Matemwe Beach

Blue water, white sand, and warm sun are the ingredients for a fabulous island vacation, and Matemwe Beach delivered them all.

After getting settled in, resting a bit, and enjoying a bite for lunch, I headed off for my scuba refresher course in the pool. My instructor went over the basics of putting my equipment together with me, which was good because as pretty much just a vacation diver, I don’t do that myself much. Once in the pool, we did some basic drills, and I passed each skills assessment: regulator recovery, mask clearing, buddy breathing, and finding then maintaining my neutral buoyancy. Although I felt comfortable diving without the refresher, I liked that this operation took safety seriously, requiring the pool refresher for anyone who hadn’t been on a dive in over a year.

That done, Mimi and I rushed out to the beach for our sail. Two men handled the sailing, and Mimi and I and a couple from Switzerland were passengers. The boat, made of one piece of wood, is similar to a dhow but much smaller. The boat is about a foot wide and a foot deep and has one sail that can be switched, by moving the rope, from one side to the other without the use of a boom.

With more wading out to the boat, we pushed off from the shore and set out for a half-hour sail around the area. The water was beautiful, with an amazing array of blue shades.




After our sail, Mimi headed off to read by the pool and to get fitted for her snorkeling equipment, and I went for my massage. The masseuse led me along the beach to a hut. The walls did not come all the way to the straw ceiling, so all during the massage, the sound of the ocean served as the soundtrack. Fabulously relaxing. I will note, however, that for both the Uganda and Zanzibar massages, I missed the greaseless oil I’m used to here. But then again, the cost of each there, added together, is still less than one massage here. And so, not so bad in the end.

We dined that night with a couple from Portugal and another from France; she was German and he French. All but one of us spoke English, and all but another (me) was fluent in Spanish. All but two were fluent in French. And so although we could not all converse at once, we made do.