Toastie

A morning of sitting on the deck of a beach cabin, getting through some work tasks. Not a bad setting at all for such an activity. Pictured here is the main beach in Pemba.

My field plans have changed as I have been invited to represent my organisation at a meeting in Tanzania, which starts tomorrow. I was due to head back into Niassa Reserve with our Conservancy Manager, but instead we’ve spent this weekend covering key topics. I’ll revisit Niassa in a few months when I can stay for at least a few weeks.

Pemba Airport is modern and simple, seeing much footfall by South Africans who holiday and run businesses here. Even in a relatively prosperous town such as Pemba, the policewoman next to the security scanner asked for money to buy refreshments. A stark reminder of the government’s inability (refusal?) to pay its staff liveable salaries, whilst lucrative oil, gas and agri-business deals are regularly signed in new conference centres next door.

A quick cheese toastie from a hatch in the airport, and I was on my way to Maputo. I am currently reading this book, on the recommendation of a friend who said it helped him with some of the motivational challenges in daily life. I whipped it out on the plane and it opened on a page entitled ‘the illogic of suicide.’ Thank goodness I was surrounded by native Portuguese and Chinese speakers whose English comprehension may not be 100%. You don’t want to indicate to fellow passengers on a plane that you are trying to end your life. Which I’m not, by the way, but these are interesting experiences to read about.