@ home

Well I made it back to Pemba in 3 days! It was quite a hectic drive - at least the roads are fairly good so we could cover large distances daily.

Day 1
11 hours: Maputo - Muxungue...
I was cruising along, carefully slowing down to 60km/h at every village, honking at the odd chicken that chose the very moment I passed to run across the road. Near one such village I was slowing down, trying to find the best bush to make a pitstop at, when suddenly I see a policeman waving me down. He sticks the radar gun into the car and says 'you speed, you have to pay fine, 1000 meticais' (approx. $50). *sigh* I had been doing 68 in a 60 zone. SHOCK HORROR! So I had to pay the fine. While paying the fine the officer asked if he could marry me, but I politely declined and went on my way.

We reached Inhassoro where we had planned to stay the night, but it was still early so we decided to head to Muxungue and see what accommodation they had there. We found a really nice 'motel' - 5 wendy houses each with 2 beds and an en-suite bathroom - they even had running water!! The price wasn't too bad so I got one house, but my travelling buddy struck a deal with the owner to stay in his house for cheaper - but he ended up sleeping in the storeroom! I found it fairly amusing.

Day 2
13 hours: Muxungue - Alto Molucue
We crossed the mighty Zambezi today - driving through again Caia was great - the water levels have gone done SO much - all the areas that had previously been accessible only by boat could now be crossed on foot with relative ease. It was shocking to see how deep the water had been though - and all the crops that had been in the valley is totally gone, a few lone corn stalks stuck up here and there as a reminder of what had been.

The road were TERRIBLE, especially between Mocuba and Alto Molucue. Potholes, long dusty detours and more potholes. It was SO bumpy!

When we got to Alto Molucue it was dark already, so we stopped at the local diesel pump and asked the attendant where the best hotel/motel/guesthouse was. He pointed us in the general direction and we headed into the town to find it. But they were full... My ever resourceful travelling buddy asked, ' could we pitch our tents in the yard?' 'Mmm', the lady considered it, and for a very small fee we camped next to the 4x4 in the dusty parking lot! But it was good, was the first time that I used my brand new tent, and it worked very well!

Day 3
9 hours: Alto - Molucue - Pemba
A smooth day's driving, very short! The roads were good and it was WONDERFUL to be home!

Now I'm in Pemba till the 24th, then I'll be heading back down to Dondo (Caia) to help with flood relief. We are expecting 10 containers of food soon and we have to work out the logistics of distributing it amongst the thousands of people still without homes.