Honeymoon

Despite travelling quite a lot in the recent years, this is my very first time in the African continent. I'm still in the city of Maputo since I need to wait for some paper work to be done before I can actually start working. Unable to work I have been pretty much on a holiday after my 2-day training. And so far it has been wonderful! I feel like I'm on my honeymoon with this country - that time when everything is new and exciting, and even the little difficulties just feel like part of an adventure.

Cathedral of Our Lady of Fatima in Maputo

One of the skyscrapers in the making

Not usually a city person, my plan was not to stay in Maputo for more than few days. But it surely doesn't get boring here even after 1,5 weeks, so many things to see and do. Central Maputo is growing really fast with new skyscrapers being built everywhere you look. It's not actually a cheap city to live in, for a room in a shared apartment you will easily pay over 500 euros, which is even more than in Helsinki. The nightlife is great with lots of live music, cozy outdoor clubs and places to have a relaxed beers with friends. Yesterday I participated in a salsa dance class and afterwards listened to a live-band karaoke on the terrace of one of the clubs. Last week I tried swing dancing and even went to see a class of traditional Mozambican dance, but decided that my stiff Finnish body would never survive that one.

Craft Market

National Art Museum

Breakfast view

After my luggage finally arrived last Wednesday, I have also been able to go kitesurfing! By googling "Kitesurf in Maputo" I found the website of Mozambique Kitesurfing and contacted Daniele, who kindly gave me instructions on how to get to the kite beach. The next morning I got a text message saying the wind was good, so I found a tuc tuc, packed my gear inside and arrived to the beach after about 5-10 minutes drive from the center. The spot in Maputo is great and especially at lower tides the water is nicely flat for freestyle. The windy season in the south of the country actually only starts around September, but this week has been quite good anyway. For a fee of few euros the guys at the kite beach set up and pack your gear for you, help with the launching and landing and keep an eye on your car or belongings at the beach.

Maragra lagoon

I was also invited to an awesome kitesurf road trip on Sunday. Altogether I think we were about 7 or 8 cars and we drove for few hours through the bushes and a massive sugar plantation to get to a beautiful lagoon in the middle of nowhere. On the way some of the guys stopped a few times to ask from the nearby villages if there could be crocodiles in the lagoon (as it was fresh water after all). But since everyone said no and there were no crocodile sightings from the previous trips to the lagoon, in we went. The wind was a bit strong for my 12m2 kite, but I had a super funny oldschool session, all the way until one of the lines in my kite snapped. I was able to borrow a kite for another session that afternoon and as Daniele also runs a kite repair, the next day my lines were all fixed and ready to go for another session in Maputo. Driving back from the lagoon and watching the bright red sun set over the land, listening to African-style tunes from the radio and hearing about all the wonderful places to go kiting, surfing, diving and exploring in Mozambique gave me that amazing sense of adventure. Can't wait to explore other parts of this country too!

On the (off)road

Greetings from Mozambique!

I arrived to Maputo on Saturday only half conscious after 3 flights and 2 sleepless nights. So far during these 4 days here I have wandered around the city, searched after my lost luggage, danced to a live reggae band in a cozy outdoor club and had 2 interesting days of orientation at the Country Office of Plan Mozambique.

The trip here actually went really smoothly. I had prepared to answer some tough questions about my visa and the purpose of my trip at the immigration desk, but instead the lady just stamped my passport without barely saying a word. A shared a taxi to the city with an Australian guys I met at the lost luggage office, and only after 10 short minutes I arrived to my lovely hostel in the center of the city. 

On Sunday it became clear that my luggage would not arrive very soon, as it had not even been located yet. Thus I was in desperate need of some essentials, like clean clothes, some soap, a towel etc. Most of the shops were closed, so I headed to the buzzing street market and managed to find a tiny towel, some clean socks and underwear and a clean shirt to wear to the orientation the next day. Afterwards I went to get some hygiene products from a a tiny, candlelit grocery store. For almost the entire Sunday Maputo was suffering from a power cut (except of course the hotels and other buildings with their own generators). 

On my way to the Supermarket

On Sunday nights there is a lovely club in Maputo playing live music. This time the band was playing reggae and we danced until the very end, so much fun! Practically having just one outfit has made life very easy, apparently you can wear the same clothes to work, party and anywhere in between. Obviously I could buy more clothes, but for some reason I keep believing the people at the lost luggage office who keep telling me that my bag will arrive to Maputo 'tomorrow'. So far that tomorrow has not arrived yet. Maybe tomorrow! Anyway, at least I have realized that you really don't need many things.

My actual work will be done at the Program Unit of Plan Mozambique in another province, about 500 kilometres north of Maputo. So far it's a bit unclear when I will travel there, depends on the paper work etc, maybe next week. But until then I'll be enjoying the beautiful and exciting city of Maputo, endless amount of things still to see and do here!

I will write more about my work and Plan Mozambique soon, as well as try to share more pictures from here. So far the only picture I took is the one above, from the way to the supermarket on my first night. Anyways, just a quick post to say that I am alive and well, loving this country so far and excited about everything ahead!