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Archive for the 'Mozambique' Category

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I will stare at you so hard

Friday, November 24th, 2006

At this point in my travels, I’m pretty used to being the “different ” one – the white skin and blond hair being the obvious giveaway – having people look at me while walking down the street.  It was different here, though.  People stared.  Everyone stared.  And they stared hard, relentlessly, shamelessly, with mouth agape, turning their head to follow me walking down the road.  It’s darn hard not to feel it, and even harder to act as if it isn’t happening.  I think I wore a little smile of embarrasment as I walked down the road.  And it never changed the whole time I was in Pebane. [read on]

Posted in Mozambique | 1 Comment »

My head under her leg under my arm under her toe…

Thursday, November 9th, 2006

I decided to leave Zimbabwe after getting back from the Zambezi Valley.  News that my grandmother passed away had come (love ya, Gramma), and I wanted some time to myself.  Will, his friends, and his family were amazing in hosting me, and I thank them a million times over.  There’s lots more to see in Zimbabwe (including the obvious Victoria Falls), but it’ll have to wait for “next time”…  For now, I was headed back to Mozambique. [read on]

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Secret Agent Man

Tuesday, November 7th, 2006

Most of the time I had been at the Pink Papaya, I had the place to myself. After a long day of travel, I was looking forward to a nice quiet night. It never happens that way, though. Usually when you want a quiet night, you find a place full of people; when you want a friend or two, you find yourself in a place alone. Without fail, this is how it works. Arriving back at the Pink Papaya, I was greeted by nearly a full house, although Helen wasn’t there. She had taken a group of people out to her Forest Retreat, the original reason I seeked out the Pink Papaya, and a place I never went to. [read on]

Posted in Mozambique | 1 Comment »

Hi. Remember me? Back online…

Monday, November 6th, 2006

Hi there. So, it’s been a while, huh? Yeah. Sorry about that. Internet access was less and less accessible in northern Mozambique (let alone electricity and running water), but I think that’ll change now.  I’m currently in Tanzania, about to head into Rwanda (no worries…genocide ended over 10 years ago!), and it seems that internet is much more widely available in these parts.  Anyway, let’s get back to it…

[read on]

Posted in Mozambique | 1 Comment »

White Zimbabwe…it’s a small, small world, and I haven’t even arrived yet!

Thursday, September 28th, 2006

The next day I didn’t do much but hang around Mike’s house and watch television. He had satellite TV, and it was kind of fun to just flip around the stations a bit during the day, especially since I haven’t had a TV at my disposal for a while. Mike had another guy staying at his house as well (another guy from Zimbabwe), so we flipped around the TV together, having interesting conversation. Mike also had a maid, which was unexpected. She cleaned up everything after me (before I could get around to it); to be honest, it made me feel a bit strange. “Well, with all the unemployment you see outside…” Mike offered as a reason. Alright, I can see that. [read on]

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Mormon Mozambique? Let’s hope not…

Thursday, September 28th, 2006

I woke up at 3:30 in the morning to get the 4:30 chapa to Beira. There was a group of us leaving, so we all made the dark walk through town together. I loaded my things on the little back trailer (normally not there), got on the chapa, and fell asleep while we waited to leave. These chapas are packed full – 4 people sit across, with a seat that folds up and down to allow passengers to pass through. In order to get out of the back, people in front need to get out, fold the chair up, and then allow you to pass. I had one of the folding chairs this time, which are definitely the least comfortable, due to their small folding back. No worries, though, I still slept, despite all of that. We finally left close to 5:30am, which made me really happy I had woken up 2 hours earlier to get there on time. [read on]

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Operation Bear – From Cape Town to London fighting child

Thursday, September 28th, 2006

After our lovely, though extremely late lunch, we headed back to the bar at my hostel for a few beers before heading to AfroBar. While we were there, Tino recognized someone sitting at the bar. “Hey! I saw you on TV!” Well, I was intrigued as to why these two guys would have been on Mozambican television, so I started talking to them. They were Steve and Terrick, and they were driving from Cape Town to London (traveling nearly 60,000km…37500 miles) in a dune buggy conducting interviews, collecting information, and raising awareness in an effort to end child rape. I had some very interesting conversations with these two gentlemen, and salute their dedication to an issue that is very dear to them. You can read more information at http://www.operationbear.za.org and there is also a petition online. For every signature they get, Oprah Winfrey (who contacted them) will donate $1 to their cause. Check it out. [read on]

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Mmm! Mmmm! Zambezi chicken

Wednesday, September 27th, 2006

The swelling in my eye was down the next morning, and I felt like a new person.  I got so many things accomplished – picked up some additional meds I was supposed to take, got all my laundry washed (professionally, one of the ways I occassionally treat myself), and picked up my passport, amongst other things.  I spent the rest of the day with Allan (the Scottish guy at the hostel); we ate a green coconut, drove up to the beach area, and had a nice dinner (but no seafood – I have been avoiding prawns like the plague).  That night Raul and I went out to hear more live music. [read on]

Posted in Mozambique | 1 Comment »

Miss Vicious with a rash gets two shots in the a**

Tuesday, August 1st, 2006

The ride back to Maputo wasn’t too bad; it was impressively fast, in fact.  As we got into Maputo, I asked some of the local passengers the best way to get to the center of town (where the hostel is).  As one lady directed me out of the chapa, another one told me to stay on just a little bit further, so I stuck with her.  We pulled into the same chapa yard where I protested people giving up their seats just a week and a half earlier (had so much time already passed?)  As I got off the chapa, someone carried my bag away and put it in the trunk of a nice car.  “Get in.  Get in.”  I got in.  “This is my father.  We’ll drive you to your hotel.”  The woman was a doctor in the region where I had just come from, and her father did indeed drive me right to the hotel – such a nice gesture.  They gave me their phone numbers in case I needed anything while in Maputo, and we said our goodbyes. [read on]

Posted in Mozambique | 1 Comment »

“But they’ll rob you in Maxixe…”

Tuesday, August 1st, 2006

Most local public transport in Africa (so I’m told) does not work on any time schedule. Basically, it leaves when it’s full. So, although I got myself up at 6am to take this “direct” shuttle to Tofo, I still found myself sitting on this chapa (little converted passenger minivan) waiting to leave at 10am. I tried to sleep a little, but it was a difficult effort with people knocking at the window outside, offering bread, drinks, phone cards, plastic bags and many other things for sale and the man behind me opening and closing the window (which then hit into my elbow, arm, or head as it slid forward) to buy such items. Finally, as we filled up just around 10am, we headed off. [read on]

Posted in Mozambique | No Comments »

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