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| 17 JUNE
Early rise (05:30! for
Steve to wake the team!), coffee (pic. 1 ) - then
Steve, Carl and Vicky off on a game drive while I am suckered into typing
this up.
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 Pic
1. 05:30, there is no such time!!
Pic.2 Drinking, but not driving
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Early morning drive
brought number 4 of the 5 - Buffalo! Then off to Komatipoort for final
shopping - not enough time to see the Samora Machel monument just outside
town, unfortunately. Remarkably smooth passage through the 2 border posts
- and we were into Mozambique. Celebratory beer on roadside (pic. 2).
"Highway" not yet the operative word - much roadworks, MANY
potholes, no road signs. Sparsely populated - hangover from the war?
Closer to Maputo huge developments obvious - vegetable farming, citrus
estates, building, road construction on a major scale. Drive through
Maputo something of a time warp - high-rise buildings in city centre in
decay, but all occupied; pot-holed roads; traffic chaos! Quite an
experience driving! (pic. 3,4) Road names bizarre - Ho Chi Minh Road,
Avenida Julius Nyerere, Mao Tse Tung, etc. To the Polana to meet David
Ankers, the G.M. - he entertained us while waiting for the arrival of
ex-President Kaunda. Hotel bristling with security - Moz. P.M. staying
here, and another group of dignitaries arriving tomorrow - including
President and Mrs Mandela. A beer or two on the patio overlooking the pool
and Maputo Bay - then - Yes, please! |
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Pic.3 Maputo roads
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Pic.4 And yet more roads
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| Hell booking into the rooms - such
luxury! Evening walk along Julius Nyerere Ave. - traffic chaos, policemen
whistling, street vendors everywhere plying you with offers, sidewalk
cafes and bars (pic 5) - a wonderfully continental / Latin American feel.
A number of stops for beers - 2M and Laurentina the locals - and then near
arrest at the hands of 2 officious policemen for taking a photograph of a
church against the evening sky (pic 6 ) they felt we must be spies taking
shots of key installations! Shades of Cold War angst - no communications
possible as they ranted in Portuguese and we denied vehemently in English!
Timely intervention of a local, Antonio Francisco, saved us from the
police cells! |
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Pic. 5 Maputo
sidewalks |
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Pic 6 Church
against the evening sky |
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| Bought him and his friends a round
at a quaint roadside bar / shebeen with ladies of the night in attendance!
Then it was off in search of "authentic" Mocambican food. Proved
difficult - all Western cuisine. Eventually gave up and caught a cab north
of the city to "Restaurante Clube Martino" - RIGHT on the beach.
Seafood extravaganza and a walk on the beach. After arriving back at the
hotel it was off to the casino for a short while, a nightcap - and then to
bed, with the warm tropical breeze wafting through the curtains. |
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