when we arrived in moma, our driver Aje insisted on showing me the ocean before we did anything else - so we drove straight down the only road in town until it ended at the indian ocean. we were salty from sweating in the fields all day but the salt from the air still felt wonderful. the beach was sandy and white with giant maroon lava rocks. there was a group of girls playing in the waves who volunteered to have their photographs taken. in the background you can see mangroves waaaay in the distance... i think seeing the mangroves reminded me how entirely different this environment really is from anything i've ever visited.

afterwards we found a cafe and ordered sandes du ovo, egg sandwiches, and hunted around for a place that served beer, since the researcher i am working with likes to have a beer in his hand any time he is sitting down. in a town that has so many devout muslims it is hard to find bars at all, but we tracked down maybe the only one in town. it really seemed to be someone's front porch, but they were happy to have us. the egg sandwiches might have been the very best i've had (second only to yours, jen), and the beer here might be better than beer in the US... i suppose it helps that the beer here comes in such huge bottles!