Meu Despedida do Maputo

...meaning 'my Maputo farewell.' Some pics of me enjoying my last days in Mozambique with some friends.

Here the crew I played soccer with on Sundays at Costa do Sol, the main beach in Maputo:

Below-left the TechnoServe Moz coconut team proudly displaying a tree seedling they had just brought back from the field. To the right Tricia (head of coconut team) joking with Sinezia our office receptionist and assistant.

And finally a few photos from my last night out. Appropriately enough we ate dinner at a middle eastern place and then headed to a Maputo mainstay, Africa Bar, which is exactly what I did on my first night out in Moz. From left to right...row 1: Tricia (Louisianian, full-time TechnoServe coconut/biofuels program director), Abe (our Somalian friend starting a business in Moz), Sam (South African TechnoServe volunteer consultant working on coconuts, Me, Anna (German TNS volcon also working on coconuts) ; row 2: Sam again, Fabio (Brazilian TNS volcon working on poultry), Magaya (local Maputo friend, who introduced me to the soccer gang and also works for his father's poultry business), Magaya again, and Arsenio (local Maputo friend currently studying at university):

As you can see, a pretty impressive mix of backgrounds--made for lots of good conversation and debate, often fueled by many Mozambican cervejas. Hope to be back in Moz soon to see some of these folks again and pick up where we left off...

Back in Maputo - chat with Jaime

The cool season is upon us--have been enjoying the mild weather back here in Maputo for the past week and a half. This morning, one of my last in the city, I was going to capture some video of the tree-lined streets and the nice sea views we get on the way to the office, but ended up spending most of the time chatting up Jaime, one of the TechnoServe drivers. A good thing, though, because Jaime's had a really fascinating life in Mozambique. This clip definitely doesn't do justice, but still I think some interesting bits to check out:



As you hopefully could make out, Jaime has seen a lot of change in his country. Originally from Xai Xai, in the Gaza province just north of Maputo...Jaime was a young man during colonial times, he fought in the Revolution, he lived through the years of civil war, and since he's found work in South Africa--and thankfully for TechnoServe--in Maputo as well where he's been now for 8 years. When I asked him if it's relatively stable in the country nowadays...you could tell he was thinking "well, yeah maybe to outsiders...but on the other hand there's still some tension under the surface and you never know when things could break down"...which I guess can appreciate better now having lived here a couple months. Still, it's fair to say Mozambique has made a lot of progress on political stability, especially when you compare to some of its neighbors like Zimbabwe where things are really pretty troubling right now.

Maputo - around town

It's taken me a month to make a substantial post about Maputo, the capital of the country and where I'm more or less based in between my travels up north...but better late than never. As I mentioned early on, this city has both the tropi-colonial charm thing going as well as the delapidation and poverty you'd expect to see in a third world city. That said, my experiences so far here have been really positive. Relative to the rest of the country, Maputo could pass for a southeast African version of New York or San Francisco. Quite a bit of activity here be it commerce or culture. Some photos from the last full weekend I spent in the city below...

To the left, inside the old fortaleza--a shadow of a statue of some important Portuguese general I'm assuming. To the right, the entrance to the botanical park conspicously guarded by a statue of Samora Machel, the first president of independent Mozambique, and an adopter of Marxist policies. They were evidently pretty intent on drilling those ideals home, as some of the most prominent roads in Maputo are Avenidas Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenine and Mao Tse Tung:













Next up the mercado de peixe. A typical Sunday afternoon thing to do. First pick your catch and negotiate with the fishmongers as my co-worker Fabio is doing (left), and then head to one of the outdoor restaurants next door to have them cook it all up for you so you can eat it along with some cold cervejas (right). We went with fresh caught shrimp and lobster that day:













Finally, the beach along Maputo Bay. Left, some guys doing capoeira, which I hadn't realize had made it's way over here from Brazil. Right, more locals hanging out on the beach with the city skyline in the background:

Arrived and settled...

...into Maputo. The city is about how I expected actually--both the aura of past colonial/tropical charm as well as the realities of third world poverty. What I didn't expect was how relatively easily I could blend in here--lots of expats around, many also with NGOs, and quite a few Indians either living here or from South Africa. Not like Brazil or China, where they didn't know what the hell I was and where I'd often find myself in staring contests with curiuos locals (I always lost). Has been great getting to know the folks in the Technoserve Maputo office too--sharp, purposeful, professional people, but also laid back and friendly. Haven't taken any photos yet because I'm trying not to be too much of a conspicuous estrangeiro in my first week, but...

...I am getting ready for my first tourist thing tomorrow. Headed to Kruger National Park for a little safari daytrip. Will try to post some visuals from that in a few days--hoping the weather holds up and it's not too crowded on the holiday weekend.