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Mark and I are up with the lark and down to the sea for an early morning swim.

Day 5. Thu 21st April Pemba

DaveMidgley
2005-10-22 18:23:10

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Mark and I are up with the lark and down to the sea for an early morning swim.
We are now running a day behind schedule, so we decide to stay two nights at Pemba and miss out the Gorongosa National Park completely - Ken says that, while the countryside is very beautiful, there is very little wildlife, and he is considering removing it from the itinerary anyway for future trips.

But before we go in search of breakfast there is an accommodation crisis. We have been told that we can stay another night at the Caracol, but it now turns out that the receptionist has miscalculated and they are in fact full. However, it all turns out OK in the end, because Ken and Mark walk back up to the Nautilus, and they have rooms for tonight, so we quickly sling our bags in the Disco and Ken drives them back to the Nautilus while we follow on on foot.

The Nautilus is actually a good deal nicer than the Caracol anyway, with chalets right on the beach.

Finally we manage to get some breakfast!
Chris wants to do some SCUBA diving, so she and Ken visit the dive shop which is just next to the Nautilus on the beach and it turns out that the dive instructor is a South African whom Ken knows slightly. The dive boat is already out, so Chris books a dive on the next trip, which will be around 11:30. Mark and I potter and do laundry until the dive boat comes in, and then we wander up to the dive shop with Chris to investigate the possibility of some snorkeling. Peter, the dive master, suggests that we simply jump in with Chris, who appears to be the only person currently booked on. He will be buddying Chris, so we can snorkel round the boat while they dive. This will cost us $8 apiece and seems like a good plan.

Chris is a little apprehensive about the dive, I don't think she is a tremendously experienced diver (correct me if I'm selling you short, Chris), but Peter is a really nice guy and an excellent dive instructor and she thoroughly enjoys it. While she dives Mark and I snorkel on the reef, and I try to take some photos of the fish with my underwater camera with flash (see box). The snorkeling isn't brilliant, but it is wonderful to be in the water - it is tremendously hot and very humid.
The photography isn't brilliant either - this underwater photography lark is really quite tricky, and as usual most of the photos are of fishes' hindquarters as they hurry away from this alien bulk invading their world.

We get back about one for some lunch at the Pemba Dolphin, and spend the afternoon pottering - it's nice not to be driving. Blondie, who is not a water lover and suffers from claustrophobia, has been practicing snorkeling in the local pool before she came out. She's not at all happy in boats and didn't come out snorkeling with us, so she and Ken swim from the shore and Ken holds her hand while she trys a bit of snorkeling in her depth. Mark and I wash lunch down with a couple of beers and watch some aid workers eating an enormous lobster and then I go for a nap while Mark chats up the locals.

It's back to the Dolphin for supper. Ken and Blondie and I fancy the lobster but we are told there is none left, so we order squid (squid, or Lulas as it is known here, is to become a staple diet on this trip). However, the owner of the restaurant turns up and Ken collars him. He reckons there are five small lobsters left, if we would like them. We're not sure so he goes inside and brings them out to show us. Ken then decides he doesn't want lobster after all, and we then go through a tremendous palaver to change all the orders, with the net result that Blondie and I end up sharing the five lobsters. All in all it takes us two hours to finally get or meal, and the lobsters are very small and very expensive, so it's not altogether satisfactory, but never mind.