Pemba Island

For todays article I’ve decided to take the lazy way out.  Carole wrote up here description of Pemba Island and has graciously allowed me to publish it here.  Since it is much better than anything I could have written I’ll turn it over to Carole …

From a cyclist’s perspective:

The roads! What can I say about the roads? Even deep potholes the size of a pig and mega-crevasses are not strong enough words… It somewhat resembles the aftermath of an earthquake. Also, lots of short but very steep hills (difficult to manage unless you have tons of experience with moguls and slaloming). And, of course, you have to ride on the “wrong” side of the road! Need I say more? 

From a mother’s perspective:

All the children, absolutely beautiful children! Little girls dressed in colourful cloths; naked toddlers running around with the chickens; young boys riding old beaten up bicycles, often two or three on the same bike… no helmets (no surprise there, but it would still make all Canadian mothers cringe); babies being nursed on the dusty doorsteps of mud houses; even saw a boy – three years old at the most – confidently walking down the main road, all alone; around the corner, another child hefting a huge pot on top of his head. But most importantly: the smiles! Those incredible smiles… everywhere!!

From an artist’s perspective:

Lush green forests, turquoise and emerald striped sea waters, fishing boats of all shapes, large mats covered with fragrant cloves drying in front of humble huts, families busy at various chores, houses built of coral stone with straw roofs, bush babies (they look like a mix of monkey and cat) running and playing noisily on top of our sleeping quarters. All in all, it’s another world… literally. I feel like a sore (white) thumb sticking out, but I am definitely blessed to be here.

At dinner last night, John asked what locals lived on… A few are employed at the rustic resort where our group is staying, but what about the rest?

Fishing and farming was the answer: potatoes, tomatoes, onions, cassava (a type of sweet potato), vanilla beans, spices, but mostly CLOVES! Aaaaaah the scent along ALL the roads! People are definitely not rich here, but they look happy, content… and healthy!! Thanks to them, we could enjoy fresh squid, king fish, octopus, yellow tail, lobster (to name a few) for our lunches and suppers. A real treat! Come to think of it, no meat was ever served to us. And breakfast brought the freshest eggs (from all the chickens roaming) and the most deliciously juicy mango and pineapple.

Before I close, a word or two on our snorkelling adventures: a few of us did a lot of snorkelling right off the lovely deck overlooking the ocean. The water is so pleasant you can stay in until you look like a shrivelled prune. But this morning, all eight of us embarked on an old raft that took us to a very interesting coral reef bursting with fabulous under-water life. We snorkelled to our heart’s content… Could’ve done without the many jelly fish stings though! Lucky for us, they were small ones, so nobody got zapped too badly. But let me tell you those little burgers still generate a powerful burn! I know cauz I got hit at least a dozen times. Still wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

On that note, I will bid you KWAHERI (good bye in Swahili) and till next time…

Take care and WARM hugs from Africa

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