Sodwana

Last Friday, I abandoned Durban to get in touch with nature at Sodwana Bay, where we were supposed to do the final dives for my SCUBA class. As I mentioned earlier, I got an ear infection the week before, so I knew I wasn't going to be able to dive. I checked the weather and saw that it was supposed to be cold and rainy all weekend, but the instructor assured me that the weather was going to be beautiful. I thought maybe there was some confusion with my conversion from Celsius to Fahrenheit or something (it's been a while since I had a science class, or even a math class for that matter), so I decided that I'd still tag along. 

It was a pretty long drive, since Sodwana is even further north than Saint Lucia, where I'd gone previously. When you get out that far, the major establishments get fewer and farther between, and, as luck would have it, this was when I needed to use the restroom. We stopped at three petrol (gas) stations that were all out of water and wouldn't let anyone use the restroom. I put on my best Candace Gray face (love you, mom) and attempted to reason them into letting me use the facilities, but I couldn't get through. I was just about ready to offer up a 50 rand note at the next place we stopped, but luckily they had water! Whew. Lesson learned, guys. Lesson learned. 

We finally made it, just in time to pitch our tents and eat dinner. I stayed up playing Texas Hold 'Em with some of the guys on the trip, and get this... I was actually pretty good! We were playing for wine gums (fruit snacks), and I think we all ate more than we actually bet. Everyone else had to get up at 5:30 am to dive, but this lucky gal got to sleep in! Bummer, right? 

I woke up the next morning to find everyone still sitting around! Apparently, they had gone down to the beach, but they didn't have the boat license that was needed and the people in charge of that didn't come in until 8 am. Later, it was decided that the water wasn't good enough to dive because of the wind and rain, so we needed a new plan. (So much for beautiful weather. I'll trust my Fahrenheit calculations from now on, thank you very much.) Someone suggested that we go to "Gate 6," one of the gates to Mozambique where there was a market. I didn't have my passport on me since I wasn't planning on just exiting the country on a whim, but others said they didn't check passports there.

I was a little unsure since I think it's probably a slightly worse situation when an American gets caught illegally in Mozam than a South African. South Africans they can send home. Americans they can send to jail. I over-think things a lot, can you tell? I took their word for it though, and we were off. 

It was about a two-hour drive to the border, and it required taking some muddy back roads, which was pretty fun. I was watching our driver's Garmin, and I was impressed that these wheel-worn paths were actually showing up as roads on the device. I'm sure in the U.S. our GPS would have been yelling at me to "MAKE A LEGAL U-TURN WHEN POSSIBLE" if placed in a similar situation. 

Unlike the weather, the group didn't lie to me about the gate. We parked the car and walked to the fence. There was border patrol on either side of the gate, but no one was checking credentials. And then I was in Mozambique! We walked around the market, which was pretty sparse that day, probably due to the rain. The others in the group purchased beer and these whole cooked fishes to eat with their hands. I'm not a big seafood person, but it was fun and slightly sickening to watch them eat it. I didn't end up buying anything, but now I can officially say I've been in two African countries!

On our way back from the market, we gave a lift to a family back to the main road. Hitchhiking is a pretty common thing to do here, which obviously has its risks, but I have to admit that I love the idea of helping out complete strangers in such a simple way. They squeezed in the back of the truck with the three guys already riding back there for the short, bumpy trip. 

That night, I had to defend something I never thought I'd have to defend. Peanut butter & jelly! I got it out, and no one could believe that's what I was having for dinner. One of the German guys laughed at me and said "So American!" Seriously, it's not considered a meal here unless there's meat involved. Now I'm beginning to understand why they list vegetarianism under "disabilities" at the hospitals here. Never fear, I held my ground and ate two lovely sandwiches. They just don't understand what they're missing. (In fact, I'm kind of craving one right now.)

It poured over night, and the weather conditions weren't any better the next day. No diving again. This time we went to the beach, which was so gorgeous. There's something about an empty beach that I just love. So peaceful. We walked around the rocks, looking in tidal pools, and I wandered off to take pictures. Eventually, we decided it was time to go so we could get back at a reasonable time. (Guess who hadn't done any reading over the weekend. It couldn't possibly be me.)

The weekend was kind of a bust since even the people who could dive didn't get to. That's a bummer, but I have to admit that it's good for me since I didn't have to miss any dives! Regardless, Sodwana was still beautiful, and I'm glad that I went no matter how damp all my clothes were when I got back!

This week is our semester break! I'm hanging out here in Durban since I have four papers to write. Some break, eh? Hopefully I can find something fun to get into as well...