Maputo, Mozambique Days 1 & 2

Firstly, let me apologize in advance, the Internet signal is not powerful here to upload photos so I am hoping when we are in South Africa overnight on our bus ride to Namibia that I will be able to upload some photos, if not I will update all the posts with photos from Namibia. Out first two day in Maputo have been interesting. Our backpackers lodge is quaint but last night it was a bit sketchy when we got locked in our room and could not get out for quite awhile. Our day started yesterday with a very tiny ferry carting us from Catembe to Maputo and us not understanding much of what people were trying to tell us. I really need to brush up on my Portuguese skills. Once we arrived we checked in and headed out on foot. We found the cathedral, independence square, and pretty decent Indian restaurant, and a grocery store (which was most important as our hostel is self catering which means we can save money by cooking our own food.) Day two began with a walk down to the Cafe Acacia where we met with a guide who told us how to get around town and what the best sites are to see...when we left her we hopped on a tuk tuk and had our very own tour guide for the next two hours as he was dipping and dodging down the streets of Maputo. He kept apologizing for his English being poor but I thought it was amazing and it was much better than my Portuguese. He took us to the craft market, the major port in the city, down embassy row, past the presidents home, Nelson Mandela's home here in Mozambique, the fresh fish market where we picked up some snapper for dinner later, one of the local forts, the old train station, a few monuments, and the local produce market to pick up the remaining ingredients for our dinner. He dropped us at the hostel and promised to come get us again tomorrow to explore a bit more! Finally, I cooked the first full meal I have made since my accident. I sautéed the red snapper with peri peri peppers, tomatoes, a spice similar to cumin, onions, and bell pepper and made some pasta dressed with tomato, peri peri peppers, onion, green pepper, and some fresh cucumber on the side. Time to go take an evening walk to get ready for bed tonight!

Last day in Catembe

We only had two nights on the paradise of a beach as tomorrow we take the ferry back over to the mainland to explore the city from a backpackers lodge there. The history nerd in me already has us tagging along on two historical walking tours of the city where I am hoping to learn some new things to add to to the courses I teach at the university, but we are planning on having a lot do fun exploring things on our own as well and trying to get by with my very limited Portuguese...Bon Dia! Today we were 100% beach bums...we walked up the coast one way collecting shells and laying in the sand, then walked up the coast the other way saving sea urchins and other creatures that had washed up on to the shore. We came back to the lodge for a home cooked meal of salad, sweet corn, cassava, garlic a bread with herbs from the garden and for my love some Stewed beef! What a relaxing say before heading off on the ferry to the city in the late afternoon. I will try to upload more pics as the Internet allows but it is a bit slow!

Road trip and Catembe

We took an overnight bus from Jo'berg to Maputo in Mozambique...the trip was about 10 hours of riding and an hour of customs/immigration lines which all went really smoothly. When we arrived in Maputo the wind was high and the sand was blowing (Maputo is on the coast of the Indian Ocean) so we didn't have time to explore the city as we had to head to the ferry but we will be in Maputo at a backpackers for about five days next week! We took a taxi to the ferry where Jah had to push his way through to get tickets to ride over to Catembe. The ride itself was only about 20 minutes but the process was about an hour all together. When we arrived the other side we found a pick up truck to take us down kilometers of sandy road to our destination at Paulo's beachfront lodge. So far we have walked the beach and are awaiting a home cooked meal while relaxing on the covered deck area listening to the tide coming in...we can't wait for our new adventures tomorrow!

Students last day and the beginning of our bus journey

Today was difficult as our students were departing and returning to the US while Jah and I are remaining in country as official backpackers for the next month. When the students checked out we went over to the Hard Rock Cafe where they presented everyone with paper plate awards/superlatives. These awards brought tears to my eyes. After a hearty meal we headed to the airport and said our good byes (at least until August when we will have our Columbus reunion/brai). Once the students departed we headed to the bus station to begin our own journey to Mozambique.

Diamonds, gold, old time photos, and roller coasters

We started our day early today and made our way to Pretoria, one of the three capitals of South Africa. While there we fist visited to Voortrekker monument which was built after the battle of bloody river where the Dutch defeated the Zulus. This is a controversial monument since some believe it is a monument about the murder of the local people of the land. The monument itself is stunning.  From there we drove around the city and saw the presidents building and then made our way to a local diamond mine where we toured the surface areas of an active diamond mine. We quickly made our way back to Soweto so that we could visit Gold Reef City which is an old gold mine that is now a museum and amusement park. We toured the museums and watched how gold bricks are made and how much they are worth. Then we had a bit of fun for our last site visit. We took old time photos as a group then ran off and started riding roller coasters. When we finished it was off to get dressed up for our farewell dinner where we had a big surprise, our tour guide from Zimbabwe Blessing joined is for the evening in celebration of Lizzie's birthday!!! The photos are giving a problem uploading but I will get them attached as soon as possible.

Soweto

We spent our day today in Soweto or the South West Township where the school riots occurred in response to the 50/50 law (in addition to many other oppressive laws). Students were protesting being forced to speak afrikaans (the language of the Dutch boers) in their schools. These protests consisted of dance, song, the refusal to speak afrikaans, as well as self defense tactics and ended with the murder and imprisonment of many school aged children, some as young as 8. The first person photographed who had been shot and killed was Hecter Pieterson who was a 13 year old school boy. This photo captured the attention of the world, but not before these senseless acts of violence had to occur. While in Soweto we visited a museum and memorial dedicated to Pieterson and all the other involved in these protests. We also stopped by the arch bishop Desmond Tutus home as well as the home of Nelson Mandela, which is the place where Winnie was forced to constantly protest her children from bullets and fire bombs while Nelson was in prison.

Prison and Apartheid

Today is always a difficult day as in the morning we visit Constitution Hill where political prisoners (men, women, and children) were held for lengthy periods of time. Some, like Nelson Mandela, were held here prior to being transferred to Robben island and others like Winnie Mandela had multiple shorter sentences here. Once we left the prison we moved on to the Apartheid museum which traces the history of South Africa from the Khoi Khoi and the San through the end of Apartheid. It is one of the most well thought out museums I have ever visited and each year I learn something new.