Inhaca

I'm spending the weekend on a tropical island.
I know, it sounds awesome. And it has been really relaxing, but island vacations in the developing world are a little different than anywhere else on earth, and the irony and guilt I feel from my carefully sheltered resort lodge is only amplified by the community just outside the gate, regular Mozambiqueans, mostly very poor, eeking out a living in tropical paradise.

I arrived in Inhaca last night on a tiny tiny 12 seat propeller plane that landed square in the bush. I was skeptical at best, but soon a land rover arrived to whisk me and the other lodge guests (mostly wealthy South Africans, I suspect) to our weekend getaway. The rooms are great, the views of the Indian Ocean are fantastic, and while I'm not sure I want to get in very badly, the pool looks nice too. (Just a little unchlorinated...)

I ventured into little Inhaca and bought some gifts today. My brother's mask collection continues, and I found some nice paintings for my apartment. I wish I could more clearly paint the picture of dusty poverty that exists just outside the guarded gate, but maybe the striking difference between rich and poor isn't the most uplifting topic for a weekend holiday and I should instead focus on the beauty of today's sun, the warm reception at the lodge, and the hopes for snorkeling tomorrow.

I also randomly saw the King of Swaziland yesterday. His personal jet was leaving the Maputo airport just as my flight to Inhaca was set to depart. A huge crowd of African schoolchildren, women, dancing young men, and a full marching band gathered to see him off. It was quite a show, with terrific dancing and spirited singing and clapping. He escorted one of his 14 wives onto the plane, waved to the crowd, and left. His latest wife was selected during the "wife selection ceremony" where prospective wives dance topless for the king's pleasure. She's only 17, but he fined himself a cow for breaking the law, designed to mitigate HIV/AIDS, that requires abstention from sex for those under age 18. In Swaziland, 26 percent of the population is HIV positive.