I took the dinghy ashore with Emma and Axel in search of fresh provisions. We first went to the small village of Baly which was closer. It was a tiny village and we each gave them a fish, but they had nothing to return in exchange. So we ran back across the bay (4 miles) to the larger village of Solala which, after Hellville, was the largest and most modern we've seen yet. To our surprise we were able to buy most basic provisions and wonderful fresh produce (papaya, mangoes, bananas, tomatoes, etc.).

It was obvious that they don't have many tourists as Emma and I felt like celebrities walking through the village with quite an entourage in tow. In the market Emma was trading women's shirts and skirts for produce and every time she would take something out of her bag there would be a great applause. It was a really fun experience. This is such a small world, but I looked across the market and saw a guy wearing an Oakland A's hat and we instantly acknowledged each other as we were the only western people there. Turns out he and his wife are doing a Peace Corps mission there for three years. They were very nice people and even took us to find the baker who was just taking fresh bread out of his wood burning oven on the beach. Having not had fresh bread for weeks, we bought all he had for about $1US. Such a treat!

Today is Chris's birthday and it was fortunate that we had fresh food and cold beer. I was able to trade 5 empty beer bottles for one full, cold one. We had mackerel ceviche and sandwiches on fresh bread for lunch. I also made heart-shaped chocolate chip banana muffins with candles to serve as b-day cake. For dinner we bought two kilos of jumbo prawns from a local boat and had shrimp cocktail and shrimp and mackerel in a coconut saffron sauce.

Unfortunately all of our friends have already left for S. Africa, so we celebrated alone, but Chris got plenty of well wishes and songs via VHF, SSB and email. We are also looking forward to a joint birthday party with Teresa from La Familia when we all get to Richard's Bay.

For now we are waiting for a weather window and hope to be leaving soon!