Our days on Ilha fell into something of a routine. We’d get up pretty early- for some reason, still unknown to us, the sun would rise around five in the morning, earlier than it did in Tanzania, which is just north! We would have breakfast on the rooftop and sometimes check email if the Internet was strong enough (had I been able to blog, we would have stayed much longer). Then we’d go for a walk, followed by a swim, and then I would curl up in bed for a nap or to upload and/or edit photos while Andrew would sit in the lounge to read or study Spanish. Before dusk, we’d walk to one of the two local restaurants for a fresh seafood dinner and one or two 2Ms (the Mozambican brew). We would be in bed tucked under our mosquito net well before nine and fast asleep soon after.
Today’s walk took us in and around the local hospital. From the front, it looked like it had been abandoned, like many of the old Portugese buildings on the island were. I liked the laundry hanging up in the open windows and doors and we both assumed that perhaps people were now living in the hospital.
Then we meandered around the back. It was as if the entire back side of the hospital was an outdoor waiting room. At first, I was still thinking it was a makeshift (squatter) residence, and then I saw someone get sick and saw fresh posters promoting HIV tests and babies looking equally miserable as the mothers who held them. I felt ridiculous wandering through with my camera over my shoulder, but I kept it there for obvious reasons and hoped we simply looked as lost as we felt walking through.
Not far from the hospital was this rousing game of… well, I’m not quite sure you could call it basketball, but it was on that track. I kinda wanted to play, but there was already a line, and they didn’t seem too excited over the possibility of inviting me. My favorite part? The boy holding up the hoop. Obviously.
We walked through the not so touristy parts of town until we were too hot to go any further. We realized we were out later than usual and this was why we, along with everyone else went back to their rooms or their homes for a siesta. The sun was too hot to do anything other than sit and/or sleep. We bought some plastic baggies full of frozen juice (Mozambican popsicles) and made our way back “home” to the pool.
