Dhows at Dawn

The fishing boats prepare

In December, I wrote a newsletter about the dhows, the unique fishing boats spotted up and down the Mozambique coastline. Though we have already sent out two newsletters this month, I have one more to share - a photographic series of sunrise photos, taken a couple of days ago over the course of about 30 minutes, interspersed with these fishing boats preparing to set sail.

Sunrise is beautiful anywhere, but over the ocean, the views are especially inspiring. Here, where fishing is one of the main industries, dawn is a busy time on the beach. The fisherman are often just setting out on their daily excursions, and the sight of the boats mingled with the calls of the men as they prepare adds a twist to the quiet peace of the morning.

The cloud cover also adds to the images, shadows and light flitting across the flat ocean surface in varying patterns.

It seemed almost like these two were racing across the fiery water, leapfrogging each other the whole way. As they coasted in the distance, a dhow near me on the shore was preparing to set sail.

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Here is that dhow, now on its way out to sea, the fisherman poling through the shallows before hitting deeper water across the channel.

Another dawn turned to day. Do you get time to watch the sunrise?