Shopping in Pemba

This morning involved looking around the key shops and main market in Pemba. All supplies that can't be sourced from Guludo Village can be found in Pemba. Large supermarkets sell most dry store stapes as well as imported products. Soy sauce and pastas are available but they cost.

In fact, Pamba is an expensive. At the open air market fruit and veg was much more costly than expected. The current exchange rate of meticais to sterling sits at forty to the pound.

Water melon is about £1 a kilo, onions are£1.75/kg and cucumbers at £1.5/kg. Tomatoes have apparently just shot up to 100mt/kg, weighing in a whopping £2.5o/kg. The honey you can see in the 25cl water bottles costs 310mt, about £7.75. apparently it's like rocking horse shit - rare as hell, but much tastier.

Fortunately village prices are much cheaper. Tomatoes are half the price at 50mt/kg and a dozen eggs are 40mt compared with about 110mt in Pemba.

Off to the lodge at 9am tomorrow with two guests and Cassiano who will be driving...

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