I’ve just discovered a really cool little heath food and smoothie bar call ‘Mango’ in Ponta. They serve healthy delicious food that is the trademark of good surfer hangouts around the world. They have only been open for a few months but are already a firm favourite with the locals. If you are in the hood check them out, especially if you are hungry after a surf. Denise and Nigel are onto a good thing delivering something that strangely never existed in Ponta before. I had an awesome mango banana smoothie and a tasty seared chicken, avo and mango wrap. Hopefully this heralds the end of my staple Mozambican diet of Future Life and 2M Beer.
So what am I doing writing food revues from Mozambique? Well Mango turned out to be the consolation prize to this trip.
After a week of scrutinising the charts for Southern Mozambique courtesy of Funso’s activity in the channel from the safety of Durban and the comfort of the New Pier barrels – seriously where else in the world can you drive your car to the edge of the sea, walk along a long pier and jump straight into the line-up of cooking barrelling sandbottom right-handers, surf for 2 hrs and still be at work by 8am?
Funso last weekend in Durban, image Miller.
Anyway despite the local perfection on my doorstep I hankered after the tropical beauty of Mozambique and the promise of deserted, long walls. Every single person I approached to come up with me couldn’t make it so I came alone. Maybe they all knew something I didn’t. On any surf trip you hold out hope until you actually see the surf. I was no different until I looked across the break and my eyes delivered a message to my brain that it didn’t want to accept. The 6-8ft offshore perfection I was hoping for dissolved before my eyes into a series of lumpy, wind-damaged random 4ft peaks. To make matters worse the first puffs of the onshore slapped me in the face. As a final insult to what was turning into a right royal skunking I could see that the storm swell of Funso a few days before had ripped the sand off the point leaving a massive hole where the waves should be breaking.
Not what you travel to Mozambique for..
I paddled out anyway, I had to salvage some face. I got about 45 mins in the water before the onshore and the bluebottles relegated me to the beach. Talk about a washout!
I re-learned an important lesson on this trip. The grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence and as South Africans we’re mostly spoiled by the quality of our home breaks.
At least I got to re-connect with the cool peeps of Ponta and I discovered Mango for future reference.
John
Got something to say? Then leave a comment!
Posted by Tiffany on the 20/02/2012 19:12
Great Stuff, I have been a dinvig instructor since 1993 and I teach Scuba Diving in English and japanese language. geat Job with the English Sanshin Pages!
Posted by Taryn on the 24/02/2012 06:26
Hey:) so great to see Mango in thebomb! way to go. There is yet another health shop in Ponta, go check it out! Amazing. Mango and Tarragon's offer a great variety of health foods.
Go check it out when you guys are there again...
xox
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