Caia and back

So I am going to try to keep this one a little more brief as their are lots of captioned pictures which tell the story just as well as I could. The last weeks took me up to the northern extent of our operations where we are currently clearing a suspected hazardous area residing in the "back forty" of a secondary school. Some issues with one of our equipment transportation vehicles, and valves on the third tempest were my main interest but I also had some time while there to see a controlled demolition of an explosive remnant, as well as soak up the sights, sounds, and smells (some better than others).
It is about a 1000km to get there which isn't so bad in an air conditioned CRV... the return trip on a bus where they sold the standing room of the isle and everyone carried all of their recent purchases/luggage/weeping coolers etcetera which made those tens hours pretty exhausting. I finished my book, and sweated through my clothes to keep entertained for most of the time.
Highlights of the north include: washing in a pail of cold water mainly to provide contrast to the hot shower three days later, total portuguese immersion with the travelling maintenance team (my dictionary rarely left my side), and a chance to see Mozambique beyond the palm trees of Inhambane province.
For the final leg we sailed home which totally made up for the previous 10 hours travel, and this past weekend included a Festival fo the sea celebrating the marine resources of the area and intending to give the Mozambican Nationals a chance to see why all these toursits flock to the beach in Tofo. Unfortunately the weather was less than cooperative for the ocean based activities but the reception on shore I think largely made up for that. Again the pictures paint a better picture.
As for me, having toured the majority of the operations I have a much better sense of the work to be done and have begun sketching out required training refreshers as well as visiting the spare parts system for opporunities to increase our odds of keeping everything running. That trip also reinforced the need for foresight as it is no minor task to get a team and spare on site as required.
An if it all didnt sound entertaining enough, the winds have been great as of late and now equipped with tide tables I am able to plan my recreation with ease. The locals in Inhambane seem to get a real kick out of my trips around the bay and I have enjoyed some more entertaining conversation trying to explain the equipment upon returning to shore.