http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Africa , Mozambique , Southern , Maputo en-us Wed, 06 Jan 2010 03:31:38 +0000 Wed, 06 Jan 2010 03:31:38 +0000 Bairro dos PescadoresThis place is just after the famour restaurant Costa do Sol in Maputo the capital of Mocambique.Everyday boats loaded of fish come back from the sea and deliver the fishes. Women go towards the boats. They meet at midway. The atmosphere is somewhate magic. It seems to be on another planet. People go to boats and go back again to the beach one two tree several times. The t http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-395239.html Finally Africa The lady that checked our passports was very dissapointed shaking her head when we did not have a place to stay. Crazy backpackers. This how ever turned out not to be a problem at all. As soon as we stepped out of the terminal a woman came up asking us if we wanted to go to Fatimas Backpackers. And of course we did Also met a 73 year old man from Sweden. Very friendly old navy o http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-394371.html Haha forgot to add this to the post below...When we we in Maputo the time before last week we had a first hand experience of the corrupt police force Ruth had told us things but we thought she must've been exxagurating like you'll think I am now...but I swear this is the complete truth.We were driving home from watching the football Ben was driving and the policeman pulled us over. Ben ga http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-391597.html Back in Maputo safe and sound after a very eventful holiday I won't be able to remember everything that's happened and I stupidly left my journal at the backpackers but I'll try to give you a rough overview I think I got up to the Swazi Tour before...SWAZI TOURStop No. 1 GONE RURALThis place is a bit like Fancy Stitch but instead of embroidery they use grassweaving. It's fantastic for t http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-391588.html Just to let everyone know Im alive and well and in Maputo the capital of Mozambique I dont have enough time to update at all but I had an awesome time in Swaziland Ill put a bit more detail when I have longer in an internet cafe...sorry for the terrible grammar too but this keyboard is a porteuguese one and I cant find any of the punctuation haha Staying in Maputo til Thursday then shuttli http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-388468.html Welcome to Mozambique as usual my border shirt the Liverpool one did the trick by giving me something to bond with customs officers over. Football truly is a universal language. Entry to Mozambique was smooth despite a disorganised border post the SA side is pretty well laid out the Mozambique side well itrsquos a couple of sheds and lots of people standing about. The only exits from the b http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-363740.html The cancelled trip to Maputo was back on when I heard I wouldn't be going to Korea in December. So after a frustrating start to the trip when Annie locked herself in the bathroom and Roisin's dad had to break the door so we could get her out we started the long drive to Maputo entertaining ourselves with confusing the Garmin since we knew the route better. This was mine and Annie's third time i http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-361176.html Day 50Another disaster dayhellipour second proper one of this trip. We left Swaziland at 10 and drove to the border crossing with Mozambique it was our first bad border crossing since the one into Zambia no proper queuing so everyone was pushing and shoving inept officials who took ages over everything and a visa we had to buy which meant that after giving our passports in we had to wait ano http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-358497.html 22 Oct we leave South Africa and cross the border...eventually into Mozambique. One of the more chaotic borders and as only Livie and I have visas it's a long hot wait while the rest of the guys get their visas and passports stamped.Interesting change in countryside. Poverty is instantly more apparent scattered single storey houses villages rather than towns and cities and more chaotic driv http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-352719.html well im going to the captil of mozambique 2moz yay meso im there for 3 months and i dont no what the internet will be like there in some places there may not be running waterso plz pray http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Mozambique/Southern/Maputo/blog-352495.html 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