Right…I feel a bit better. Today (Friday) I went outside of the house for the first time in a while. Today I also left the village for the first time since I got here. Sue wanted to help a bit with the local primary school and Francis and I had nothing to do, so we went to the beach!
Today's first activity wasn't the best to ease my stomach back into use. The only way out of the village is by 'chapper' (pronounced 'shapper'). They're those flat back things; I mentioned in an earlier post, that they cram in as many people as possible into, until they can fit no more. I haven't uploaded a great picture on an overloaded chapper yet, today isn't going to be that day either, but I am I'm working on it. They move surprisingly quickly for a pickup truck full of people.
Anyway, when I arrived, I was in the front seat of one these trucks; today I was in the back. There aren't any handholds, nor are there any instructions - which one would, of course, expect in England. So it seems that you either sit on a wheel arch or stand at the front if you're lucky. If you're not so lucky (me), you get to sit on the edge. Sitting on the edge is not much fun at all, obviously the road is very bumpy and there sure ain't no padding. Even more obvious, is the lack of any kind of back support. A back support would be great; it would even keep you from falling out!
Francis managed to nab the standing-at-the-front position and half way through the 45-minute journey, managed to drag me up with him. The front was good, a lot better. You can't even feel the fact that you're getting well and truly sun burnt because there's so much natural air conditioning, blowing right in your face. I managed to take a nice picture of the view from the front.
And a questionable one of the view from the back:
Arriving in Inharrime was a nice change. There are Colonial buildings (made of bricks! (and that haven't been painted since Colonial times!)), more people, less shacks, more space, more shops, more markets and fruit to buy! Yes, fruit!! Needless to say, I bought some fruit.
Not much else to report from Inharrime, except to say that I managed to take a picture from the seller's perspective of one of the many coaches passing through. The majority of sellers are offering things that are mostly useless to a coach load of travellers (brooms, baskets, chickens, all yer usual). I don't know how they make a living, but I guess it must work sometimes.
Inharrime beach isn't much to write home about. There's a lot of sea and not much beach, but it's the best beach I've seen in Mozambique. The sand is pretty white, the litter is tolerable and the water is warm enough. We mostly stayed in the shade under the road bridge on account of my pasty white skin, but apparently that's what Francis does when he's on his own anyway.
After taking a couple of (honestly not setup) pictures and having some barracuda and goat (neither were great) at the local restaurant, we hitched a ride back!
