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Another world emerging 1000 km away

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I have lost count the months without writing a post, the reason is mainly due to the lack of a reasonably decent camera that can capture the daily life through my eyes. Now that I've recently acquired one, I pretend to write something about the last month of my experience in Africa. Nothing best to bring this blog back to life than the story of a trip to Lesotho! (Did you just went googling it? Well I did it some months ago because I confess I have never heard about it before...) Now I know some interesting facts about it: It is one of the four countries in the world which is an enclave - totally surrounded by another country; (the other three are San Marino, Vatican and Monaco). Also, it is the only country in the world which entire surface is above 1000 m and on top of this, more than 80% of Lesotho is located above 1800m. Having in consideration it's Winter in south hemisphere, you can have an idea of what were the temperatures there... I'll only say I...
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One that could easily be the most beautiful beach on the planet

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It is never too late to write about Easter and an amazing trip to the center/north of the country to visit Tofo beach. The trip started early morning, with a glorious sunrise with reddish orange tons and some hours of sleep left. In a small but spacious Nissan Cube, we did the approximately 10 hours ride to the destiny, being gifted once again by the outstanding landscape and endless roads lined with coconut trees. Foto taken by my flatmate João at the sunrise The roads there are just like this....... endlessly beautiful     Quissico lagoon is one of the paradisic spots in the way there   Once arriving we were hosted by Fatima's Backpackers, which is a super relaxed, friendly and well decorated hostel and were separated in common rooms with bunkbeds.   Arrival's view   The indispensable bednet     In this great weekend we included a "patched-sailing boat" trip to the pig Island, which is now a bit of a tourist...
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Maputo's daily unpredictable life

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(It is harder than i thought to keep an active blog :p) I’ve been wanting for a long time to make a compilation of the most funny and startling details in Maputo’s daily life. I'll start by describing how one can move in Maputo, since there is no such thing called "public transport". Basically there are four types of "wheel vehicle" that can bring you from one point of the city to the other: the chapas - which are 9 seats vans that actually have no upper limit regarding the number of people that can fit in.  The second one is the txopela, which is a motorcycle with a three seat place in the backside and a cover in the top. For me these are the most fun, since the drivers totally over value their vehicles and drive like they are in rally’s, above holes, super near the other cars, or above walking paths. Some of them have music in the back and neon lights, which make this trips even more pleasant. Txopela The third is the taxi. There a...
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South Africa just around the corner.

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  Time has been short for the amount of things in the agenda, so I'll start writing short posts! This one is dedicated to the "tip of gold", a gorgeous beach town in the south of Mozambique which I translated "letter by letter", Portuguese name is "Ponta do Ouro". This town is close to the border with South Africa, but the seemingly harmless 170 km from Maputo are driven in about five tumultuous hours, due to the sandy roads.  To see with perspective The way there is full of African landscapes, this combination with the African music we choose to be playing in the radio transported me to an  Out of Africa  movie set... only Robert Redford was missing!  This was one of the best roads of the trip, the others I needed to be tight to my seat so, no hands free for the camera.     As if the sandy soil was not enough, some roads on the way were blocked due to some mechanical problems of some of the severa...
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One Different Reality

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In this post I'll describe one of the most gratifying experiences of the past weeks: the visits to the off grid villages! The centre of Maputo is well provided with energy, tar roads and robust buildings, but just by crossing the river, one can have a totally different perspective of how the standards of living actually work. It is almost an odyssey to make this trip. The inexistent bridge is planned to be finished by the end of 2017, until then the crossing is ensured by two rusty ferry boats, where local staff make sure every inch of the boat is filled with some car, people, vegetable or noisy chicken. Along the journey we'll come across with some fishing sailing boats with fabric sales and wooden cask.     Once you get to the other side, you are welcomed by street vendors full of cashews and peanuts. The access to the villages is not always easy, you need a strong 4x4 jeep and a brave driver, because the chances of you being stuck in the sa...
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Arriving to Africa ...

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Two and a half weeks after my arrival to Maputo, I finally have time to start my blog. I'll try to post daily/weekly pictures and tell some stories related to the daily life here, because living in this city is so fantastically different from everything I've lived so far, that I'm sure I'll have plenty to show! To start in the very beginning, here it is the typical photo taken from the plane. I love to travel in the window seat, and have the opportunity to experience this amazing welcome view. I found so impressive to compare the huge buildings at the downtown, and the wooden houses in the surroundings. Even when the plane lands, we are greeted with this African landscape of palm trees and dry fields.   The day I first step foot in Africa was a very hot (43º C) and sunny day. After some hours, and some litters of water less in my body, a tropical storm arrived like I've never seen before! The lightnings were so bright and...
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