First Full Maputo Weekend: MJ, Inhaca, soccer, etc.

Before I start with my ramblings about the weekend, I have to say today is the first day that I woke up and saw any clouds in the sky. They weren't even storm clouds, just normal puffy white clouds. Since I have gotten here, I haven't really seen any clouds before today. The wind can be a bit nasty and very strong, but it is usually always sunny and clear.

Well, I have managed to keep busy, which is good for me. Everyone knows that I don't like to be a home-body. Friday was a short day at the office. Went out to dinner and what were they playing on the TV...yes, a tribute to Michael Jackson with all of his videos. Can't get away from him, even all the way down here.

Saturday, I took the ferry over to Inhaca Island, which is off the coast of Maputo. The ferry ride was a bit interesting. First, there appears to be two ferries that go to the same place. One that only appears to take locals for about a dollar and another ferry that clearly takes all of the visitors which costs $50 US for a round trip. They say the local ferry can have problems and doesn't have regular safety checks, but I have my doubts that these things account for the difference in price. It made it in about the same time as ours. Plus, there didn't appear to be any more concern for safety on our boat. We were joking with a family traveling from India and the UK about how there was no safety briefing and that we had no idea if there were lifevests or boats on board. We also had to take smaller boats from the big boat to get to the shore. Usually not a problem, but it was quite the site to see and witness. (Reminded me a bit of our Galapagos experience with the "Chaos on the dingy!")

Thanks to our new friend Quintess, a fellow traveler on our boat from S. Africa, a local boy (Noah--something tells me that was not his real name) walked us around the village on the Island. I kind of new we were in for a scam when the local boy kept walking us in a circle trying to find a taxi. (If you saw the place, you would know taxis don't really exist here). Then he took us to a man that was going to charge us 40 US dollars to get a ride to the marine museum. (Cabs in Maputo are only about $6 US). Since we were low on cash and time (we only had a few hours on the Island), I opted out. It was still interesting to walk through the village, though. Got to buy my coconut from the village market place. And what did we hear blasting through the village...yes, more Michael Jackson. Even in this remote place, where it didn't look like people had electricity or running water, they could still play MJ music and knew who he was. We also got to witness a wedding celebration for a couple in the village. They road through town with everyone following them singing and dancing. We actually saw the wedding cakes being loaded onto the ferry with the locals in Maputo and wondered what the cakes were for. Here are some pictures of the village:

Here are some pictures of the beach and coastline. As you can tell, it is a very beautiful place and I was fascinated with all of the wooden boats.

By far the best part of the day was riding back on the front of the boat and witnessing the sunset over Maputo. I really felt like I could stay and watch it for hours, but the sun sets so quickly here this time of the year.

To be continued...

Pictures from Maputo

Pictures from walking tour of the city. As you can tell, the downtown of Maputo is small. The big building in the first picture is the tallest building in the city. Some pictures are from a small fort in the middle of the city. It is now a memorial to various people and wars. We came across it as they were setting up for some sort of program for the Mozambican Independence Day. There are many streets named after notorious dictators. You don't see this often! We spent some time at the train station, which isn't used often anymore. It had the feel of something from long ago. The Cathedral is deemed "the ugliest buidling" in the city. I didn't think it was ugly, but apparently its past is ugly. Women who were not virgins were forced to labor in the construction as their punishment. We didn't go inside, because a priest was standing outside and we thought that meant service was either starting or just ending. The thing you cannot miss when walking around the city is the trash and broken glass bottles everywhere. Also, the roads and sidewalks are difficult to maneuver and are in need of repair. I tripped numerous times and not just due to my normal clumsiness. You can click on each picture to see a larger version.

First Week Ramblings

Had a great day yesterday. Got out to walk the city with my colleague, Christine. Christine is in charge of the IETA program in Atlanta and is here until August. It was warm and by the time we sat down to eat lunch, we were parched and hungry. I am going to estimate we walked about 4 miles. We both have noticed it is very dry here and causes you to drink so much water you wish you were a camal. Met a young man from Kansas, who is helping in an orphanage here, on the middle of a street in Maputo. Christine and I were trying to figure out where we were and he realized we were from the US. I love how people are like..don't look like a tourist or an American. Yeah, I really don't think that is possible in this situation.

Then we went over to a colleague's house, where our other IETA colleague Steve showed off his pizza making skills (complete with dough flipping) and made some delicious home made pizzas for us. We ate outside on the patio. (Don't worry, very safe. You have walls around the houses and a guard for each home occupied by a US government employee). Nothing like an all American meal and good company to make you feel at home. :-)

Came back to my hotel and starting watching the coverage of Farrah Fawcett's death. Then stayed up watching the news on the death of Michael Jackson. Even though he was an odd and scary man in his latter years, I do associate his music with my growing up (I was part of the first generation that grew up with videos and MTV) and couldn't turn off the news last night. I don't think I went to sleep until after 130 am my time. Had a short day in the office today (thank goodness). Then ventured off to the Shoprite all alone (if you don't count my taxi driver) and got some snacks/fruit/drinks. I also got some peanut butter and jam, but the jam is a bit scary. It is in a can and I am guessing it is kind of like the cranberry sauce in a can. Also realized that jelly here actually means jell-o. You have to drive through the really poor area of Maputo to get to the Shoprite. The streets are dirt and hard to pass. The Shoprite has all the normal basic things (meat, veggies,fruits, drinks) as other grocery stores, just not as many things or varieties of things. (Someone please mail me some good food ASAP!)

Little cooler today and very breezy and the ocean looks very rough. Getting the start of a sore throat and hoping this is not the start of a more serious infection/cold. It is hard not to get paranoid here when you know you are coming down with something.

Hoping to get out to a real restuarant tonight for dinner.

Next post will be just pictures I have taken this week.

The Beginning

Bom Dia,

Good Day everyone! I decided it might be easier to keep in touch and tell everyone what I am up to here in Mozambique this way.

Well I have been here since Sunday. The flight was uneventful (except for my crying while watching Marley and Me), but long (14 hours from JFK to JoBurg). I have begun to believe that economy seating is a new form of torture. I met some nice people on the plane, who were going to Africa to do some sort of relief type work. I met a grad student from MD. It was her first trip out of the country and she was going to Malawi. What a place to go for her first venture out of the US. The people that I met helped me to feel a little better about my decision. I was definitely not wanting to leave on Friday evening and Saturday morning when I got to the airport. I was thinking...why in the world am I doing this. I must be crazy. Of course, I was up all night on Friday packing (the Myers-Briggs P in me), so I am sure the lack of sleep was not helping my mood.

I arrived in Maputo, Mozambique Sunday afternoon. (Maputo is the capital of the country). I almost got taken by some over zealous taxi drivers at the airport, when I was saved by my CDC driver who was running a little late. I was so tired and not thinking clearly. I was also the last one to get through immigration and figured he had left me! Of course, they would not do this. Luckily, he got rid of the other drivers, got my bags for me, and took me to my hotel. Driving into the city, you definitely see the poverty right away. There were kids playing in the mud of a road being constructed with big plows working away right around them. It was almost like it was their beach and they were building sandcastles. My hotel is pretty nice, but it is definitely not the true "Maputo" experience. It is very toursity and a lot of international people stay here. I may get moved, but that will be a story for another entry.

The weather is amazing. It is in the 80s, sunny, breezy, and no humidity (my hair is loving this!). The views are absolutely beautiful. The city sits on the Indian Ocean. The downfall is that since it is technically winter, the days are short. It is getting dark by the time we get out of work at 515 pm. It is not safe to walk around alone or at night, so figuring out logistics on how to get to the store, etc., have been challenging. Also, I am still catching up on the lack of sleep from Friday-Sunday. I am off today for the Mozambican Independence day and will hopefully get my bearings around the city. You have to get drivers to take you most places and stores are definitely not common. I am starting to regret my decision to ditch a ton of stuff at home, because my bags were too heavy. Also, it didn't do me much good, both of my checked bags were still overweight. FYI: United charges ABSURD fees for this.

I am off to walk around the city with one of the girls that is here with me. She is in charge of the CDC IETA program in Atlanta and decided to take an assignment to see what we all go through. IETA is a training program for DHHS employees (mainly CDC, but they let some of us misfits in from other agencies) aimed at preparing people for more permanent over sees assignments and/or more short term stays, as needed. I am also here with one of my fellow IETA participants, who is a division director in Atlanta. This has been helping with my transition. Also, everyone in the office has been very nice. Various people assigned here on a more permanent basis have had us over for dinner three nights this week and everyone has been extremely welcoming. (I will write more about all of this and work later).