river crossing

the water was too low to dock our little motor boat so we had to go on to the river crossing in order to pull up on shore. the coast of tanzania, including pangani is relatively muslim. i imagine to this group of people boarding the river shuttle, along with the bus, were wondering the same thing that our captain asked mother: "Mama, where are your clothe-eds?" Pole. her beach cover up was awfully risque.

Pangani

not an optical illusion:

we spent the weekend in Pangani- an area that was once a prosperous port for the exportation of istle, a funny aloe looking plant used to make rope. there are fields and fields of the plant grown there, though it can no longer be shipped from town.

despite its economic state, this is surely one of the most beautiful, scenic places i have ever been.
we went snorkeling on saturday where the Pangani river meets the Indian Ocean. the river makes the usually crystal clear ocean a bit cloudy, but just past the mouth of the river it was spectacular. the boat captain moored our rickety wooden floating device on this "island" -- a bit of sand that appears in the middle of the ocean during certain hours of the day.

incredibly bizarre to have waves crashing on all sides.