Catembe Gallery Hotel Maputo

... there a real vibe to this place. I did not see a single white person there and once in a while people approached me to say hello, just because of the colour of my skin which I thought was really funny. You also need to be ready for all the different types of smells, it is sometimes overwhelming I must say. The meat and fish section is quite peculiar as there is no refrigerated compartment and everything is just stacked on the stalls and there are obviously quite a few flies around. I ...

... most either going or coming to Tofo up the beach or back to S.A. Much of this happens in the early morning hours before dawn, so the effect is a bit surreal, of people wearing miners’ lamps to pack up and evacuate in the dark. Some even arrived after dark, so hardly saw the city at all. Me, I decide to hang and forego the beachcomber backpacker scene up the coast. So I generally walk the city, and even find some wi-fi ...

... the road. We truly enjoyed the life, pride and joi de vivre that flows through the streets here. Sure, some of the buildings are run down and the scars of 25 years of civil war cannot go unseen. But there is a certain pulse in Maputo that picks you up and pulls you along. You end up leaving the capital with eyes full of the colour and laughter of people, leaving the ruins and crumbling pavements to fade into the background.

... t**ug gebeur het en is die dief dalk agt** die volgende boom? Soos waff**se speurd**s word geen steen langs die paadjie wat die bos inlei onaang**o** gelaat nie. Saam met die speurw**k, kom ook 'n dossis van Dirk se droë ingenieurshumor. Aan elke siel wat van voor in die sand voedpaadjie kom, v**duidelik Phillip in sy eie opgemaakte Portugees en in alle **ns wat gebeur het. Hy wil weet of die man nie iemand v**dag iew**s gesien het nie. Met konsentrasie en **ns h**haal hy sy ...

... township they gave me two STUNNING shells and I was SO touched! The boy who spoke english was the perfect gentleman and shook my hand whereas the little meister who sat on my lap gave me a kiss on the cheek and, chick that I am, this just did it for me! We reached the main township again and it was chow time. So we went back to the pestana, ordered a couple of drinks and lay down on the pool chairs....or rather, Carlos did...I swam and took a picture of the ...

... a bit before catching a cab..... and I kept walking... and I walked and walked for just over 15 kilometres along the coast back to Anna's place. I saw babies being baptised in the sea water, men fishing, chatted to a few road-side stall keepers, watched a football lesson for little boys for a bit, picked up a coconut about 2km in and carried it all the way home...just because. I'm not even a coconut fan but it felt right then! Having just had my feet ...

... giving them a tanning. We reached our reef - the famous Manta reef - one of the best dives sites in the world apparently - but the way we had to enter was a negative descent - so everyone falls back at the same time and kicks down - unfortunately for me the 'same time' did not happen and the two blokes either side of me went in late - causing one of their tanks to hit me in the temple - and the other bloke to kick me in the face taking my mask and regulator out. I tried ...

Spent three crazy days in Maputo. The city is far from safe but I did not encounter problems until i ventured into a bar that apparently was a little ...

Spring break was awesome. Katie and I bought round trip tickets to Maputo, Mozambique and didn't plan much else, and things couldn't have been better. So we flew through Jo'burg to get to Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. Having confirmed with the hostel we were staying at that Maputo was safe to walk around in at night, we went out to dinner the first night. On our way back, we were extorted by police officers with AK ...

... out. We plan to travel by one of the only two trains in Mozambique - from Cuamba to Nampula in the North. This means flying to Lichinga, taking a bus to Cuamba and then the train - if this doesn't all work out we need a back-up. We went to the railway station in Maputo to try to get train tickets but no luck - it seems that the North and South of the country really are very separate.