Ibis Maputo

... took me directly to the Mozambique bus stop. For the minivan to Mozambique there's no set time, they wait until it is full and then they go so I had to wait for 1.30 hour before we set off but it was ok as I got to talking with Marek a tchek who is working for Médecin Sans Frontieres in Swaziland and was going to Tofo for the weekend. <br><br>I had to go the toilet at one point but the public toilet were a bit off the main street and further away so I decided to do what a lot ...

... 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&#8217; 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 ...

... tiny yard at Fatmimas, a backpacker in the central part of Maputo, and went out in search for some food. The Zambezi Bar/Restaurant across the Mao Tse Tung Road welcomed us with the widely served Frango Braza (Grilled Chicken) and our first 2M-beer (doschem)! Being newly rejuvenated we ventured through the bustling streets to find some good coffee and were again not disappointed with one of the best cappuccinos at the side ...

... 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 ...

... alguem que nunca viu, ao vivo, uma favela. O centro da capital, assim como na Africa do Sul, guardava algumas semelhancas com as nossas cidades brasileiras. Muitas pessoas andando nas ruas misturadas aos muitos ambulantes me deram a impressao tanto de cidade grande com de interior. Ja nos primeiros momentos ja dava para perceber a sensacao, que depois so viria a aumentar a medida que seguimos para outras zonas do pais, de estar "no centro das atencoes". Parecia impossivel passar ...

... the day before!). I sat on the pavement next to an obviously Portuguese couple, Marta and Afonso, who were touring a bit before a conference next week. This couple is what I-d call "harmless..but charmless". Just a tad..."blah". aaaaaanyway, then Jesper and Zara arrived, and their origins were clear on sighting too..Scandinavian and I would have put money on Finnish but turns out they're Swedish (from somewhere 800km north of Stockholm, slap bang in the middle of the country ...

... gt; which is great (although, why did the beef at dinner have this weird spicy taste? Ok, lekker genoeg, but then I was a little confused when the poached egg and wrinkly sausage at 5am on descent into nairobi had the self same smell..hmm beef and pork, they should taste different? vreeemd!). Great because your pillow and little blanket and head rest cover and mat to your "one serving meal" (the expression from Fight Club escapes me now) have pictures of lions and ...

We've got mixed feelings about Maputo as everyone we've met so far has pretty much slated the place in contrast to the guidebooks which seem to love it. Two nights there and we're def taken by the place. Had we come straight there from the UK we'd probably think the place was really backward but to us it's a welcome change back into civilisation. More of the colonial architecture and a thriving almost ...

... The city of Maputo itself was pretty depressed-looking. There was garbage everywhere (and not litter, but rather dumpster-sized loads on street corners) and the buildings looked like they'd all been gutted by fires and explosions (and maybe they had...Mozambique's civil war only ended in the early 90s, I think). That night, we had one of the best meals I've had in Africa. We went to the fishmarket which has a ...