Days 93 thru 97

(Dan’s comments are italicized)

It’s been a bit of a strange four days here in Maputo. After receiving news that a very good friend had lost her son, Ben, my mind focused, once again, on how many parents I know who have to carry this unbearably heavy burden. I’m reminded as to the importance of kindness and thoughtfulness as we know not what burden another is carrying. 💙

Over the last few days, we’ve spent many an hour on the phone and on email sorting out some personal stuff that needed addressing immediately; this would be absolutely no problem if we were close to our computer and printer (both in America), our bank (in America), and our Important Documents folder (in America). We thought about flying back to S. Africa to address everything (as it would be much easier to do from a westernized country)…but our visa has now expired. We may have a little bit of an issue as we fly back to the US from S. Africa; but that’s a problem for three weeks hence. 😂

Maputo itself is interesting. It’s lovely and yet dingy with an undertone of despair. When Googling things to do in Mozambique, Maputo is listed as a destination for its night life, which is something we now sleep through. One thing I’ve NOT been impressed with is that all the green spots on the map that Dan interpreted as parks, weren’t. They were hills, with steps. Lots of steps…

It was here that Dan’s weird facial expressions continued; he insisted on eating a (very bitter) lemon and this is what I faced… I consider myself immune to lemons, and can eat them in my sleep. However, the sourness of this juice was unexpected. Life is composed of a neverending series of experiences. I just like to sprinkle in harmless, but uncomfortable episodes for comedic relief.

The Indian Ocean is very beautiful here, though it’s just as well this blog doesn’t have a ‘scratch and smell’ feature as we see raw sewage being pumped into the ocean in places. I wanted to touch the Indian Ocean and lay claim to that experience, but after seeing the sewage emptying into the waves, I simply let the soles of my shoes get wet and called it a success.

We opted not to hire a car so have walked miles. One time we were walking by the residence of the President (a walled place about 1 km. long) and were told by a guard with machine gun in hand to cross the road. Needless to say we did…quickly!! One wonderful thing about walking is that you see some really interesting things. For example…

Once again, we’ve not had the best luck with museums; the National museum is currently closed for repair, and one that was supposed to display artwork was open but had no exhibits. The art gallery we wanted to see was supposed to have pieces from Gonçalo Mabunda, the creator of the elephant above. He is known for fashioning guns and weapons into his artwork. Undeterred, we visited the National Geology museum…though neither of us is incredibly interested in the topic 😂. I do have to laugh. We really had no intention of entering, but because we needed a museum ‘win’, we were forced to go in.

I think my favorite place that we found is the Botanical Garden. We visit every botanical garden we can and, though this wasn’t the biggest, it was in better shape than any other and was filled with locals enjoying the peace and beauty.

Another beautiful building is the Cathedral Nossa Senhora da Conceicao de Maputo, a Roman Catholic Church that is a very short walk from where we’re staying. Sadly, it was shut so we were only able to appreciate the outside…

…until today when we found it open 🎉

We’re moving on to a beach tomorrow. At least we’re hoping to…if we can find transportation. Fingers crossed!🤞