Wow it's been a while! diving and almost dying

After we left Maputo we spend time in inhambane. We dove the entire time we were there.
We saw the following
Cornet fish
Trumpet fish
Honey comb moray
Scorpion Fish
Peacock manta shrimp (AWESOME)
paper fish
blue sea star
parrot fish
giant tiger cowrie
Domino Anemone fish
big eye fish
angel fish
raccoon butterfly fish
giant clams
MANTA!!!!!
African grouper
Banner fish
Moorish idol
fairy basslet
jack fish
cow fish
puffer fish
OCTOPUS
torpedo ray
black reef moray
juvenile giant moray
potato grouper
honey comb moray
A LOGGER HEAD TURTLE (swam right up to alex)
dragon moray
CROWN OF THORN STAR FISH
bat fish
toby  puffer fish
juvenile crocidile fish
iota slug
red anemone
giant frog fish
porcelain crab
white paper fish
along with huge schools of fish, and giant fish!
that was during 5 dives...not all in one dive. on our 3rd dive when we ascended there were humpbacks in the distance, and devil rays breached while another group was ascending! On our 4th dive we were able to hear the humpbacks singing while we were diving. what an amazing experience.

After a week of diving we hoped in a mini bus and headed to vilankulous. We met a nice french man and his girlfriend from Zimbabwe...the nice french guy invited us to stay at his parents olive farm in the south of france. we accepted with out hesitation.


Leaving Vilankulous was quite an adventure. Having arrived for the bus at 430 am to find someone in my assigned seat (mind you it was the first and only assigned seat i had in africa) i threw a good old American style hissy fit until he moved. The bus left right on schedule at 530am (when it was full) and we headed out into the fog with headlights that didn't work. Everyone on the bus slowly fell asleep with the gentle weaving in and out of traffic/dogs/garbage being skillfully handled by the driver, settling into the middle of the road (or 3rd lane as commonly found in most 3rd world countries). the sun had just finished rising and i was getting cozy in my sleep sheet when out of the fog comes a huge semi truck barreling towards us at high speeds. at the last possible second the truck starts honking and the bus swerves off the road. From the should to the road is not level, and from shoulder to whats beyond is a good 7 foot drop. The bus becomes eerily silent as the driver attempts to regain control as we swerve off the road and back on to it multiple times. In my head i am preparing for the bus to roll, and what to do if it does. I think to myself well at least Alex is next to me...he will cushion my fall. We slowly careen to a stop with the front left side of the bus slightly lower than the rest. Dazed and scared we all file out of the bus to see that the front axel has snapped in half!



African road flares


Safe and all in one piece we wait for our new bus to arrive. After 13 hours (1st bus, waiting, 2nd bus...which traveled no faster than 35mph) we made it to beira. The town of Beira had been shut down early as there were protests in maputo over the rising increase in food and petrol prices, and officials were afraid the same would happen. After our long and dusty ride we showered and decided to have Chinese for dinner. Which turned out to be the highlight of the adventure. The little old Chinese couple have been living in beira for over 15 years and they grow their own bean sprouts! after a month of no Chinese food, this little girl was very happy.