Christmas Vacation

Just got back from my first big vacay in Africa: Mozambique for Christmas and New Years.

It was just lovely. Yes, I missed being at home and with my family for Christmas. But I really hate the cold and really enjoyed the beach and traveling. And, as a Christian, the true meaning of Christmas is still true no matter where you are. That makes it much easier for me to be away. I was sad I wasn't able to go to church for Christmas Eve or Day, but I had some quiet time and listened to a Christmas-time sermon podcast and Christmas music on my ipod.

2 PCV friends and I flew from Lusaka to Joburg, took a bus to Maputo, then a shuttle to Tofo beach. We had a lovely day at the mall in Joburg. Not that I'm sitting in the village missing the mall, but it was awful nice to spend a day shopping and eating good food. Also, I would definitely recommend Ghandi's Backpackers in Joburg.

Tofo was just ok. We stayed at the party hostel and didn't enjoy the music with it's soul-rattling bass every night, including Christmas Eve. Just not our ideal place for a relaxing holiday. The beach was beautiful though.

So we went up to Vilankulos, which we loved. (After taking the ferry to Maxixe, we got a ride with 2 very nice Turkish men who live in Canada, but were in Mozambique to check on their mattress factory. They drove us 20km out of their way because it was raining.) We had a great little bungalow right on the beach at Baobab Backpackers. It was so nice to sit on our little porch, read or chat, and look out to the beach, watch the boats and tides come in, and enjoy the ocean breeze. We shopped around the market, went on a horseback ride on the beach and went out to the Bazruto Archipelego. The islands are beautiful and there's only really fancy resorts on them so we took a day trip, my friends went snorkeling and enjoyed the view from the top of a dune on Bazruto Island. I went scuba diving! A little nervous since I hadn't been in a while, but great once I got down. Visibility was terrible, but I had fun and saw lots of pretty fish. The New Years Eve party at Baobab was fun, despite that the music was terrible. The cast of characters around Baobab was quite interesting and we were thoroughly entertained by them.

(Side note: Our fabulous beach vacation site--Vilankulos--is also the site of a Peace Corps Volunteer. I live in the bush. Almost no PCVs in Zambia have electricity or running water. Don't get me wrong, I love PC Zambia and don't want to change, I just think that gives us a few points for being way more hardcore than other PC countries.)

Then we headed down to Maputo for a few days as tourists in the capital. It was weird driving down as our ride pointed out places we were driving through that used to be war zones. Can't tell at all now. We enjoyed Maputo, went to the art museum, the Fort (excellent tourist attraction, don't miss it if you go. j/k. but seriously), and the cathedral--really cool, built in the 40s. You can definitely tell the cathedral is in regular use-the nativity scene was complete with flashing rope lights.

We had a day in Joburg before flying back to Zambia so we went to the Apartheid Museum. It was REALLY good. I knew virtually nothing about South African history before coming to Zambia so I learned a ton. It's so hard to believe things were like that so recently. Of course there are lots of places where people still live in unjust conditions, but it's crazy that it was all so official and regimented.

It was great to get away, relax and see new things, but I'm glad to be back. It felt great to feel comfortable coming in to the Lusaka airport. I love being able to understand people again and be confident about how things work. And Zambia is beautiful, so green in rainy season. I'm glad to go back to the village tomorrow but slightly apprehensive since I've been gone so long. But I know once I get there I'll get right back into things. It's going to be strange being at site and just being able to work--so glad I no longer have to pester people about building my house! Excited to finally put things up on my walls. That means you should all send me pictures so I can put them up. :)