The Mozambique Experience - Highly Recommended

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am actually in Maputo for the evening as we move back to the Wildlife College. It was an 17 hour drive from Machipanda to Maputo driving I believe 1400 kilometers. The research turned out really well with a lot of data to interpret upon arrival home. The use of the ground penetrating radar for observing below ground biomass has not been developed very thoroughly for practical applications. The research Abi, Dintwe, a Botswanan forester, the lead investigator Kelly Kaylor and I have been working with the Noggin 1000 to attempt to take strides forward in being able to map the carbon distribution of root structures. This is a really cool device that shows parabolas that represent the relative size of belog ground structures down to a depth of a meter or more. There were two sites where we gathered our data one being small acacia trees and the other being large eucalyptus trees which ought to have vastly different root structures giving us strong comparative data. Apparently there is much known in the area of above ground biomass along with global carbon exchange through the major pools of carbon that exist, however the amounts present and the fluxes between the soil, roots and the atmosphere are not fully understood.

Another two students have been using a device that measures the soil respiration due to microorganisms. They are looking at how, under different treatments, these organisms contribute to the global carbon dioxide pool which is one of the last areas that have not been covered concerning global sources of carbon dioxide emissions.

Hopefully without boring you too much I have given you a short general description of our work here. The conditions in Machipanda where less than ideal as far as water was concerned (at least according to the other people, I am usually quite at home in my own filth). There was no running water at the research station which was the main regret of the other members of our group. I took one bucket bath in 8 days that only used about 3/4 of a gallon of water and I did at the time feel quite clean. We were able to find water across the street at the chicken farm and cart it over with buckets in our car. Michelle even pumped 120 liters of water herself at the hospital for us to use. It was really quite a sobering experience seeing how much water we consumed each day and the small amount of effort that we had to exert to get it. Meanwhile women and children walk many kilometers a day to get enough water for them to get by.

The food on the other hand was awesome with our cheif Manuel cooking up great food every night for dinner. We actually had some long days of work for once that lasted from about 8 till 6 with a small break for lunch. Doing work is rough after siting on your butt for two weeks. We had a braai (barbecue) for some locals whom we had met to come by and socialize. This was a lot of fun meeting with a forestry student, a local math teacher, and the manager of the chicken farm accompanied by their wives. The scenery was beautiful reminding me of the Shenandoah valley and the surrounding mountains. Being right on the border with Zimbabwe we were on a road that was frequented by many shipping trucks and travelers using the only major east west road in the entire country.

On our trip back down the coast towards Maputo, the capital, we stopped in Vilankulos which is a hopping beach resort that is appparently one of the best in Africa. Our stay was at the Zombie Cucumber backpackers lodge where we met people from Austria, England, Germany and Israel just to name a few. Some of these guys had been traveling for six months or more just wondering around on some mysterious bank account or just working as the move from place to place. The food there was delightful with this English couple cooking everything. It was almost like a taste of home cooking but not quite. We were able to take a trip over to Bozaruto island to do some snorkeling and sailing in a Dhow which was just incredible. The food that those three men were able to make on the fire the kept on the boat was out of this world. I strongly reccomend the king fish if you get a chance, it was like eating pure joy. The dunes provided for an awesome view of sunset as well before our trip back.

This was probably the most glutenous few days of my life because every single meal I had was best thing I could dream of eating at the time. I do not even understand how each one could outdo the last. Who would have thought that I would come to Mozambique and eat like a king. Pretty ironic I guess. The conversations and circumstances that I underwent have been priceless and to numerous to convey tonight. I do want to tell you that we were able to celebrate my birthday in Maputo a three days before the real thing by going to this restaurant Costa do Sol. They had the best, most massive prawns (shrimp) that somehow would never quite fill me up, well all but that last 'wafer thin mint.'

So tomorrow we leave for the SAWC and hopefully for another research site. Hope all is well back in the states. This has been awesome.

Chau,

Joe

PS I ought to have more regular contact through the internet over the next few weeks

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