Trip to Swaziland - Umdoni - November 2013

Christmas pressie

We had a quick weekend visit to Swaziland driving down on Friday afternoon.  We stayed Friday and Saturday night at a very nice bed and breakfast cottage called Umdoni on a pineapple plantation in the Malkerns valley, only 4 hours drive from Maputo. At the B and B we were looked after by a lovely Swazi lady called Buhle who cooked us breakfast on the Saturday and Sunday.  On the Saturday morning we did a little Christmas shopping at the local craft markets.  We managed to get a very tasteful carved wooden garden snail for one of my sisters and a life size metal crocodile and giraffe for my other sister and brother.  I am not quite sure how we are going to get them home on the plane.

Visit to Cape Town - October 2013

When Jane first suggested we have a holiday in Cape Town in South Africa I wasn't keen.  I had it in my head that Cape Town would just be a large city and that there were other more exotic places we could be exploring.  I was totally wrong.    Nestled in a scenic bay with the backdrop of table mountain, Cape Town is a a beautiful city with fabulous restaurants and lots of interesting things to do and see.  The countryside and coast around Cape Town in the Western Cape province has gorgeous scenery and places to explore including the surrounding wineland areas.

Whale watching - September 2013

An eco lodge, Dunes de Dovela, was running a whale watching weekend and this was something we had been wanting to do for a while.  The lodge is in an isolated spot and is only accessible by a four by four vehicle. It is about six hours drive from Maputo situated at the end of a 12.5 km track off the main road.   Even though we were staying in a tent rather than a chalet it was not cheap but we had heard good reports from a couple of people.  We were not disappointed.

Trip to Swaziland - August 2013

Swaziland Flag

In a change from our usual beach trips we went to stay in the Hlane National Park in Swaziland just under two hours drive from Maputo.  We stayed in Ndlovu camp in a quaint self catering round stone hut or rondavel.  Our hut was really close to a watering hole frequented by loads of Rhinos which were the size of small trucks.  

Trip to Tiree - June 2013

Back in June I needed to go back to Scotland to sort out the renting of our house.  We had not managed to arrange anything before we left for Mozambique and our neighbours Jay and Debs had kindly been been keeping an eye on it for us.  While back in Scotland I went with our friends Diana and Robert for a long week end to to the inner Hebridean island of Tiree.  It was a fantastic little trip.

Going to the dogs

Oi doog man - where's our dinner? 

I always thought that people tended to either like dogs or cats but not both. I thought I was definitely a cat person.  Cats are much more independent.  Dogs have masters, are people focused, and are clingy; cats have servants and only care about being fed, not who feeds them.  Cats are cool and have attitude.  However Jane found out about a local dog shelter that needed some help so we went to have a look.  I now go along a couple of  days a week, and I have become really quite fond of the wee Duggies.  The shelter for abandoned or stray Dogs (and cats) is run by an indomitable lady called Moira as part of the charity she co-founded, Mozambique Animal Protection Society or MAPS. MAPS facebook page

Trip to Vilankulo - September 2013

Continuing our progress up the coast of Mozambique our next visit was to Vilankulo just over 700 km away.  Vilankulo was by far the largest coastal town we had been too but the beach area is a very pleasant place to hang out for a few days with lots of good places to eat including the fabulously named Zombie cucumber and some nice beach bars. We stayed at the Casa Rex lodge.

Trip to Tofo - May 2013

Our next visit was to the beach resort of Tofo some 500 km or 6 -7 hour drive up the coast.  5 hours if Jane is driving.  A great place with an 8 km white sandy beach.  The lodge (Casabarry) where we stayed is also home to the Marine Megafauna Foundation doing reasearch and conservation work with Whale Sharks and Manta Rays which are common off the coast. 

Trip to Bilene May 2013

Our first major excursion out of Maputo was a long weekend in Bilene – a little under 200 km up the coast.  We stayed in a nice thatched hut in a resort that was right on the beach.  Bilene is a huge lagoon with an opening to the sea.  

We managed a kayak trip, a boat trip across the lagoon to where the opening to the sea is, and a walk to see some flamingos at one end of the lagoon.

Brenda's visit April 2013

Not long after we arrived in Mozambique we were contacted by a friend of ours, Maria, whose mum, Majorie, was friends with a lady called Brenda.  Brenda had shipped a container to Mozambique of charity donations, including bicycles, computers and books for schools.   Getting the container into Mozambique had not gone smoothly so Brenda was visiting Mozambique to try and make better arrangements for future containers. Majorie wondered whether we might be able to help?  Majorie had totally looked after us when we visited Darlington in the UK for her daughter Maria’s graduation party arranging for us to stay with one of her friends.  I have no proof but, despite living in Darlintgton,  Majorie is clearly highly connected in the Mafia.  I have seen all the Godfather movies and recognise the signs.  Her daughter Maria lives in Rome and this was clearly the “Godmother” calling in a favour.  This was a request we could not refuse.  So we offered our help and a place to stay for Brenda

Early days

At first being in Mozambique was strange, bordering on surreal.  The first couple of days were taken up with form filling and we had a briefing on the security situation and do’s and don’ts.  If you took this too literally you wouldn’t venture out your front door.  In reality, like any big city anywhere you need to sensible and not wander down dark alleys pissed as a fart singing show me the way to go home. 

There are some places you should not go

There are some places best avoided after dark or alone but you could say the same about London or Glasgow.  Mozambicans are generally genuinely friendly and laid back with a ready smile and we feel pretty safe here.

Bem Vindos para Moçambique (Welcome to Mozambique)

Sat Nav for planes

Following the stress of the Heathrow baggage harridans and Portuguese language training the trip from Portugal to Mozambique was a comparative doddle.  We were flying with the Portuguese airline Tap from Porto to Lisbon and then a direct 11 hour flight from Lisbon to Maputo, the capital of Mozambique.  We were due to arrive around 10 pm on a Saturday night.  There was still the small matter of the excess baggage and Jane had been shoe and handbag shopping in Porto. At least we could spread it around a little more.  Things started well.

You are invited to Dinner

Burp! Oh excuse me - diplomats always give me gas,

They didn't mention this in our posting notes!

Não compreendo (I don't understand)

Porto in Portugal where we did our two weeks language training is a lovely seaside town and a great place for a weekend vacation.  Lots of lovely bars and restaurants, shopping, the port houses on the quayside, old baroque churches with crypts and other touristy type stuff.   Unfortunately we were there to work – six hours a day intensive language training with lots of trabalho para casa (homework). 

Porto, Porto, wonderful town

The adventure begins

For me it was a no brainer when Jane asked me whether I was sure she should accept the post in Mozambique.  I was working in a Glasgow call centre providing first line technical support.  My

Yes I know it says wireless - you still need to plug it in 

colleagues were fantastic, but the job was totally pants and was slowly but surely destroying my soul.   Fate had thrown me a lifeline.  When my colleagues started,only half jokingly, to discuss which of us was the most likely to crack and bring a shotgun into work I realised it might be a good time to move on.

Welcome to my blog

Welcome to my blog recording the misadventures and assorted ramblings of our new life in Moz.  I have the good fortune to be married to Jane

A minha espousa A Senhora Jane aka der missus 

who works for the Department for International Development (DFID) that delivers the UK government's overseas aid programme.  Both of us are seasoned overseas travellers, but for the past seven years we and Monty the cat were settled happily in Prestwick on the west coast of Scotland (IMHO God's own country).  Pensions and free bus travel starting to peek over the horizon.  Then...