Polana Serena Hotel Maputo

... prawns and it was great.<br><br>We went back to the Hostel to meet up with Joel and Hannah but also a guy from Zimbabwe who knows Maputo quite well. We all went out to a place called Coco Nuts. It looked really dead when we arrived but we then went to a different room and it was smaller but full of people. We had such a good time, drinking dancing, talking. I think there were about 10 of us in total. At one point, a guy from Israel was dragged out by a local girl taken to ...

... us in the bus for the first 2 hours, by the time we left it was totally full. Just as we thought that we were truly full, the driver managed to squeeze in another person AND her two sons! To make matters worse, there wasn't enough room for my size 11's to fit under the seat, so I had to sit in some contorted position, with my pack on top of me, unable to move a muscle for the entire journey - haven't they heard of DVT here? Unfolding ...

... Splendid Suns and I persist in my explorations, even walking all the way to Costa do Sol on Sunday. That&#8217;s a good time to see religion on the beach. Comparisons to Brazil once again occur. The weather is surprisingly cool after the sun goes down, Maputo still a bit outside the tropics and August not even springtime yet. When the day to leave finally comes, I&#8217;m ready. Next stop is Nelspruit, and the plot thickens.<br><br>

Maputo is a sad city. It is very run down, looks like it was nice at one point but not many things are ruined and destroyed. The city is very dirty as well. Our hostel was digusting so we went to a hotel down the street. We had a little trouble finding a boat ferry to Inhaca Island but finally the hotel helped us and were set. The ferry left in the morning. It was a two hour ride to the Island. The tide was very low so a boat had to come retrieve us from the ferry to take us ...

... mas o fato de passar quase uma hora em pe em um onibus de menos de um metro e setenta, e olhe que nao sou nenhum gigante. Tambem em mocambique tivemos a primeira situacao de "tratamento diferenciado para o branco". Fomos fazer compras e encontramos quase tudo fechado nas proximidades do nosso alojamento. Entao fomos a um posto de gasolina, que tinha uma loja de conveniencias. Apesar de ter uma placa na frente "fechado", o comerciante abriu a para nos entrarmos. Depois de ...

... fish I'm sure relics of the Indian ocean are NOT something they've seen before..although they'll always say "hey! I've never seen this before!" at the end of each of their 25second laps around their bowl I suppose). We got to the Gallery Hotel and walked up the stairs and I was most pleased indeed to find myself looking at an infinity pool with 3 long stretch hammocks alongside. It didn't take 2 thoughts to know this was where I was settling down for the day. I whipped out ...

... err, we're wondering whether there is anywhere people can smoke". To which he answers "well...that depends how much you want to do". I was pooped after about only 2.5hrs interrupted sleep, so less than sharp....it finally clicked and I laughed and said, literally, "nee, nee" (must stop saying things like prima, and leuk and dank je here...might fly in Cape Town but my friends are looking at me funny. or more than usual), "just...err....you know...N O R M A L smoking ...

... The sun in Mozambique peaked my spirits immediately. Megan, an old friend volunteering with the Peace Corps, met me at the airport and we spent the afternoon exploring Maputo. In spite of their low ranking on the UN development index, the capital of Mozambique appeared far more modern than I had anticipated. The roads were wide and in excellent repair, public employees were pruning the trees that lined the streets, small ...

... to Jo-burg and then Cape Town. It feels a little funny to be starting actual "travelling" again since we've been in the same place for 2 weeks now. But I'm sure we'll get the hang of it once we get going! First things on the agenda - buy a new camera!!!! and a lonely planet (since that was also in the bag.... oy). No new ipods for us though, so I'm going to have to put up with Derek's singing for the next 6+ weeks :) talk in cape town! xoxox

... do se Criador. Sabe, Pierre, várias pessoas já me falaram isso, disse ele. Mas eu tenho certeza de que não é isso. Eu sou bom e faço tudo corretamente. Uma pena, Macucule, eu respondi. Infelizmente do seu jeito você nunca terá a oportunidade de conhecer Deus. Nem mesmo ele falando assim diretamente com você como já tem feito. Macucule olhou para o relógio e disse que tinha que assistir uma aula. Nos despedimos e não mais o encontrei na UEM.