Tofo...

For the interest of all concerned...this blog has been edited and reclassified PG.

Wow, what a weekend! It was a public holiday on Sunday and in Mozambican style, so was Monday (they love their holidays; there have been 2 already and there’s another on 4^th October), so a big group of us took a long weekend break to Tofo, which is about 8 hours north of Maputo in a car and 10 in a chapa. 

Tofo is beautiful! Such a change from Maputo which now seems pretty dirty in comparison! As it’s low season, despite the amazing weather, Tofo was really quiet. We stayed at Fatima’s Nest, a huge backpacker’s hostel which is right on the beach and at the moment, fairly empty. I hadn’t felt well all of last week and I was exhausted so the weekend was going to be a perfect rest for me...

Think again...

We arrived on Friday afternoon and I was marched straight to the beach by Silje who informed me that we weren’t going to move all weekend. Oh how little I knew... In the evening, we had dinner at Tofo Tofo and then went back to the campsite. Then commenced, after a few rounds of Jungle Jam, a card game that Jan makes us play because he always wins, one of the funniest games of Ring of Fire I have ever played. Mario, Jan, Nick, Bito and I played and just thinking of it now makes me laugh. 

Later on we went to Dino’s Beach Bar, which is a 2 minute walk along the beach. Bito had been sent to clean his teeth by Silje and on the way to the bathroom, had been kidnapped by the boys and therefore turned up to Dino’s with his toothbrush. Gabby had also decided to come at the last minute, and so she too, had her toothbrush. I nearly died at the sight of them both, toothbrushes tucked behind their ears. Bito had managed to lose his toothpaste somewhere along the way and spent the majority of the night asking “Where’s my Colgate?”

Just to make the already bizarre night more interesting, for some unknown reason, Mario forced Jan and I into a plank competition (who could hold a plank the longest) in the middle of the bar! I won; my abs of steel are still strong at 3am. 

After a 4am swim, a lengthy conversation about the sunrise, a missed sunrise and Doritos, bed was calling. Back in the tent, Jan was smugly blowing up his ‘self-inflating’ mattress. Mario and I nearly died laughing, when, immediately after lying on it, it popped and slowly deflated. Jan refused to acknowledge us and just lay there as if nothing had happened. I truly haven’t laughed that hard for a while. 

We spent Saturday on the beach, playing in the sea with a lilo and body boards. I managed to fall asleep in the sun and burnt my right bum cheek, the back of my left knee and my right calf. A great look I can assure you.

We went to Tofo Tofo again in the evening, as the restaurants in the market couldn’t accommodate the vegetarians. Our drink of choice was Tipo Tinto, a 41%, sweet rum. It’s not that pleasant but at less than £1.25 for a 500ml bottle, you can’t really complain...until the next morning, when the hangover kicks in! 

Later on, we went to a music festival at Mango Beach, which is further down the beach. We were shuttled to the party in the back of a pick-up truck and my burnt bum cheek took a battering. There was a really good live band and then a DJ. They had canvas screens which you could paint so obviously the boys came home with painted toenails, ears and backs. 

We went snorkelling on Sunday, as September is a good time to see whale sharks and humpback whales. It was really choppy and the boat ride was horrific! The waves were huge. I was picturing flat seas and plenty of fish but no, it was huge waves and jellyfish. There were hundreds of different types and it would have been amazing had they not been stinging me. Actually, it was still amazing, just a little more painful than imagined. The boat stops whenever the guys on board see a whale shark and then they scream “Go, go, go” and you jump in! The first time I jumped in, I had no idea where the whale shark was and as I was slowly drowning in the waves, I looked down and the whale shark was directly below me! I nearly had a heart attack. We saw two, what I thought were huge whale sharks, but were apparently only small, and swam with them for about 30 minutes. I loved it but will be a little more wary of the conditions next time! I have blisters on my hands from clinging on the boat for dear life. My only sightings of humpback whales were from the beach; you can see them blowing water through their blow holes.

It was so tempting to stay for longer and I now can’t wait for my next beach trip (Inhaca and Bilene in October and Ponta D’Ouro in November).It was a brilliant but exhausting weekend and I now feel like I need another holiday to recover from this one! My patchy sunburn is slightly tender painful and the chapas don’t help! 

I’ve had two really good days at the Infantario this week. The children all smile and laugh when I walk into the house in the morning, which makes me so happy. They make me laugh constantly. I feel like a proud parent, whenever they laugh I feel the need to photograph or film it and I am always trying to show the pictures/videos to people! Sadly the Portuguese Sisters are leaving on Friday. We will have to see what happens when they are gone..

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I have decided that I need to join a gym here. I was doing ok but since befriending the boys, their eating and drinking habits are having a terrible effect on me. Exercise and lots of it is needed. I have found one that is basic but perfectly adequate; however, air conditioning is unconfirmed.... 

I will try and upload some pictures tomorrow. I have lots, uploads just take forever!