Walk on the beach

Every six weeks (called a transfer period in missionary lingo) we try and give the young missionaries a day at Zalala beach which is about 50km distant from Quelimane--you can see just how crowded some sections of it are in this photo. We pool resources and bring or cook lunch (today was spicy chicken burritos with home made totillas--an excellent meal)-- the Elders usually play soccor and beat themselves up with physical exertion while Debbie and I walk or swim. (The young missionaries are a bit jealous of the different rules under which the senior couples operate). It was raining in Quelimane in the morning and we were a bit skeptical of the trip, but the skies cleared and we had a beautiful day--marred only by the discovery before we left that the recent theft also included Debbie's tennis shoes and both of our wide brimmed safari hats. We cursed the thieves throughout the very sunny day.

This photo is of some young Adonis emerging form the surf. We could only assume that we had stumbled upon a GQ photo shoot.

The process of removing the fishing boats from the water is neither easy nor mechanized.

This day included a "first for Debbie and I--consuming our first off-the-street (or in this case beach) cooking. This woman was making and selling bolinhas or doughballs very reminiscent of donut holes. They cost a whopping four cents apiece and we caught no diseases that we have thus far noticed. The capulana fabric piece that typically holds an infant (up to 4 years old) on a Mozambican mother's back can also be easily shifted to the front to allow convenient nursing while mom is engaged in sundry other tasks (like cooking or negotiateing with customers).

I thought this guy had an interesting face.

The Mozambican crow is just like the American variety but for the white saddle on his back. Same call, same behavior, just a little different look.