01/27/07 Dugong

While in Mozambique I talked to this German fellow that had been living in Voloculus since 1968. We talked of religion, women, politics, disease, philosophy..... etc He told me his life story of how he got his girlfriend pregnant when he was still living in Stuttgart as a young German. Eventually grabbed a boat to South Africa and lived a lavish life up until his wife ran off with his best friend. His world was crushed. He explained to me the uselessness of marriage and that it only brings heartache. He found his peace with God and with life by becoming a fisherman and has been happy ever since. He said if he has a bad day, stress or whatever, he goes down to the beach puts his feet in the water and gazes at the horizon. An Australian women that joined our conversation agreed and said she does the same damn thing, I'll have to use my bathtub and pretend I'm in Africa. Anyway, I'm glad I met this man, I gained some valuable wisdom.

I had heard of this extremely rare and endangered fish in Mozambique called a "Dugong" It supposedly had mermaid-like qualities such as a chest that resembled a women's breasts. I asked if the German guy had ever seen one while he was out to sea and he said of all of his travels he'd only whitnessed the grace of one and it was beatiful. He said if you ever see one count your lucky stars because they're nearly extinct.

What really made my trip was randomly talking to anyone and everyone.