Europeans) and were screaming "piga picha" (take a picture) so I took a few pictures. The little kids love to see themselves on the camera and then start screeming "tena" (again!). I was about to get carried away taking pictures, until one of the parents came by and helped take the kids away. Fourth down is the fish market in Mtwara. Fifth and sixth: Amadi and his two older sisters. Amadi is a 10 year old boy who was walking along the beach this morning with his two older sisters. I asked Amadi to smile but instead he struck a professional pose with head tilt:)

Last picture is of my friends/neighbors/colleagues here in Ndanda aka the VSO family of Ndanda. Left to Right - Diane - Community Home based Care coordinator. Doctor Francijn - HIV/AIDS medical doctor. Myself, and Sheena - lab tech :) We are at lunch at a little bar restaurant in Mikindani.