Beach House Test

After Ifakara, it was seriously depressing to be back “home” in Dar. The guy that we needed to follow up with about the visit to Ifakara was out of town for a week so nothing but more waiting on that front. We only had to last a week before we could get away again. One of our friends knows a guy that’s building a 5 star beach lodge for a British architect about 30km south of Dar. It isn’t done yet but the guy wanted to get some feedback so we got to go stay there for a fraction of what it will cost when it’s completed. There were 6 of us and we had the whole place to ourselves. This is kind of experience is definitely a perk that comes with living here. You don't get these opportunities as a tourist. It was a beautiful house up on the hill with a boardwalk through mangroves down to the beach which we had all to ourselves. There was big deck out over the cliff where we sipped wine and watched the full moon rise out over the Indian Ocean. Brandt and I went snorkeling on the coral reef every day at low tide. We weren’t that far from Dar and the ocean there is disgusting so I really wasn’t expecting much but there were tons of life...fish, urchins, sea cucumbers, a hermit crab the size of my two hands and the real prize was the octopus. I was floating over the top of a coral head when this big bulbous thing scoots off and down the side. It took me a second to realize what it was. I swam around to the other side and the octopus had tucked his tentacles into a gap on the coral head and was changing his color and texture to blend in with its surroundings. We would have never been able to pick it out if we hadn’t seen it swim there. We just floated there and watched it scurry around. I know most of you are probably tuning in to be amused by our trials and tribulations but we do have our moments when it all seems worth it. The trick is making those moments come close enough together to get through the crap. Speaking of crap…check back soon for the next post...