Blogs from Mozambique, Africa - page 37

First off, I would just like to mention that travelling in Northern Mozambique has been by far the best and the worst travelling on the trip so far. Those rare occasions when we had the back of the pickup to ourselves, with the wind blowing in your face and enough room to lie down, were simply amazing and cannot be beat. I stress however that those were rare occasions. The norm is that they pack their vehicles until any normal person would think it is full, and then add a few more people. Then just as you think they could not possibly fit another body in the vehicle, they go ahead and surprise you and pick up a couple of more. Somehow we managed to fit 18 people (19 if you include the guy on the ... read more

Highlights include watching the sun set, laying on the beach, and laying by the pool. The coconut shrimp curry for 5 dollars (expensive I know) was also damn good. There was at least as much shrimp as there was rice. Anyway, some photos.... read more

Once again, the ride on the northern roads of Mozambiqe was rough and slow going. And once again the girls and I crammed into the back of the pick up truck. But we were all smiles as we realized trying to traverse this area on public transport would have been excrutiating! We reached Tete after sundown and found our way to the only place in town...the Tete Motel. It was expensive ($40 per person) but at least it had hot water and air conditioning...something I have not had in a while. We all showered and then ventured out for dinner. Somehow we ended up at a nice place and we ate dinnr while sitting along the Zambese River. The next morning I tried to snag a ride to Malawi by talking to guy with an Avis ... read more

The bus ride to Inhambane was a rough one. As usual, it took longer than estimated...after 10 hours we made it to Inhambane and grabbed a free mini bus ride to Tofo (courtesy of Bamboozi Backpackers). Neike and I took beds in the large round dorm room which housed about 15 beds. Upon arrival, we were the only ones in the room (but that would change the next day and soon the room would be full). It was almost sunset when we arrived but after the long, hot bus ride, I quickly ran into the ocean which I found out was very warm. Nonetheless, I needed it bad! Neike and I had a great dinner at the Bamboozi bar/restaurant (which has amazing food) and I went to bed early as I signed up for an early ... read more

February 22nd, 2006 On Sunday, I went to visit another EWB volunteer named Mike Quinn in Livingstone, near the breathtaking (and drenching!) Victoria Falls. Mike is working on a pilot project to re-introduce sorghum to Zambian farmers. Sorghum was once the staple crop in Zambia, but in the 1970s, former President Kenneth Kaunda tried to unite Zambia's 73 tribes with a common dietary staple - maize (or corn, as we know it). However, maize requires more water for growth and quickly depletes the soil of nutrients. Typically, the maize is dried and ground to make mealie meal. Mealie meal is used to make what the locals call nshima (it has the consistency of mashed potatoes) which is eaten at literally every meal. The biggest challenge is that sorghum is seen as a poor man's crop and ... read more