Living in Londo was a remote island experience. There are no shops which you can quickly pop-out to when you need some milk or sugar. We also realised that we would be “stuck” in Mozambique for an unknown extended period of time and had to start living off a tight budget, so luxuries were a thing of the past.
We did do the odd grocery shop by taking the boat across the bay to Pemba and making do with whatever we could find in Shoprite.
During the start of our stay, we ate “normal” meals whilst still sticking to a budget. Once we had our room set up with a solar-powered fridge and gas stove, we were able to keep track of our meals and spending more. Along with a tighter budget and not being able to go across to town as much, we started “living off the land”.
We mastered making our own bread, baking and making pancakes, even with just two or three ingredients! For the last three weeks of our stay in Londo, we were eating rice with stock cubes, and adding whatever we could find in nature.
Londo is filled with Baobab trees. We threw stones at the fruits to knock them down, then split them, pulled out the already dehydrated fruit, separated the pulp from the seeds and then ground the pulp into a fine powder. It was a long process, but one that we had more than enough time to do there. The powder itself doesn't have much of a taste, it is just slightly bitter. We learnt about all the amazing health benefits and vitamins in Baobab powder, which is actually listed as a superfood! We started adding it to our meals for the extra boost in our very basic diet. We even made a Baobab jam which tastes amazing, almost like strawberry jam! We also made Baobab cookies and Baobab muffins, put the powder in our oats or porridge, and in our bread.
*Some fun facts... As I mentioned, Baobab is a superfood which is extremely rich in vitamin C, and many other vitamins and minerals, it is an antioxidant, it helps digestive health and to balance blood sugar levels. It is also a prebiotic which helps your gut health, it aids in iron absorption and the slow release of energy, is one of the highest alkaline foods and as a bonus; even helps with radiant skin!
Keags learnt that raw sea-urchins are a delicacy in some countries, and decided to give them a try. After going for a snorkel and collecting a few collector urchins, he separated the good and the bad parts and cooked them in a pan. They were very salty raw, but when cooked they made a delicious sauce for our rice and clam dinners.
There is a 5m tidal change during Spring tides in Londo. During low tide, we would collect clams and mussels, clean them and steam them before cooking them in a pan. They became a great source of protein. On a walk at the White Beach during low tide, Keags stumbled upon an octopus… We were so excited! We “beat” it and carried it home, before dipping it in boiling water a few times, then chopping it up, battering it and deep-frying it. IT WAS DELISH!
We had often tried fishing in front of the lodge but were never successful, one-day Keags decided to try fish at the White Beach. He ended up catching a fish after about only 10 minutes! We were so excited! We called my aunty, a true fishing widow and also the queen at cooking fish, and got some advice on how to cook it as all we had was Aromat, flour, rice and a tiny bit of oil. A few days later, Keags ended up catching 5 fish in one afternoon!
There are also loads of Moringa trees on Londo, and our friends showed us how to used the leaves to get a great dose of vitamin C. We ended up putting the leaves in our rice or even making an iced tea with them.
*Another fun fact... The moringa leaves have 7 times more vitamin C in than oranges, and 15 times more potassium than bananas. They are a great source of antioxidants, calcium and help with heart health. Just like the Marula Tree – every part of the Moringa tree is used for different health benefits.
We lost some weight, but we were still strong and healthy. We learnt so much about the different benefits of the different plants, trees, fruits and proteins which surrounded us. We realised just how amazing nature is, and how it provides us with all the goodness our bodies need!
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