Dad's Adventure, Part III-
Mozambique!
I know, I know, the part you
all have been waiting for!
So I left you all with the
cliffhanger of arriving in Maputo right? Never fear, the story only gets better
from this point on. So, after a very long bus ride we were both looking forward
to an easy night in Maputo with my friend at his house. Unfortunately he fell
sick with Malaria the day that we were traveling, and his apartment was
unavailable- but never fear, this PCV always has a backup plan. We stayed in a
backpacker in Maputo, same one I took Mom to, and the same one most PCV's use. It’s
clean, cheap, and centrally located.
We had some issues with our
credit cards at dinner, and from that point on we had to use cash only, which
meant I was in charge of the funds. . "monopoly money" I believe was
the term used to describe these differently colored bills and coins haha! We
got an early start the next morning, taking Dad to the Junta, picking out a
good bus, and then squeezing in for the 5/6 hour trip north. The bus wasn’t too
bad, very crowded as usual, and Dad was able to see why I was so shocked back
in Victoria Falls when we had our own private bus from the airport to the
hotel. . . Oh how far we had fallen haha.
Stopping in Chidenguele to
pick up Lua from my friend Yuri, we were able to get off the bus for a bit,
stretch our legs, and go for a small walk through his town. Yuri lives about an
hour south of me, and is a volunteer in the Education program here in Moz,
working in the secondary school at his site. Dad really enjoyed seeing a
school, how the kids sing the national anthem, the set up of classrooms etc.
Something I would not have shown him, seeing as I do not work in the schools
here in Quissico. It was a great opportunity for my dad to have a bit of a
cultural exchange, and for Yuri to show off his site! We had a beer, and then
hit the road, bags and dog in tow. Luckily I was able to flag down a semi-truck
heading north, and he didn’t have a problem that I had a dog with me. So the
travel day was quick and easy, with a lovely stop along the way.
We got home, set our stuff
down, and then took a walk through town. I introduced Dad to everyone and
anyone he got to see the overlook of the lagoon, and we were invited to lunch
the next day by Dona Julia. That evening I took him to the local "hot
spot" and we had some chicken dinner, and beers with one of my local
buddies. It was the perfect end to the day.
The next day I took my Dad
to work. It reminded me of when I was younger, and went to "Take your kid
to work day" at my Dad's office haha only this time the roles were
reversed! It was kinda cool for him to see me 'in action' with my organization,
singing our song to enter into our meeting, discussing problems, working
through solutions etc. Of course I had to translate everything from Portuguese
to English, but I feel he understood what was happening. That afternoon we had
a lovely lunch served to us by Dona Julia. . . I don’t know if I have mentioned
just how good her cooking is. . . but HOT DAYUMNNN is her food good. We had
Couve, and Feijao with fresh shrimp. . . I had third-helpings and am not ashamed
to admit it. Dad was basically licking his plate at the end of the meal. Our
delicious food was accompanied by some fantastic conversation with Sr Osmand
about his personal life history, and how he came to be in Quissico.
The next morning we went down
to the lagoon, unfortunately due to shitty weather Mom and I were not able to
make it down to my private beach. Dad got a kick out of it. The walk down is
great, it’s about 45 minutes from my house, so you really get a feel for what
life is like outside of town. Once we got to the beach, we just relaxed in the
sun a bit, saw some people walking with their cows, women with big bundles on
their heads as per usual, and got a chance to just relax and talk. The walk
back up had us sweating like pigs, but it was a good hike without any issues.
We spent the afternoon hanging out a bit, just doing the Quissico thing with my
neighbors and friends in town.
That weekend I took dad up
to Inhambane City, I had a work meeting with CCS (my NGO at the hospital) so
Dad wandered around the city on his own for a few hours while I was taking care
of business, if you will. We went for lunch with a few other PCV's who were in
town, then hopped the chapa to Tofo beach. We stayed in Tofino, the beach alongside
Tofo. Just as nice, a bit more tranquil, and not a far walk from Tofo beach.
All in all, it was the perfect weekend at the beach. Sun, sand, surf, good
friends, and good food.
The return trip we boleia'ed
(hitchhiked) from Maxixe to Inharrime, then from Inharrime to Quissico. Of
course we had to stop for some coconut milk while we were in Inharrime, and
were fortunate enough that during the one boleia the guys sitting in the back
of the truck with us, shared their sugar cane. Some great things for Dad to
try!
Made it back to Quissico
safe and sound, but unfortunately upon arriving in my house we discovered that
my cat had drowned in my giant water tank. It was a bit of a crisis mode, as we
had to empty out all of the water in the tank, scrub it out with boiling water,
soap and some disinfectant. To add to the drama, water wasn’t running that day
from the tap nearest to my house. So my friend had to go find someone who owns
a donkey, to cart water from the next town over. . . .A classic afternoon here
in Mozambique. I just looked at my dad and said "welcome to my life"
haha. I'm sad that Sol died. . . and am worried that without her the rats will
come back, so I am on the lookout for a new furry feline.
We had a chill day at site
the next day, just kind of took in the last bit of Quissico before heading down
to Maputo. Wandered around the market, went to my one organization. . usual
stuff. The next morning we headed out bright and early to my boleia spot, and
caught an excellent ride with some lovely Portuguese men heading to Maputo.
They basically dropped us off right in front of the backpacker door, and were
on their way. I'm so grateful every time I catch a boleia, it just shows how
kindhearted people here are. That afternoon we wandered around Maputo with my
friend from Quissico, Artur, who was in Maputo for a wedding. Dad got to see
some really cool things, learn some stuff about the city, and see parts of it
that we would not have been able to without the help of my friend’s car. Again,
I am so grateful for the friends that I have made here.
The next morning, I dropped
Dad off at his Intercape bus that would take him to Neilspruit for the last leg
of his African adventure- a safari in Kruger park. Having done this already
with mom, I thought it would be a waste of money, and I didn’t want to be away
from site that long- seeing as these coming months are going to be quite busy
here.
It was sad to see Daddy head
out. . knowing that I won’t see him again for another year or possibly two...
but our time spent together here will always be a fantastic memory and
experience in each of our lives.
-dad, thank you so much for
traveling across the world to spend time with your baby girl. its appreciated
more than i can ever put into words (and you know how much i like writing). i
find it hard to explain every bit and detail of my life here on the phone, or
in my blogs. seeing it firsthand, and having some of the experiences that i
have here hopefully helped explain things a bit better. i miss and love you so
much!
xoxo to all-
t
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