http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Africa , Mozambique , Southern , Maputo en-us Thu, 04 Dec 2008 23:03:51 UTC Thu, 04 Dec 2008 23:03:51 UTC i must be quick i have 4 remaining minutes. i have a mozambique cell number for anyone wishing to speak to me while i am here. it is 00258 829874034. the 00258 is the country code. it is a cell so it may be necessary to dial 258 instead of 00258 then my number but i don't think so. it is much cheaper to call from the usa than it is to call to it. if it is cheap enough for you feel free to r http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-331817.html ldquoOne thousand meticas your fine.rdquo The Mozambican policeman sentences Tony for driving over a street divider in swerving from hitting two people sitting in the middle of a potholestricken road in pitch dark. There were no signs no visible clue as to the street splitting into two ways. The policeman sits waiting with his tattered notebook looking to his fellow officer on the right. T http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-324250.html So this is the first chance I've had in a while to update things. Currently I am in Maputo Mozambique. This is a very pleasant city lots of tropical plants large trees with overhanging branches old aesthetic buildings of Portuguese infuence. Not huge and asphyxiating like Johannesburg. Of course there is the typical African street markets beggars trash strewn about etc. But I have to http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-322278.html My journey from Jozi to Maputo didn't start as smooth as I had wanted it to be. Intercape the bus company which I booked my ride with didn't let me get on board without a Moz visa. I assured them that I have checked with at least 3 sources and they all said I could get a visa at the border but to no avail no visa no go. I suppose Intercape doesn't want to wait for all passengers to sort out the http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-313504.html I decided to get to the Intercape Mainliner to Mozambique. It's about an 8hr bus ride depending on how long the border crossing takes. I was at Park Station the main bus station in Joburg very early in the morning and I will just say it's perhaps not the friendliest place in the world. I met some Spanish and Portugese people who were also waiting for the bus they could speak English but not that http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-303665.html I started writing this all out and then the power went off in the internet cafe. So I'll just write until I run out of time I might not get all the way up to today.After getting our visas we hopped on a mini taxi to get to the craft market.I talked to this little girl who was 12 and sooo smart and spoke such good english.I gave her some Canadian pennies.Anyway after the market I thought we g http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-293145.html Maputo the capital of Mozambique is what Lonely Planet describes as one of the most agreeable capital cities in Africa. Don8217t get me wrong I liked Maputo but I fear for the worst in the other countries.The Portuguese knew how to build a city stuff as many trees in as possible and then build some attractive building. The city is at the moment a wild mix of recently renovated building buil http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-292922.html EN FRANCAIS PLUS BASMORE PHOTOS HEREThe Bus Odyssey from Manzini to MaputoEven before 7am the bus terminal in Manzini Swaziland's second main city is swarming with activity shouting drivers trying to fill up their buses. I ask Maputo and get thrown into a bus that says Lomahashah or something like that. Seized by doubt I ask around Does this bus go to Maputo to other passengers. Answe http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-292758.html i've driven like a fiend straight down across through and around and now out my hotel window is shining strange maputo. it's a city that is still learning how to be a city the way that africans in general seem to be learning how to be people people from the television. if there was never a television imported to africa these africans would not know about wearing their hats backwards or low http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-285815.html Greetings from Africa Irsquom alive and doing well. Although I did accidentally swallow about a liter of a muddy African river a few days ago but more on that later. Starting out on this trip I honestly thought Irsquod find wifi hotspots in the hostels we would be staying at and maybe even at the bush camps which are pretty substantial. But guess what I discovered Africa is not like http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-255493.html So we've spent the best part of four days over Christmas in the Mozambican capital Maputo. Maputo comes closer than anywhere else we've visited to the lazy Western stereotype of the African city dusty litterstrewn potholed streets choked with black clouds of pollution from cars that should have been consigned to the scrapheap years ago the better older buildings quietly decaying while th http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-230532.html Hmm... for the first time I have spent the last week with one of my subscribers hello Becky hope you got back OK so I had better make sure I tell the whole truth and nothing but...As most of the people who are reading this probably know the genesis of this whole trip was an invitation to the wedding of the lovely Dan and Katherin at Katherin's parents' family estate near Harare in Zimbabwe. http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-229799.html Another exciting day...For some reason people like to plan meetings and then cancel them at the last minute. It leaves me and S. sort of roaming around the Ministry for Health with not a whole lot to do but wait until the next meeting. However today we had to go and pick up my tickets for Malawi. Because the whole eticket fad hasn't caught on here in Mozambique. So we've been to the travel http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-229308.html So I don't have any time to make an entry today but here are a bunch of photos. I got my site assignment and I am going to be living in the Zambezia province close to the capital city. Although I cannot say the exact city on this blog I'm sure that my mother or father could tell anyone interested enough to call them. We are done with training a week from tomorrow and I just passed my final lan http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-223703.html Let me begin with a word of warning never ever have anything to do with the Mozambican police if at all possible. They are bent corrupt rude xenophobic and vindictive and that's just the nice ones. They are without a doubt the worst officials I have had anything to do with in the whole of Africa most of the continent's border guards and cops have been surprisingly friendly and not bri http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-221490.html Nothing too exciting to report yet... I had two meetings today then came back and did some work at the hotel. Actually I feel crummy and I'll tell you why. Native Mozambicans can't afford to eat in restaurants or things like that so I feel like a big heel eating in restaurants. Today ate in a room full of expats for breakfast lunch and dinner served by the people whose country that we're in http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-219870.html So leaving MozambiquehellipLeaving the Beek I've remembered a few things I've forgotten to share. When S. and I went to Inhaca last week I had gotten a letter in my room advising me to secure all valuables on my bed. I couldn't figure out what valuables as I had everything with me phone laptop wallet etc. Anyway since the letter was signed by three people and heavily underlined I fi http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-219858.html So let's talk about the last few days...I may go in reverse. For David though I wanted to let him know that the Cierra one thing song the DC gogo song is very popular here... I didn't realize that Mozambique rocked the gogo beat. I think Chuck Brown should come on tour here.Some things you didn't know about Mozambique part IICrosswalks are new here. And as I learned after almost getting m http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-219854.html Sorry for the delay in providing a proper update... Let me see what I can think of about Mozambique or just the Beak as I like to call it. This is a long email best read in parts if you're in a hurry.The 16 hour flightAfter a long direct flight from Dulles where a passenger was prevented from boarding our flight because they attempted to carry on a chain saw my colleague S. and I took off http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-219852.html So this entry was actually hang written the night before I am posting this so if you still feel like my quality of writing sucks I guess I have no excuses this time.It is hard to believe that it has been 3 weeks since I last had access to a computer and internet. This is one of the many things that was a daily part of my life back in the states that I really have not missed at all here. One this http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-214657.html Never thought I would get the chance to be writing this entry but here I am in Maputo writing from a library where the internet moves about as slowly as one might imagine. I dont think I have a lot of time before we are going to have to leave so I will do my best to give a quick rundown of what I have been doing for the last 2 weeks.Training began in in downtown Philadelphia where our entire Pea http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-208775.html 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 r http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-179714.html We are now safe and sound back in Sydney but needed to finish off our last 2 countries We left you in Rwanda last time we blogged. We flew Rwanda Air to Jo'burg in South Africa for a brief night's stay before we left for Maputo Mozambique. At this point I was extremely grateful for having a dad who preaches and has friends all over the world cos we were met at the airport by 2 very friendly fac http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-176087.html Gaborone to TofoAngela Bryan Rappaport Scene wide treelined avenue of Mozambique's capital Maputo sunny Anj and Bry are enjoying their day in the city exploring it by foot. Feet little used in the past 2 days as a sixteen hour bus ride after a 5 hour car ride would attest to. Anj calls the feeling square butt and Bryan agrees. The city is run down but they feel safe and are heading do http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-165457.html My friends So I arrived in Maputo. As you know I had some communication problems in the beginning. But as soon as I arrived in the ADPP complex it was all ok. I arrived here on Thursday morning and I had to wait for the next flight to Quelemane which is tomorrow Tuesday. These last days were all about impressions and meeting new people. I will try to give a brief overview of my transit ho http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-153849.html Hello my friendsSo on wednesdaymorning i took the bus from Johannesburg to maputo the capital of Mozambique. it was supposed to be an 8 hour trip. I had fixed seat reservations. When I gave my ticket before getting on the bus the guy said. Well sir that is downstairs in the middle it was a dubbledeck bus let me change that for you. I got the place upstairs all the way in front. I had a wind http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-152760.html Da sind wir nun endlich bei meinen schwarzen portugiesischen Bruedern Seit ich mit meiner Famillie in Portugal gelebt habe war Mocambique ein interessanter Begriff fuer mich gewesen. Zum einen wegen der vielen schwarzen Einwanderer von dort das Erbe des Kolonialismus zum anderen aufgrund der vielen Witze die die Portugiesen ueber Samora Machel den Revolutionsfuehrer und ersten Praesident http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-142457.html So here we are in Mozambique to be precise we are in the capital Maputo. Itrsquos not the prettiest place in the world but it has some charm and we have thoroughly enjoyed wandering about the place for the last 2 days. The thing that strikes me most about this city is you can buy anything off a person on a street corner fruit and veg nuts 4 gang extension leads chocolate arts and crafts http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-106434.html Next leg of the journey was Tofo to Maputo which involved a couple of days staying with one of Kek's friends who lives a couple of hours south of Tofo in a really beautiful place called Quissico. We hitched a ride in town with all our stuff and then Neils came and picked us up in his very cool retro beetle. I wasn't sure what to expect from Neils' place but I wasn't quite prepared for what was i http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-102843.html Version FR un peu plus basHelloI am in Livingstone in Zambia near the amazing Victoria Falls. I know this is out of order but I wanted to share some pics of Maputo in Mozambique I was finally able to resize my pictures and they now upload pretty quickly great news. I would love to go back to this city and spend more time exploring the markets and trying more of the local dishes.So here are a http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-100316.html