I bought some mini-bananas from an old lady on the beach. She sat down next to me and I bought cashew nuts for both of us. As we were eating and talking about her 13 children and her life going back and forth every day between Inhambane and Tofo, I noted her index finger had traces of ink on it.

“Did Mamá go to vote two days ago?”

I asked her the simple question why she had chosen to do so and got the following explanation:

“If you have two pineapples, one of them needs to be the father. And the father needs to take care of all the other fruits in this basket. The people have the responsibility to choose the father that will make sure that we are safe. In Inhambane we vote – and that is why I can leave my fruits here overnight and know that nobody will steal them or beat me. You can sit here and nobody will rob you, this is the land of good people and we show the leaders that our security and future is important to us. The only way to show this is by going to vote, it’s not very important who wins in the end – the important thing is that we can feel safe and continue working, and that we show that we care.”

Mamá left to sell her pineapples and I stayed with a dog that has decided to become my friend. People have taken their surfingboards out, the sun is starting to set, and I’m very much enjoying the tranquility in Tofo.