Weekend on Inhaca Island

Three weekends ago we went to Inhaca Island. We stayed at Nahyeeni Lodge, which was a very beautiful, well maintained, and modern.

After a four hour drive (plus a one hour delay at the border!) we finally made it to the marina in Maputo.

Aviva hung out with Aline while we waited to depart.
Chris and Marc enjoyed beverages on the way to Inhaca Island (no, this is not a fake photo staged on behalf of the Mozambican tourism industry!)
Although most of us were excited to finally be on the boat ride, Aviva got bored and fell asleep. Fortunately there was a large pile of lifejackets for her to use as a mattress.

Finally we arrived at the Island (about an hour later.) We took a two minute drive to the entrance of the Lodge. The Lodge itself included one main house, and two side cottages. The three of us stayed in one of the cottages. The view from the Lodge was stunning.

Friday night, the Lodge staff set up the braai (barbecue) for us, and then later that night, built a large campfire for us to sit around outside and enjoy the evening.

Saturday was all about relaxing. We ate breakfast on the deck overlooking the water.
Later that morning we headed to the beach. Aviva and Peter admired the fishing boats in the bay.
Leslie, Aline, and Kathy (Chris' mom) enjoyed the sun. Chris made funny faces at the rest of us.

It was so relaxing there that Aviva was able to fall asleep right on the beach!


Despite being covered in sand, she woke up in excellent spirits and ready for playtime!


Later that afternoon, we hung out near the Lodge, read our magazines, and relaxed.

Aviva helped Chris mix some drinks.
And later she read with Leslie (or tried to use Leslie's Kindle to play games.)

Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of Aviva having a fabulous time in the Lodge's sandbox. Even though our boat ride back was considerably less pleasant (it was gray, windy, rainy, and choppy,) we are already looking forward to going back!

Bushfire 2012

A few weekends ago we went to our third Bushfire. As usual, it was a wonderful event, with lots of sunshine and great music. On Saturday, it was even warm enough for ice cream:



On Saturday night, Aviva got to stay up a little late and dance with our friend, Joe.

Playing frisbee with Eric and Keri

A few Wednesdays ago, we went to play frisbee. There is a standing pick-up ultimate frisbee game on Wednesday nights at Waterford, a private high school near our house. About a dozen expats play fairly regularly, along with a dozen or more Swazi kids, ages 8-15. Aviva had a great time playing in the chalk used to draw the lines. Fortunately she doesn't always put her hands in her mouth anymore!

Keri and Eric commemorated their second-to-last night in Swaziland in traditional Swazi attire.

Here they are with the some of the kids they mentor.
Peter also played a little bit while carrying Aviva (he didn't do much catching or throwing, fortunately, with Aviva in his arms!) Aviva also played some frisbee herself, with our friend Laura.



We are so terribly sad to see Keri and Eric leave Swaziland. They were a huge part of the community here, and we miss them already! We are looking forward to seeing them next year in Atlanta.

Bye, (Queen) Benvy!

This post is very, very late, but I had to dedicate one post just to Benvy. In addition to doing an absolutely fantastic job on her project here, Benvy was super fun and helpful to have around.

In the mornings, Aviva loved to eat breakfast with Benvy...by which I mean, Aviva loved to eat Benvy's breakfast.



Benvy gave us some very nice gifts before she left, including her small bottle of hand sanitizer (Aviva's absolute favorite), and a lovely tiara and wand for Aviva.



Once we were enjoying one of Aviva's wonderful gifts from Aunt Jane, the Baby Einstein Alphabooks. It's a small box of 26 books - one for each letter. Aviva loves them. In the "Q" book, there is this picture, with the word queen:


When we got to this page, Aviva said, "BEM-BY!!!!!"

Sadly, a few weeks ago, we had to say good-bye to Queen Bemby, who had to go back to work and school in Boston. We look forward to seeing her this summer!

More yogurt in the hair

That's right. Aviva still puts yogurt in her hair. And we still think it's funny.

Princess Aviva

While we were in Johannesburg, we spent a couple hours at the home of my colleague Claus. Aviva immediately dove into Claus' daughter Freya (4)'s toys. She even put on a tiara...by herself.

Real Life Animals - Part 2

While Aviva dozed, Benvy and I admired the lions, which are in fenced enclosures. It's a little zoo-like, since the lions often would sit by the gate, hoping to be let out, but we still enjoyed it. The lion cubs were more active than the ones we had seen earlier.




At noon on Sunday, park workers drive pickup trucks into the pen and throw huge carcasses or chunks of carcasses onto the ground. Each lion walks over and takes a big piece of meat and chews it up. I like the next photo because you can see how close the lions are to the cars.




Before we left, we got to see the wild dogs feeding as well. Creepy, but cool.