Southern Sun Maputo

... street. It was fine the first time but the second time a security guard gave me the looks. The last time I ended up going to the public toilet which was fine but I was surprise to see that you had to pay. Just before going, we were approached by a Mozambique guy, Joko, who was telling us a bit about Maputo. He was obviously some sort of tramp but he was quite nice, so I gave him a coin; he gave me one smaller one back to keep as a souvenir.


We eventually set off, the minivan was ...

... may pepper their Spanish with whatever Portuguese they know, but not much. That’s the Portuguese job. If I’d known this I might’ve come in speaking Spanish to begin with, but what’s the point? If I’d come in speaking good Spanish they’d accept that, but not broken Portuguese. Why do I feel guilty speaking English? Maybe it’s because the more language(s) I learn the more I resort to English ...

... wat** op die kop sit en begin aanstap.

T**ug by die kamp, met die middag se vrugtelose speurpoging word 'n deeglike inventarisopname van die skade gedoen. Hartse** kom ons tot die besef dat die bruin trui, nou al in sy d**de gen**asie in die ‘familie' ond** die gesteelde goed**e was.

Lat** die aand word die hartse** effe gedemp toe Phillip onthou dat die gesteelde slaapsak 'n geleende een van vriend Willem was, en nie sy v**lies is nie. Phillip word ook daaraan ...

... Then we had to walk across the sea floor (the tide went out about a mile and a half) to our camp site. It was a cute camp with huts and outdoor showers. Nikki and I had the place to ourselves. It was low season and very quiet on the Island. We spend the day in the sun and then walked into town for dinner. The town consists of one restuarant a small clinic and a few shops. It is on one street and you can walk through the town in 3 minutes. Its very small but had a cute Island feel!

... 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 ...

... and so you feel that little touch more like: YES, I AM GOING TO AFRICA!!!! Anyway, I was more than happy to listen to swahili for "life vest is under your seat" and "emergency exits are being pointed out to you" etc etc. I think my favourite moment is when that torturous screen of the world, or the continent in question, comes up and glares at you as your tiny dot just snaaaaaaaaaaail pace moves down the immensity of Africa, and then those stats come up: time ...

... cafe scene. The city's very green and the people are laid back. ATMs, shops and the crowds are really alien. Two months has felt a lot longer on certain days but well worthwhile. An important milestone has occurred. We have had our last minibus / pickup journey. Never again will have to endure the cramped B.O. fume conditions that threaten to throw you off the road down a ravine...once we reach ...

... connected to it. When we sat down at the restaurant, our waitress, Argentina, asked, "Fish, prawns, calamari?" We responded, "Fish, calamari." She asked, "2 kilos fish, 1 kilo calamari?" We said, "Okay." Argentina returned twenty minutes later with a platter of raw seafood. I was psyching myself up to eat this disgusting blob when Argentina asked, "Grilled, fried?" pointing at each item. We pointed at the fish ...

... no eu quarto perguntando para Deus: porque eu sou assim, por que você me fez assim, por que? Por que? Eu quero te dizer, Macucule, que a criatura não tem que ficar questionando ao Criador. Você deve se submeter a vontade dEle e ponto final. Interessante! Disse ele espantado. Como você sabe o que faço no meu quarto? Não sou eu, Macucule, é o próprio Deus que quer se revelar a você, Mais infelizmente a sua lógica e sofismas estão te ...